Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Hanoi (Agenzia Fides) – Putting God back at the centre of the family, always a privileged place for encountering the Lord and handing on the faith: this is the recurrent theme in Lenten Pastoral Letters issued by Catholic Bishops in Vietnam.
Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quan Kiet of Hanoi, urged the faithful to take the opportunity of the special graces offered in the season of Lent, and to “live forgiveness and reconciliation in the family ”, rebuilding relations on reciprocal love and respect, fostering harmony and living in a spirit of humility, prayer and penance.
Also Bishop Paul Bui Van Doc, Bishop of My Tho, in his Letter for Lent, encouraged the faithful to “strengthen family ties”, with family prayer, and reading, reflection and sharing the Word of God . Bishop Paul urged the faithful to pray in families especially for the Church, for the country and for the whole world, in the grip of economic crisis.
For his part, the Bishop of Vinh, Bishop Paul Cao Dinh Thuyen, called every Christian family to live in a spirit of poverty and to perform works of charity which render open up family so it goes beyond the domestic walls, showing solidarity and reaching out to all in need.
Reducing consumption, individual responsibility and charity in every family nucleus, was the theme of the Lenten Letter written by Cardinal Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man, Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh, who announced the imminent creation of new Fund for the Jubilee which the Church in Vietnam is preparing to celebrate in 2010, the year of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the first Apostolic Vicariates in the country and the establishment of the Catholic Hierarchy in Vietnam
The Cardinal also stressed the important role of the family in handing on the faith and witnessing by living Gospel values and decisions, ensuring religious education for children who, in the family, learn the basic contents of the faith, how to pray and how to love Jesus Christ and the Gospel.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 6/3/2009 righe 27 parole 275)
