Hanoi archbishop quietly left Vietnam for further medical treatment. Catholic activists in Hanoi fear that many faithful have been lured into mental game designed to damage trust towards the Vatican.
On May 12, Hanoi Archbishopric office announced that Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet had quietly gone abroad for medical treatment. Observers in Vietnam afraid that this time he has no chance to return home as the risk of his return being blocked by Vietnam government remains strong.
Among Catholics in Vietnam and abroad the hypothesis that the communist government has convinced the Vatican and the Vietnamese Episcopal Conference to remove Mgr. Kiet at all costs, is becoming increasingly credited. Many have fallen into the belief that the removal of the prelate is the price tag for an “establishment of diplomatic relations" and the green light for Benedict XVI's visit to Vietnam early in January 2011.
However, in many occasions, Mgr. Kiet has insisted that his withdrawal originated simply on his rapidly deteriorating health stating that even during the most difficult moments of his relationship with the government, "the Holy See and the Episcopal Conference were always by my side". In his account, he has suffered no pressure other than the moral responsibility of a shepherd.
A growing concern among Catholic activists in Hanoi is that communist religious police are conducting a campaign to portray the leadership change in Hanoi as a Vatican’s accidence to the government's demands as a precondition for further movement toward the renewal of diplomatic ties between the Vatican and Vietnam: a goal that the Holy See has pursued through informal talks for years.
Most Catholics in Hanoi believe that the Holy See never "betray" them and that the regime has been using details in talks on bishop appointments with Vatican to lure Catholics into the opposite belief.
In fact, Vietnam government has insisted that the Vatican must respect Vietnam's independence and sovereignty; hence it is mandatory for all appointment of bishops and diocesan administrators to be approved by the government. This has always been a main point on the agenda in the bilateral meetings between the Vatican and Vietnam government.
Knowing in advance details of the leadership change in Hanoi, religious agents have broken the embargo, intentionally leaked out movements describing the change in Hanoi See as secret deals between the Vatican and the regime, causing a widespread sense of disappointment among the Catholics in the country that the Holy See now seems to be willing to sacrifice the aspiration of the faithful for the overdue diplomatic progress to be well in its way. While the Vietnamese Bishop Conference, due to the lack of necessary media resources and a good media strategy, has been keeping mum about any development, the waves of unofficial news coming from seemingly credible sources have rendered the faithful in the cloud of suspicion and confusion. If there is a place in the world today for mistrust between Church's leaders and its followers breeding, Vietnam will certainly make top on the list.
Moreover, in an orchestrated media approach, on Saturday May 8, state media outlets in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City simultaneously reported the installation ceremony of the new coadjutor.
Most reports started with an excerpt from VNA, the official state news agency: “Following the Vietnamese Prime Minister’s approval, Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Bishop Nguyen Van Nhon of Dalat, President of Vietnam Episcopal Council, as coadjutor archbishop of Hanoi.”
The phase “Vietnamese Prime Minister’s approval” was highlighted, and repeated throughout the short report in what appeared to be a well planned strategy to send a subtle message to their readers that the Catholic Church in Vietnam is now completely under the control of the communist Party and that not only bishops in Vietnam, the Pope and the Vatican also need to bow to demands of the regime in order to get “Vietnamese Prime Minister’s approval” in Church’s activities.
Vietnamese Catholics from the beginning of the Church's history in Vietnam have consistently been proven to be extreme loyal and dedicated to the universal Church. The deaths of 117 Vietnamese martyrs spoke volume of their commitment and their absolute loyalty. However, with the trend of mistrust and doubts substantiated by suspicious actions from both the Vatican and Vietnamese Bishop Conference, a dangerous rift is being formed, and the collateral damage can be catastrophic unless actions are to be quickly taken in a sincere, positive and constructive fashion, for the interest of the Church and its faithful, not in the direction of the unjust and despotic regime of communist Vietnam, so that the blood and tears of the 117 courageous Vietnamese men and women who gave their lives defending freedom to live and worship God will not be in vain.
On May 12, Hanoi Archbishopric office announced that Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet had quietly gone abroad for medical treatment. Observers in Vietnam afraid that this time he has no chance to return home as the risk of his return being blocked by Vietnam government remains strong.
Among Catholics in Vietnam and abroad the hypothesis that the communist government has convinced the Vatican and the Vietnamese Episcopal Conference to remove Mgr. Kiet at all costs, is becoming increasingly credited. Many have fallen into the belief that the removal of the prelate is the price tag for an “establishment of diplomatic relations" and the green light for Benedict XVI's visit to Vietnam early in January 2011.
However, in many occasions, Mgr. Kiet has insisted that his withdrawal originated simply on his rapidly deteriorating health stating that even during the most difficult moments of his relationship with the government, "the Holy See and the Episcopal Conference were always by my side". In his account, he has suffered no pressure other than the moral responsibility of a shepherd.
A growing concern among Catholic activists in Hanoi is that communist religious police are conducting a campaign to portray the leadership change in Hanoi as a Vatican’s accidence to the government's demands as a precondition for further movement toward the renewal of diplomatic ties between the Vatican and Vietnam: a goal that the Holy See has pursued through informal talks for years.
Most Catholics in Hanoi believe that the Holy See never "betray" them and that the regime has been using details in talks on bishop appointments with Vatican to lure Catholics into the opposite belief.
In fact, Vietnam government has insisted that the Vatican must respect Vietnam's independence and sovereignty; hence it is mandatory for all appointment of bishops and diocesan administrators to be approved by the government. This has always been a main point on the agenda in the bilateral meetings between the Vatican and Vietnam government.
Knowing in advance details of the leadership change in Hanoi, religious agents have broken the embargo, intentionally leaked out movements describing the change in Hanoi See as secret deals between the Vatican and the regime, causing a widespread sense of disappointment among the Catholics in the country that the Holy See now seems to be willing to sacrifice the aspiration of the faithful for the overdue diplomatic progress to be well in its way. While the Vietnamese Bishop Conference, due to the lack of necessary media resources and a good media strategy, has been keeping mum about any development, the waves of unofficial news coming from seemingly credible sources have rendered the faithful in the cloud of suspicion and confusion. If there is a place in the world today for mistrust between Church's leaders and its followers breeding, Vietnam will certainly make top on the list.
Moreover, in an orchestrated media approach, on Saturday May 8, state media outlets in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City simultaneously reported the installation ceremony of the new coadjutor.
Most reports started with an excerpt from VNA, the official state news agency: “Following the Vietnamese Prime Minister’s approval, Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Bishop Nguyen Van Nhon of Dalat, President of Vietnam Episcopal Council, as coadjutor archbishop of Hanoi.”
The phase “Vietnamese Prime Minister’s approval” was highlighted, and repeated throughout the short report in what appeared to be a well planned strategy to send a subtle message to their readers that the Catholic Church in Vietnam is now completely under the control of the communist Party and that not only bishops in Vietnam, the Pope and the Vatican also need to bow to demands of the regime in order to get “Vietnamese Prime Minister’s approval” in Church’s activities.
Vietnamese Catholics from the beginning of the Church's history in Vietnam have consistently been proven to be extreme loyal and dedicated to the universal Church. The deaths of 117 Vietnamese martyrs spoke volume of their commitment and their absolute loyalty. However, with the trend of mistrust and doubts substantiated by suspicious actions from both the Vatican and Vietnamese Bishop Conference, a dangerous rift is being formed, and the collateral damage can be catastrophic unless actions are to be quickly taken in a sincere, positive and constructive fashion, for the interest of the Church and its faithful, not in the direction of the unjust and despotic regime of communist Vietnam, so that the blood and tears of the 117 courageous Vietnamese men and women who gave their lives defending freedom to live and worship God will not be in vain.