Vietnam: 'Patriotic Church' sends Government printed Christmas cards

Published by the government press, the message is intended to show the supremacy of pro-government Catholics over the faithful Church. The deputy chairman of the "Vietnam Committee for Catholic Solidarity", is a priest with a partner and two children. The Redemptorists protest against the authorities taking possession of a monastery in Dalat.

P>HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (AsiaNews) - Christmas cards, printed by the government press, but allegedly signed on behalf of the Catholic Church, is only the latest initiative of the "Vietnam Committee for Catholic Solidarity ", a Vietnamese copy of the Chinese patriotic Catholics, who since 1955 - indeed with very poor results - have been trying to build a "national" church in Vietnam.

Following upon the Eighth Assembly of the meeting of government selected representatives of Chinese Catholics, Hanoi is trying a new move to gain control over the Church. The cards and letter were signed "The Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics and the Catholic Church in Vietnam". It has succeeded in creating great concern among Catholics faithful to Rome.

In Vietnamese culture and language there is a particular sensitivity to the order in which persons or entities are mentioned in a sentence, as if it accurately reflects their respective levels or importance or respect within the community. In some cases it can also be seen as a reflection of the "master-servant" relationship. For this reason, for attentive Catholic activists, the text of the letter and the fact that it was first published on 19 December, by An Ninh Thu Do, the police newspaper, indicates a new wave of attempts by the government of Hanoi to realize its everlasting burning desire to control the Catholic Church.

In the meantime, attacks against religious communities continue relentlessly. A protest letter by Father Joseph Dinh Huu Thoai, head of the Secretariat of the Redemptorist province, published December 20, complains that their monastery in Dalat in the Central Highlands, was confiscated by the authorities of the province of Lam Dong to be transformed in an institution for biological studies. This, points out the religious, violates Section 5 of Article 25 of the law on land and violates our rights.

Taken decades ago by government authorities, the monastery, like other church property whose ownership is in dispute, had been maintained without any alterations being carried out. The decision to knock it down was unexpected. The Redemptorists, in all likelihood, are participating in the campaign against the government's decision to the exploit bauxite deposits in the Central Highlands. Signed by over two thousand intellectuals, the challenge to the project shows that, contrary to claims by the government, there exists no mine in the world that can ensure against environmental damage and acid erosion.

"All over the world - writes father Huu Thoai - people are preparing to celebrate Christmas, here in Vietnam we are still on Good Friday, before the Passion."

The "extraordinarily good" treatment reserved for "patriotic" Catholics further underlines the governments oppressive propaganda policy. And the patriotic church ecclesiastical authorities appear tolerant of behaviour that violates the unity of the Church, even when it violates canon law.

So it is with father Phan Khac Tu, vice chairman of the Solidarity Committee and editor of "Catholics and People". It is a magazine founded in 1975 under the impetus of the government which is known for its harsh and frequent attacks against John Paul II and the Vatican. Father Tu is a member of the Communist Party. He is the pastor of the Vietnamese Martyrs Church of Vuon Xoai, one of the largest in Ho Chi Minh City. He is also the father of two children and has a female companion who, it is said, has publicly confirmed the their relationship.

Some have explained his "exemption" from celibacy as "a price that the Church must pay to have a positive 'dialogue' with government", others as a typical example of Party control over the Church. The latter is reminiscent of a phrase of Cardinal Zen: "we all know that the Communists crush those who are weak, while they sometimes change their attitude towards those who are steadfast".

(written with the collaboration of  Joseph Dang).