A Church, that of Saigon, that is in rapid growth, more so than any other in Vietnam.
A
Church in which "generally" the government does not object to the
proposed appointment of bishops by the Vatican ("when there have been
difficulties the Vatican has had to overcome them").
A Church which no
longer has to ask permission to accept candidates for the priesthood
into the seminary – which are also growing in number - who, just as lay
people, must abandon the mentality of “self defence" which has
characterised them so far and move forward on the path of dialogue "with
all sectors of society, including the state" for service to the Gospel,
to the life of all people, Catholic or otherwise, and the country's
development.
Cardinal Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man in an interview with the
National Catholic Reporter has thus described the current reality of his
archdiocese of Saigon, and some elements of the Church of his country,
including relations with the government.
The cardinal outlines the
growth of his Church in a series of data: comparing the situation of
1998 with 2009, parishes have increased from 191 to 200, the number of
faithful from 524 281 to 662 148, priests from 244 to 318 diocesan, 169
to 327 religious, religious men and women from 2655 to 4754.
From 2007
onwards, "I no longer have to ask permission to accept new candidates
for the priesthood."
Before the seminary could count on 20 every two
years, now its entering its 20th year and there are 300 young men who
are registered on the waiting list.
"In the past 12 years, the average
number of new priests was ten. In four years, we hope that number will
become 20".
According to the Cardinal the "biggest challenge" now facing
his diocese is the "response" that families must give to the appeal
launched by the Grand Assembly of the People of God: "the renewal and
enlargement of the communion in the Church of Christ so that we can
integrate better into the social life of the people where we can live
and proclaim the gospel".
Another challenge is abortion: each year charged more than two
million abortions occur, "a scourge that undermines the moral and
cultural traditions of our people."
"Ten years after I first raised the
issue, the authorities are concerned about the problem and have warned
that this was leading us toward a catastrophe. Many organizations,
Catholic and non-Catholic, have found different ways to help women not
to resort to abortion. But now a new evil has appeared. We are finding
more and more abandoned babies. There are religious and secular
organizations that attempt to remedy the destructive consequences of a
'culture of death'. But a general mobilization is still lacking. All
elements of society must work together to find a new lifestyle. "
Formation of the laity is another essential task for Card. Pham
Minh Man.
"For 30 years after 1975, the laity have not had the
opportunity to broaden and deepen their understanding of faith and
pastoral care. In 2004 we established a pastoral centre in order to meet
these needs, especially for pastoral bodies, which do include more than
five thousand members of pastoral councils, more than five thousand
catechists, many components of the 900 choirs, of the 200 parishes and
25 apostolic organizations of the laity . Each year, six thousand people
follow the courses, classes in pastoral formation at the centre. All
this is aimed at helping the laity to engage in the growth of the Church
and renew their spiritual life, to their fullest capacity".
"I have expressed this hope - the cardinal answered
- at least twice, first to John Paul II. He asked me about
how the communists and China would look at this. The second time I
spoke to the Pope Benedict XVI. I told him a visit would bring more
stability and hope. He raised two hands in the air, inviting me to pray
and seek out God’s will. I didn’t understand in his gesture if he was
speaking about the uncertainty of his health or the world situation
today, or both?".