The Archdiocese of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) has held a series of seminars on evangelization in recent weeks, to address mounting concerns about the ineffectiveness of the Church's missionary efforts.
Although Catholicism is relatively widespread in Vietnam and the Church has a strong corps of devoted lay activists, in recent decades the growth of country's Catholic population has lagged significantly behind the overall population growth. The latest official statistical figures from the Church in Vietnam show that the Catholic population in 2007 was 6,087,700 among 85,154,900 people, or a rate at about 7.15% of national population,” said Father Anthony Nguyen Ngoc Son, a key speaker at the seminars. “This indicates a decline in number of registered Catholics comparing to 7.2 % in 1933 or 7.5% in 1939,” he warned.
It is even more alarming, conference speakers noted, that while the proportion of Catholic population in Vietnam has decreased over the last 50 years, other Christian denominations have enjoyed a surge in people joining their churches. In 1999, non-Catholic groups had 400,000 members. This number quadrupled to reach 1,500,000 in 2008 according to the latest report. “These figures are a clear indication of the ineffectiveness of the Church’s mission in Vietnam during the last 50 years,” Father Anthony Nguyen lamented.
Seminar attendees raised a pressing concern about the alarming number of adult converts who do not keep up the practice of their faith after Baptism. Within the past 7 years, there have been approximately 35,000 adult conversions to Catholicism annually-- 80-90% of these coming into the Church at the time of marriage. Unfortunately, the number of these converts who remain active has dropped dramatically. This decline can be attributed at least in part to the complications many people have to face after converting to Catholicism-- such as losing privileges and promotions at certain jobs, or facing subtle discrimination from the atheist government.
While various external factors can be cited to help explain the problems the Church has faced in her missionary efforts, seminar speakers said that an indifferent attitude toward the missionary duty among the faithful has been noticeable. Many lay people, the speakers said, assume that the clergy is solely responsible for evangelization. In addition, many Catholics have not been living their lives in ways that bear witness to Christ. Their personal and religious lives have not made any good impression on their non-Catholic neighbors and friends.Furthermore, “the clergy has not assumed the much-needed responsibility for the mission ad gentes in the country,” said Father Anthony Nguyen. "Missionary efforts seem to be a personal, sporadic crusade for volunteering individuals and religious orders." he explained. Sister Marie Nguyen of Saigon added: “Dioceses and the Church in Vietnam as whole lack zeal, a comprehensive missionary strategy and investments of means and tools for evangelical mission, especially in the rural or remote areas.”
Government oppression of the Church-- which at times amounts to outright persecution-- exacerbates the problem. In many remote areas of the Central Highlands and in northern mountainous provinces, pastoral activities are hindered by governmental bureaucracy and harassment. In these areas, missionary activity has often been described as an “offense against national security,” and the local officials have made no effort to hide their hostility toward the Church's efforts.
A persistent propaganda campaign against the Church at all levels of education makes young people confused about the real purpose of Catholic activity, and discourages them from showing their Catholic identity. “Faith is often limited to something within a personal sphere that many Catholic youth try to make it as invisible as possible," reports Sister Marie Nguyen, a sociologist. "They try to avoid religion-oriented debates, hence losing chances to bear witness to Gospel."
The seminar participants, having explored the obstacles that the Church now faces, next turned to practical questions about the evangelizing mission. In a country full of social, political, and economic bad news, speakers asked, how should Catholics bring the "Good News" to their neighbors? In the midst of a pervasive tendency toward despair, how can they convey the hope and optimism that spring from the Gospel? How can the image of the Church as a family of God be built? How can Christian families become authentic domestic churches? What efforts will be necessary to bring the Gospel message into culture of Vietnam?
Although Catholicism is relatively widespread in Vietnam and the Church has a strong corps of devoted lay activists, in recent decades the growth of country's Catholic population has lagged significantly behind the overall population growth. The latest official statistical figures from the Church in Vietnam show that the Catholic population in 2007 was 6,087,700 among 85,154,900 people, or a rate at about 7.15% of national population,” said Father Anthony Nguyen Ngoc Son, a key speaker at the seminars. “This indicates a decline in number of registered Catholics comparing to 7.2 % in 1933 or 7.5% in 1939,” he warned.
It is even more alarming, conference speakers noted, that while the proportion of Catholic population in Vietnam has decreased over the last 50 years, other Christian denominations have enjoyed a surge in people joining their churches. In 1999, non-Catholic groups had 400,000 members. This number quadrupled to reach 1,500,000 in 2008 according to the latest report. “These figures are a clear indication of the ineffectiveness of the Church’s mission in Vietnam during the last 50 years,” Father Anthony Nguyen lamented.
Seminar attendees raised a pressing concern about the alarming number of adult converts who do not keep up the practice of their faith after Baptism. Within the past 7 years, there have been approximately 35,000 adult conversions to Catholicism annually-- 80-90% of these coming into the Church at the time of marriage. Unfortunately, the number of these converts who remain active has dropped dramatically. This decline can be attributed at least in part to the complications many people have to face after converting to Catholicism-- such as losing privileges and promotions at certain jobs, or facing subtle discrimination from the atheist government.
While various external factors can be cited to help explain the problems the Church has faced in her missionary efforts, seminar speakers said that an indifferent attitude toward the missionary duty among the faithful has been noticeable. Many lay people, the speakers said, assume that the clergy is solely responsible for evangelization. In addition, many Catholics have not been living their lives in ways that bear witness to Christ. Their personal and religious lives have not made any good impression on their non-Catholic neighbors and friends.Furthermore, “the clergy has not assumed the much-needed responsibility for the mission ad gentes in the country,” said Father Anthony Nguyen. "Missionary efforts seem to be a personal, sporadic crusade for volunteering individuals and religious orders." he explained. Sister Marie Nguyen of Saigon added: “Dioceses and the Church in Vietnam as whole lack zeal, a comprehensive missionary strategy and investments of means and tools for evangelical mission, especially in the rural or remote areas.”
Government oppression of the Church-- which at times amounts to outright persecution-- exacerbates the problem. In many remote areas of the Central Highlands and in northern mountainous provinces, pastoral activities are hindered by governmental bureaucracy and harassment. In these areas, missionary activity has often been described as an “offense against national security,” and the local officials have made no effort to hide their hostility toward the Church's efforts.
A persistent propaganda campaign against the Church at all levels of education makes young people confused about the real purpose of Catholic activity, and discourages them from showing their Catholic identity. “Faith is often limited to something within a personal sphere that many Catholic youth try to make it as invisible as possible," reports Sister Marie Nguyen, a sociologist. "They try to avoid religion-oriented debates, hence losing chances to bear witness to Gospel."
The seminar participants, having explored the obstacles that the Church now faces, next turned to practical questions about the evangelizing mission. In a country full of social, political, and economic bad news, speakers asked, how should Catholics bring the "Good News" to their neighbors? In the midst of a pervasive tendency toward despair, how can they convey the hope and optimism that spring from the Gospel? How can the image of the Church as a family of God be built? How can Christian families become authentic domestic churches? What efforts will be necessary to bring the Gospel message into culture of Vietnam?