VIET NAM
from issue no. 05 - 2004
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An interview with Pietro Parolin on relations between the Church and the Hanoi government
Small steps on the Ho Chi Minh trail
«We can’t but hope they will be willing to return to the spirit that animated Ho Chi Minh, who – in the famous ordinance 234 of 1955 – set no restrictions on the Church in the appointment of bishops, access to seminaries or the activities of religious congregations». So says the Undersecretary of the Section for Relations with States at the Vatican Secretariat of State
by Giovanni Cubeddu
«The only real key to interpreting the creation of Cardinal Pham Minh Man,
at the last Consistory, is the Pope’s concern for the Vietnamese Church, which
is alive, united and flowering with priestly and religious vocations», part and
parcel of the country and eager of serving the common good. The nomination was
hailed by the communist government itself, which, in a statement by the
spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, declared: «It is good news for
Vietnamese Catholics to have another cardinal. It’s the first time in the
history of the Catholic Church of Vietnam that Vietnam has two cardinals at the
same time».
At the end of April Monsignor Pietro Parolin,
Undersecretary of the Section for Relations with States at the Vatican
Secretariat of State, led the Vatican delegation to Vietnam which included
Monsignor Luis Mariano Montemayor, nunciature adviser at the Secretariat of
State, and Monsignor Barnabé Nguyen Van Phuong, office head of the Congregation
for the Evangelization of Peoples. This visit renewed the practice of an annual
meeting interrupted in 2003 «for purely organizational reasons», explains
Parolin,«because of a series of happenings at the second level of the Section
of the Secretariat of State». His considered judgment, after the Vietnam
meetings, was that the visit was successful, that relations were improving.
The new Cardinal Pham Minh Man has publicly proposed to settle the question of freedom of worship by going back to what had been established by Ho Chi Minh, the founder of communist Vietnam. What do you think?
PIETRO PAROLIN: I would say that it’s a valid proposal. The cardinal has acted with reasonableness and his initiative deserves support. We can’t but hope they will be willing to return to the spirit that animated Ho Chi Minh, who – in the famous ordinance 234 of 1955 – set no restrictions on the Church in the appointment of bishops, access to seminaries or the activities of religious congregations. And for that matter, we several times heard mention in the official talks of a recent resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, in which Vietnamese Catholic are defined as «full citizens» and the government’s desire «to respond to the spiritual demands of that part of the population that professes a religious faith» is assured. This position of the Communist Party must certainly be given a positive welcome. Another notion that came up on different occasions as expression of the wishes of our Vietnamese counterparts was that it’s time now to leave the past behind and look with trust to the future in relations with the Catholic Church.
What can you tell us of your stay in Vietnam?
PAROLIN: The Holy See delegation, as on previous missions, had two goals in mind: to dialogue with the government authorities so as to encourage mutual relations and deal with the questions of the relations between Church and State, and, at the same time, to meet the Catholic community. So we had the joy of meeting the President of the Episcopal Conference, the members of its Permanent Council and the bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Hanoi. We visited the dioceses of Xuan Loc and of Ban Me Thuot. Those dioceses had never been visited by previous delegations from the Holy See, and having been able to do so was, in a certain sense, a surprise. Xuan Loc, in the south, is the largest diocese in the country, where Catholics represent about thirty per cent of the population. Ban Me Thuot is in the central highlands, where two score ethnic minorities, known as “montagnards” live and where there are tensions, as is known. We received information from the local authorities on the happenings in early April. In Hanoi we celebrated holy mass at the senior seminary and with the Nuns Lovers of the Cross, and a meeting was organized with representatives of the clergy, of the religious life, of the laity and of the Catholic institutions of the archdiocese in Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh. At government level, there were two working sessions with the Office for Religious Affairs and courtesy visits to the Vice-ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the Vice-president of the Commission for Foreign Affairs of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and, during the visit to the dioceses, to the local authorities. We were received with respect, almost with cordiality, I’d say, attitudes that we always tried to reciprocate. I think the talks with the authorities of the Office for Religious Affairs were useful, even if there are questions still to be answered.
Did you manage to achieve any improvement as regards freedom of worship?
PAROLIN: Fifteen years have now passed since the first visits of the delegation from the Holy See and one can’t deny that there’s been progress. We’ve learned that in some regions the authorities have asked for the collaboration of the religious in treating AIDS patients; elsewhere permission has been given to new entries into religious institutes. These are all symptoms of a more open attitude towards the Catholic Church. Nevertheless I think there is still a long way to go. So I hope that dialogue continues and goes deeper, and that with dialogue understanding and trust grow. The Church is only asking to be able to perform its mission freely, setting itself generously at the service of the country and its inhabitants.
And on the question of government restrictions on
episcopal appointments?
PAROLIN: The Holy See delegation went to Vietnam also to discuss the appointment of bishops with the government authorities. Because of known circumstances, in Vietnam it currently follows an exceptional procedure. Obviously we nourish the hope that normalization will also be achieved in that sphere. On this recent visit there was some progress, that will be made known at the opportune moment. Other questions that deserve attention were also discussed.
Is there an episode from this trip to Vietnam that you particularly remember?
PAROLIN: I think the most moving episode occurred in Ban Me Thuot. We celebrated holy mass in the afternoon in the Bishop’s chapel and a private visit was planned the following morning to the Cathedral. Instead, on our arrival we found a church almost crowded with faithful who had come there freely when they heard of the presence of a delegation from the Holy See. It was a very intense experience, that was repeated a little later in the house of the Nuns of Mary Queen of Peace, a diocesan Congregation that works mostly with the “montagnards”. I must say, however, that all the meetings with the Church were marked by enthusiasm, deep spirituality, an atmosphere of intense ecclesial communion and feelings of attachment, devotion and fidelity to the Successor of Peter: something the delegation had the joy of passing on to the Holy Father on its return to Rome.
Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man welcomed in Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh on his return to the country, immediately after being made cardinal by John Paul II during the Consistory of 21 October 2003
The new Cardinal Pham Minh Man has publicly proposed to settle the question of freedom of worship by going back to what had been established by Ho Chi Minh, the founder of communist Vietnam. What do you think?
PIETRO PAROLIN: I would say that it’s a valid proposal. The cardinal has acted with reasonableness and his initiative deserves support. We can’t but hope they will be willing to return to the spirit that animated Ho Chi Minh, who – in the famous ordinance 234 of 1955 – set no restrictions on the Church in the appointment of bishops, access to seminaries or the activities of religious congregations. And for that matter, we several times heard mention in the official talks of a recent resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, in which Vietnamese Catholic are defined as «full citizens» and the government’s desire «to respond to the spiritual demands of that part of the population that professes a religious faith» is assured. This position of the Communist Party must certainly be given a positive welcome. Another notion that came up on different occasions as expression of the wishes of our Vietnamese counterparts was that it’s time now to leave the past behind and look with trust to the future in relations with the Catholic Church.
What can you tell us of your stay in Vietnam?
PAROLIN: The Holy See delegation, as on previous missions, had two goals in mind: to dialogue with the government authorities so as to encourage mutual relations and deal with the questions of the relations between Church and State, and, at the same time, to meet the Catholic community. So we had the joy of meeting the President of the Episcopal Conference, the members of its Permanent Council and the bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Hanoi. We visited the dioceses of Xuan Loc and of Ban Me Thuot. Those dioceses had never been visited by previous delegations from the Holy See, and having been able to do so was, in a certain sense, a surprise. Xuan Loc, in the south, is the largest diocese in the country, where Catholics represent about thirty per cent of the population. Ban Me Thuot is in the central highlands, where two score ethnic minorities, known as “montagnards” live and where there are tensions, as is known. We received information from the local authorities on the happenings in early April. In Hanoi we celebrated holy mass at the senior seminary and with the Nuns Lovers of the Cross, and a meeting was organized with representatives of the clergy, of the religious life, of the laity and of the Catholic institutions of the archdiocese in Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh. At government level, there were two working sessions with the Office for Religious Affairs and courtesy visits to the Vice-ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the Vice-president of the Commission for Foreign Affairs of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and, during the visit to the dioceses, to the local authorities. We were received with respect, almost with cordiality, I’d say, attitudes that we always tried to reciprocate. I think the talks with the authorities of the Office for Religious Affairs were useful, even if there are questions still to be answered.
Did you manage to achieve any improvement as regards freedom of worship?
PAROLIN: Fifteen years have now passed since the first visits of the delegation from the Holy See and one can’t deny that there’s been progress. We’ve learned that in some regions the authorities have asked for the collaboration of the religious in treating AIDS patients; elsewhere permission has been given to new entries into religious institutes. These are all symptoms of a more open attitude towards the Catholic Church. Nevertheless I think there is still a long way to go. So I hope that dialogue continues and goes deeper, and that with dialogue understanding and trust grow. The Church is only asking to be able to perform its mission freely, setting itself generously at the service of the country and its inhabitants.
A priest blessing a group of Vietnamese pilgrims near the sanctuary of Our Lady of La Vang, in the province of Quang Tri
PAROLIN: The Holy See delegation went to Vietnam also to discuss the appointment of bishops with the government authorities. Because of known circumstances, in Vietnam it currently follows an exceptional procedure. Obviously we nourish the hope that normalization will also be achieved in that sphere. On this recent visit there was some progress, that will be made known at the opportune moment. Other questions that deserve attention were also discussed.
Is there an episode from this trip to Vietnam that you particularly remember?
PAROLIN: I think the most moving episode occurred in Ban Me Thuot. We celebrated holy mass in the afternoon in the Bishop’s chapel and a private visit was planned the following morning to the Cathedral. Instead, on our arrival we found a church almost crowded with faithful who had come there freely when they heard of the presence of a delegation from the Holy See. It was a very intense experience, that was repeated a little later in the house of the Nuns of Mary Queen of Peace, a diocesan Congregation that works mostly with the “montagnards”. I must say, however, that all the meetings with the Church were marked by enthusiasm, deep spirituality, an atmosphere of intense ecclesial communion and feelings of attachment, devotion and fidelity to the Successor of Peter: something the delegation had the joy of passing on to the Holy Father on its return to Rome.
