Here is part of a wide-ranging interview with the president of the Vietnam bishops' conference published in the July issue of 30 GIORNI - the part that has to do with a possible papal visit.
Vietnam bishop 'almost sure'
the Pope will visit Vietnam next year:
Interview with Mons. Pierre Nguyen
by GIANNI VALENTE
Translated from
Pierre Nguyên Van Nhon, Bishop of the Diocese of Dà Lat, is almost sure of it: 2010 will mark the first visit to Vietnam by any Pope.
The president of the Vietnamese bishops' conference, a poised man who is not given to fatuous ecclesial speculation, lists the circumstances which, in his opinion, make a visit by Benedict XVI to his country highly probable.
"It would be good for everyone," he says. "For us Catholics who would be confirmed and comforted in our faith. But even for the government which is not opposed to such a visit. A visit by the Pope would be a sign to the world that Vietnam accepts diversity and freedom".
The formal occasion for such a visit has also been specified: 2010 will mark the 50th anniversary of teh Catholic hierarchy in Vietnam, established by John XXIII by a decree on November 24, 1960, as well as the 350th anniversary of the first two apostolic vicariates in the country.
"All of this has been discussed [presumably with the government as well - and many times over. So, God willing..."
If the Pope comes to Vietnam, what reality would he face at this moment in your history?
MONS NGUYEN: How the global economic recession weighs on the most intimate details of people's lives.
Ninety percent of Vietnamese work in the countryside, but in this economic crisis, the products of the soul no longer bring enough to live on. And so, people are leaving the countryside and flocking to the cities.
They leave their families, their affections, their habits. As emigrants, so many remain confused before the new problems they must face.
In a short period, some two million migrants have arrived in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) - among them some 100,000 Catholics - and they all feel themselves in a situation of abandonment and fragility. Many end up not going to Church any more. They find themselves unable to pray even. And that's just one of the effects of this crisis.
...
(
I will post the rest of the interview when translated in the CHURCH&VATICAN thread).
Here are details on the Vietnamese government's interest in a visit by the Pope, from Sandro Magister's recent article on the possible Vietnam visit:
Just before departing for Rome [for the Vietnamese bishops' ad limina visit last June], the archbishop of Hanoi, Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet, received a 'suggestion' to invite the Pope from Hanoi's office for religious affairs. Kiet is secretary of the Vietnamese episcopal conference.
It is likely that the official invitation will be presented to Benedict XVI by the president of Vietnam, Nguyen Minh Triet, during his audience at the Vatican next December. This will be the second time one of the country's authorities has met with the Pope since reunification under communist rule in 1975. The previous visit was made on January 25, 2007, by prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung.
Next November, moreover, a delegation will go to Rome, created by the Vietnamese government in agreement with Vatican authorities, for the express purpose of discussing the establishment of diplomatic relations.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 08/08/2009 18:34]