Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Dalat (Agenzia Fides) – It is an event that “brings hope” to the hearts of Vietnamese Catholics, opens up new perspectives, raises great expectations...The event of the meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and President of Vietnam Nguyen Minh Triet, scheduled to take place tomorrow, December 11, at the Vatican, draws attention to the Vietnamese Church that has just opened its Holy Year and that is living Advent in "joyful expectation of the Lord" as Bishop Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon of Dalat, President of the Bishops' Conference of Vietnam, tells Agenzia Fides in a recent interview.
Excellency, what are your feelings and hopes on the eve of this historic meeting?
We are Vietnamese and we are Catholics and we are proud to be so. The invitation of Cardinal Roger Ethegaray made during his historic visit to Vietnam in 1989: "Do you love Vietnam! Love the Church!" still rings in our hearts. So, today we are honored to have this meeting in the Vatican between His Holiness Benedict XVI and President Nguyen Minh-Triet. For us, this meeting is a sign of mutual respect that will enable a helpful exchange. Communication leads to a mutual understanding that can open new promises and hopes for Vietnam and for the Catholic Church.
What topics will be on the agenda?
According to information that is circulating, we know that this visit of the President to the Vatican seeks to advance the process of normalizing relations between Vietnam and the Holy See. We have no other special information on the contents of the meeting.
What does the Catholic community in Vietnam from this visit?
During the ad Limina visit of the Vietnamese Bishops in Rome last June, Benedict XVI reminded them that "a healthy collaboration between the Church and the political community is possible" and "to this regard, the Church invites all members to engage in good faith for the edification of a just, united, and fair society." In this spirit, we are praying a great deal for this visit: all Vietnamese Catholics hope that the meeting holds abundant and lasting fruits for our people and for the Catholic Church.
What is the significance of the meeting, in light of the Jubilee Year for the Church in Vietnam?
We are living this Jubilee Year, opened on November 24 with the theme: "The Church of Christ in Vietnam: mystery, communion and mission." This celebration is part of the millennial tradition of the Church and comes as a propitious time of grace, conversion, and reconciliation, in view of evangelization. We are aware that the good news has been planted by missionaries in the past centuries and that our Church was born from the blood of our ancient martyrs. Today we want to be worthy of the grace of our origins. With the Jubilee, we want to enrich ecclesial communion, to build the common good of society. Thus, we hope the meeting highlights that the Church does not intend in any way to be a substitute for responsible government. We only wish, in a spirit of respectful dialogue and cooperation, to be able to make a fair contribution to the life of the nation, serving all the people.
What is the situation of the Church in Vietnam today?
It is a community that, as Cardinal Roger Etchegaray mentioned during the opening ceremony for our Jubilee Year, lives of "reconciliation and hope." The Catholic Church in Vietnam fully shares in the fate of all our brothers and sisters in Vietnam and has one goal: to love and serve our Lord Jesus Christ, who came into the world to bring the Good News, namely that "God is our Father, God is love.”
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 10/12/2009)
