An official explanation from the Holy See on the new Hanoi Coadjutor appointment is badly needed for the sake of the unity and credibility of the Church to be restored, a survey among Catholics in Hanoi and Saigon has revealed.
The trust and confidence in the Holy See among the Vietnamese faithful has become shrouded with doubts by the way Vatican has been handling disputes between Vietnamese Catholics and the communist government in the recent past.
A widespread sense of disappointment among the Catholics in the country is that the Holy See has not consistently acted in the interest of the oppressed and the voiceless, with the Catholics among them. Also prevalent among Catholics is the anxiety about the Vatican now seems to be willing to sacrify the aspiration of the faithful for the overdue diplomatic progress to be well in its way.
These are the conclusions from the most recent survey among the clergy and faithful in Hanoi and Saigon conducted by VietCatholic News.
On Jan. 31, 2008, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, wrote to Hanoi Archbishop, urging the prelate to cease the protest at Hanoi nunciature in order to avoid confrontations with the communist government, pledging to press the Vietnamese government for return of the building.
A few months later, on 18 Sep. 2008 the Vietnamese government betrayed its words by converting the building into a park, and besieging the prelate’s residence. Immediately after the event, Hanoi Archbishop was singled out as a lone victim in a smearing campaign on state media which had lasted for almost a year.
Many Catholics in the capital city have complained that both the promise of communists to return the building and the pledge from the Vatican to press the Vietnam government to keep its words turned out to be “hollow” ones.
The new Hanoi Coadjutor appointment seems to make things more painful as many see the move as evidence that the Holy See is walking to the Vietnam government's drum beats in the plan of the regime to kick Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet out of Hanoi.
In fact, on April 6th, during a meeting with State media executives in Hanoi, Do Quy Doan, Vice Minister of Information and Communications Ministry reportedly said that “The hard headed Ngo Quang Kiet had been well handled through diplomatic means.” He then instructed all state media outlets: “When his transfer being underway, the media are not to publish anything as if it's a Catholics' internal affair.”
A day later, Doan’s statements and the details of the plan “to kick Kiet out of Hanoi” started circulating on the cyberspace.
On April 9th, Radio Free Asia interviewed Fr. Matthew Vu Khoi Phung, the Hanoi Redemptorist Superior. The Superior confirmed that he had heard about the plan expressing his “great concerns” because “Hanoi authorities have repeatedly demanded the transfer of the archbishop”, he said.
The wave of reports on the plan soon resulted in a great amount of heated debates and emotionally charged comments regarding the role of Vatican and the Vietnamese Episcopal Conference in the process to remove Archbishop Joseph Ngo from his post.
When Vietnamese sites had been flooded with harsh comments against the Vatican, Catholic sites with a long tradition of defending the Holy See’s stance, in an effort to calm down the public frenzy and avoid further damage for the Church, started a campaign to explain the process for selecting and appointing a bishop, assuring their readers that such a plan of Hanoi for the removal of the prelate could not be carried out.
Despite their assurance, just a few days later, on April 22, the Holy See publicly announced the new Hanoi Coadjutor appointment exactly as in the road map of the leaked-out plan. This somehow has discredited these Catholic media outlets on the matter. They have suddenly found themselves between a rock and a hard place, being victimized by their own effort to be both informative and loyal to the Church.
“Right now, it’s really a huge challenge to be able to ease people’s concerns and gain back their trust without being scrutinized by wise critics. It will take time and Church leaders’ sincere effort to restore what's left of people's confidence in the Church,” admitted Fr. John Tran, director of VietCatholic News.
Despite repeated statements by Archbishop Kiet and Hanoi Archdiocese in an effort to ease people’s concerns, Vietnamese sites including those run by Catholics have been inundated with harsh comments slashed out at the Holy See. Catholics, faithful and clergy, have expressed their feeling of “heart-broken”, "grieve beyond words", "a sense of betrayal" towards the move.
Recent moves of Hanoi have even caused more concerns. On April, 23, the “Cong An Nhan Dan (People’s Police)” Newspaper accused Catholic faithful of Thai Ha parish of “disrupting public order” and “fighting against each other”. In an article titled “After Archbishop Joseph Ngo, comes the turn of Hanoi Redemptorists” post on a site run by the Order, the Redemptorists expressed their concerns that the report was to pave the way for an imminent crackdown on them and Catholics at Thai Ha parish.
Furthermore, since the announcement of the new Hanoi Coadjutor appointment, Vietnamese sites run by Catholics have been suffered waves of denial-of-service attacks. Concerted efforts from hackers working in a state agency in Hanoi have prevented many Internet sites from functioning efficiently or at all.
Vietnamese Catholics from the beginning of the Church's history in Vietnam have consistently been proven to be extreme loyal and dedicated to the universal Church. The deaths of 117 Vietnamese martyrs spoke volume of their commitment and their absolute loyalty. However, with the trend of mistrust and doubts substantiated by suspicious actions from both the Vatican and Vietnamese Bishop Conference, a dangerous rift is being formed, and the collateral damage can be catastrophic unless actions are to be quickly taken in a sincere, positive and constructive fashion, for the interest of the Church and its faithful, not in the direction of the unjust and despotic regime of communist Vietnam, so that the blood and tears of the 117 courageous Vietnamese men and women who gave their lives defending freedom to live and worship God will not be in vain.
The trust and confidence in the Holy See among the Vietnamese faithful has become shrouded with doubts by the way Vatican has been handling disputes between Vietnamese Catholics and the communist government in the recent past.
A widespread sense of disappointment among the Catholics in the country is that the Holy See has not consistently acted in the interest of the oppressed and the voiceless, with the Catholics among them. Also prevalent among Catholics is the anxiety about the Vatican now seems to be willing to sacrify the aspiration of the faithful for the overdue diplomatic progress to be well in its way.
These are the conclusions from the most recent survey among the clergy and faithful in Hanoi and Saigon conducted by VietCatholic News.
On Jan. 31, 2008, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, wrote to Hanoi Archbishop, urging the prelate to cease the protest at Hanoi nunciature in order to avoid confrontations with the communist government, pledging to press the Vietnamese government for return of the building.
A few months later, on 18 Sep. 2008 the Vietnamese government betrayed its words by converting the building into a park, and besieging the prelate’s residence. Immediately after the event, Hanoi Archbishop was singled out as a lone victim in a smearing campaign on state media which had lasted for almost a year.
Many Catholics in the capital city have complained that both the promise of communists to return the building and the pledge from the Vatican to press the Vietnam government to keep its words turned out to be “hollow” ones.
The new Hanoi Coadjutor appointment seems to make things more painful as many see the move as evidence that the Holy See is walking to the Vietnam government's drum beats in the plan of the regime to kick Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet out of Hanoi.
In fact, on April 6th, during a meeting with State media executives in Hanoi, Do Quy Doan, Vice Minister of Information and Communications Ministry reportedly said that “The hard headed Ngo Quang Kiet had been well handled through diplomatic means.” He then instructed all state media outlets: “When his transfer being underway, the media are not to publish anything as if it's a Catholics' internal affair.”
A day later, Doan’s statements and the details of the plan “to kick Kiet out of Hanoi” started circulating on the cyberspace.
On April 9th, Radio Free Asia interviewed Fr. Matthew Vu Khoi Phung, the Hanoi Redemptorist Superior. The Superior confirmed that he had heard about the plan expressing his “great concerns” because “Hanoi authorities have repeatedly demanded the transfer of the archbishop”, he said.
The wave of reports on the plan soon resulted in a great amount of heated debates and emotionally charged comments regarding the role of Vatican and the Vietnamese Episcopal Conference in the process to remove Archbishop Joseph Ngo from his post.
When Vietnamese sites had been flooded with harsh comments against the Vatican, Catholic sites with a long tradition of defending the Holy See’s stance, in an effort to calm down the public frenzy and avoid further damage for the Church, started a campaign to explain the process for selecting and appointing a bishop, assuring their readers that such a plan of Hanoi for the removal of the prelate could not be carried out.
Despite their assurance, just a few days later, on April 22, the Holy See publicly announced the new Hanoi Coadjutor appointment exactly as in the road map of the leaked-out plan. This somehow has discredited these Catholic media outlets on the matter. They have suddenly found themselves between a rock and a hard place, being victimized by their own effort to be both informative and loyal to the Church.
“Right now, it’s really a huge challenge to be able to ease people’s concerns and gain back their trust without being scrutinized by wise critics. It will take time and Church leaders’ sincere effort to restore what's left of people's confidence in the Church,” admitted Fr. John Tran, director of VietCatholic News.
Despite repeated statements by Archbishop Kiet and Hanoi Archdiocese in an effort to ease people’s concerns, Vietnamese sites including those run by Catholics have been inundated with harsh comments slashed out at the Holy See. Catholics, faithful and clergy, have expressed their feeling of “heart-broken”, "grieve beyond words", "a sense of betrayal" towards the move.
Recent moves of Hanoi have even caused more concerns. On April, 23, the “Cong An Nhan Dan (People’s Police)” Newspaper accused Catholic faithful of Thai Ha parish of “disrupting public order” and “fighting against each other”. In an article titled “After Archbishop Joseph Ngo, comes the turn of Hanoi Redemptorists” post on a site run by the Order, the Redemptorists expressed their concerns that the report was to pave the way for an imminent crackdown on them and Catholics at Thai Ha parish.
Furthermore, since the announcement of the new Hanoi Coadjutor appointment, Vietnamese sites run by Catholics have been suffered waves of denial-of-service attacks. Concerted efforts from hackers working in a state agency in Hanoi have prevented many Internet sites from functioning efficiently or at all.
Vietnamese Catholics from the beginning of the Church's history in Vietnam have consistently been proven to be extreme loyal and dedicated to the universal Church. The deaths of 117 Vietnamese martyrs spoke volume of their commitment and their absolute loyalty. However, with the trend of mistrust and doubts substantiated by suspicious actions from both the Vatican and Vietnamese Bishop Conference, a dangerous rift is being formed, and the collateral damage can be catastrophic unless actions are to be quickly taken in a sincere, positive and constructive fashion, for the interest of the Church and its faithful, not in the direction of the unjust and despotic regime of communist Vietnam, so that the blood and tears of the 117 courageous Vietnamese men and women who gave their lives defending freedom to live and worship God will not be in vain.