Vietnamese Communist leaders urge Catholics to join the Party arguing that it would help maintain political stability which is vital for the economic growth of the nation.
“In order to make sure the State’s management of religions is carried out effectively, we need to speed up the party membership development among Christians,” said Truong Tan Sang, a Politburo member and permanent member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee, in an urgent conference called after the bloodshed crackdown against Hmong Christians in early of May in Dien Bien.
Sang stressed in the conference held in Hanoi on May 25 that “officials at all levels must understand well the Party’s religious policies... in order to breakup all the manoeuvres of hostile forces by preventing them from profiting from matters such as religious freedom, democracy, and human rights to sabotage the Vietnamese revolution.”
Reporting the conference and echoing Sang’s instructions, in their Web site Vietnamese “State priests” in the Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics viewed “the quick growth of communist party membership among Catholics” as “the guarantee for religious activities to carry on normally”.
In recent years, the phrase “a good Catholic is also a good citizen” in Pope Benedict XVI's speech to Vietnamese bishops on their ad limina visit on June 27, 2009 has been distorted and exploited by communists in Vietnam for political gains. “A good Catholic is also a communist” seems to be the latest episode of the distortion series.
In the first seminar of the newly formed "Justice and Peace Commission" within the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam, held on May 27, at the Pastoral Centre of the Archdiocese of Saigon, 262 participants had a heated debate on the theme “a good Catholic is also a good citizen”.
“As a good Catholic, my wife and I welcomed our third child and thank God for blessing us with another wonderful child. But refusing to abort our third child is against the population policy of the State. How can I be both a good Catholic and a good citizen in this case?” asked a layman.
Participants raised their concern that in Vietnam where the Church lacks of necessary means of Communication & Media, the phrase “a good Catholic is also a good citizen” in the hands of the government can be distorted and lead to grave confusions among Catholics who have great difficulties accessing Church teachings on social issues, abortion in particular.
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| Truong Tan Sang in the conference |
Sang stressed in the conference held in Hanoi on May 25 that “officials at all levels must understand well the Party’s religious policies... in order to breakup all the manoeuvres of hostile forces by preventing them from profiting from matters such as religious freedom, democracy, and human rights to sabotage the Vietnamese revolution.”
Reporting the conference and echoing Sang’s instructions, in their Web site Vietnamese “State priests” in the Committee for Solidarity of Vietnamese Catholics viewed “the quick growth of communist party membership among Catholics” as “the guarantee for religious activities to carry on normally”.
In recent years, the phrase “a good Catholic is also a good citizen” in Pope Benedict XVI's speech to Vietnamese bishops on their ad limina visit on June 27, 2009 has been distorted and exploited by communists in Vietnam for political gains. “A good Catholic is also a communist” seems to be the latest episode of the distortion series.
In the first seminar of the newly formed "Justice and Peace Commission" within the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam, held on May 27, at the Pastoral Centre of the Archdiocese of Saigon, 262 participants had a heated debate on the theme “a good Catholic is also a good citizen”.
“As a good Catholic, my wife and I welcomed our third child and thank God for blessing us with another wonderful child. But refusing to abort our third child is against the population policy of the State. How can I be both a good Catholic and a good citizen in this case?” asked a layman.
Participants raised their concern that in Vietnam where the Church lacks of necessary means of Communication & Media, the phrase “a good Catholic is also a good citizen” in the hands of the government can be distorted and lead to grave confusions among Catholics who have great difficulties accessing Church teachings on social issues, abortion in particular.