Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Hanoi (Agenzia Fides) – A “great assembly of the people of God,” organized “according to the model of the Synod of Bishops” will be a central event of the Holy Year 2010, in which the Church in Vietnam, as the Bishops say, will celebrate “the 350th anniversary of the creation of the two dioceses of North and South Vietnam (1659-2009) and the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Catholic hierarchy in Vietnam.”
As Fides has learned from the local Church, the great assembly will be held in Ho Chi Min City November 21-25, 2010 and will feature the attendance of Bishops, theologians, religious, and laity from the 26 Vietnamese dioceses. The organization will be modeled after that of the Synod of Bishops. The diocese will even have a scheme (lineamenta) to reflect on and discuss. The contributions of the local communities will form a working document (Instrumentum Laboris) that will serve as a platform for discussion debate for the nearly 200 delegates called to form the great assembly of the Vietnamese Church.
The Bishops hope to have all the community participate in the challenges that the Church is called to face.
In the Pastoral Letter that the Bishops' Conference has issued, listing the pastoral proposals and organization for the Holy Year, it says that the Church is aiming towards “communion and participation.” “The communion finds its origin in the mystery of the Trinity,” which makes us “people of God, Body of Christ, Temple of the Holy Spirit.” The Bishops also highlighted that the Church is committed to carrying out her mission and contributing to the establishment of a just and fraternal society in the country.
The Jubilee will open in the Parish Church of So Kien (ad Hanoi), November 24, 2009, on the anniversary of the Vietnamese martyrs, and will conclude on the feast of the Epiphany 2011, in the Marian Shrine of La Vang. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 27/10/2009)
