Vietnamese Catholic priests and religious in America have gathered in California to share their pastoral experiences, discuss their pastoral concerns, and to pray for the Church in their homeland that has been continually facing government persecution. An U.S. Catholic delegation led by former president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has visited Vietnam.
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Vietnamese-born Bishop Dominic Mai Thanh Luong of Orange County, along with 140 Catholic priests and dozens of religious from various dioceses throughout the United States of America have chosen to meet one another in Santa Clara, North California since Monday Aug. 24 in a weeklong conference.
According to statistical figures from U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, more than half a million of the 1.3 million Vietnamese-Americans in the United States are Catholics. They include 850 priests, 70 permanent deacons and 3,000 Religious and seminarians.
Participants have been discussing on a number of current pastoral issues ranging from seeking initiatives to increase vocations, to sharing one's own experience in priesthood and religious life, how to deal with the growing rate of divorce, and factors that influence church attendance among Vietnamese Catholic youth.
The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University, which conducts an annual survey of ordination classes, reported in 2007 that one of three ordinands was born outside the US, with the largest numbers coming from Vietnam, Mexico, Poland, and the Philippines.
Right after the end of Vietnam War, vocations to priesthood and religious life have flourished among Vietnamese Catholic youths who have been able to escape the communist country. However, recent data have shown a decline rate.
At the same time, the divorce rate among Vietnamese Catholics is rising especially in inter-faith marriages of couples between the ages of 25 and 40. Among Vietnamese Catholics, divorce is uncommon, and has been viewed as a disgrace not only for the couple but also for their families.
Church attendance among youth is another problem in Vietnamese Catholic communities. Initiatives including Youth Mass in English, and education services to help children overcome language obstacles have been discussed along subtle influences of secularism.
Participants have been discussing at length the situation of the Church in their homeland. “The constant government oppression of the Church - which at times amounts to outright persecution - has caused great concerns among Vietnamese Catholic communities around the world and requires appropriate reactions,” said Fr. John Tran, a participant at the conference.
“Vietnamese police had beaten up brutally hundreds of Catholics in Tam Toa and even two priests of the Vinh diocese were beaten to half death. Facing these sorts of bad news we feel very sorrowful. We pray and discuss on what we can do to help the Church in our Mother land,” he added.
In another development, a US Catholic delegation visited Vietnam to strengthen relations between the Churches in the two countries.
Bishop William Stephen Skylstad of Spokane - a former president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops - and his delegates, arrived Vietnam on Aug. 16 after attending the 9th Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences Plenary Assembly, held Aug. 11-16 in Manila.
Cardinal Jean Baptise Pham Minh Man of Saigon Archdiocese greeted the U.S. delegates on Sunday Aug. 16 when they arrived in Vietnam. In their six-day visit which had wrapped up on Aug. 21, U.S. delegates visited Saigon Archdiocese, Hue Archdiocese and the dioceses of Da Nang and My Tho.
Especially, the delegation visited the Shrine of Our Lady of La Vang, near Hue, on Aug 20. Thirty-five local priests and 2,000 lay Catholics and Religious were at the shrine for the occasion.
Bishop Skylstad, who was accompanied by a Vietnamese-American priest Fr.Joachim Le Quang Hien and laywoman Virginia Farris, a Church worker, praised Vietnamese Catholics for being able to keep a strong faith against all odds. He proudly noted that Vietnamese Catholics in his diocese have a deep devotion to the Eucharist and the Blessed Mother.
Vietnamese-born Bishop Dominic Mai Thanh Luong of Orange County, along with 140 Catholic priests and dozens of religious from various dioceses throughout the United States of America have chosen to meet one another in Santa Clara, North California since Monday Aug. 24 in a weeklong conference.According to statistical figures from U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, more than half a million of the 1.3 million Vietnamese-Americans in the United States are Catholics. They include 850 priests, 70 permanent deacons and 3,000 Religious and seminarians.
Participants have been discussing on a number of current pastoral issues ranging from seeking initiatives to increase vocations, to sharing one's own experience in priesthood and religious life, how to deal with the growing rate of divorce, and factors that influence church attendance among Vietnamese Catholic youth.
The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) at Georgetown University, which conducts an annual survey of ordination classes, reported in 2007 that one of three ordinands was born outside the US, with the largest numbers coming from Vietnam, Mexico, Poland, and the Philippines.
Right after the end of Vietnam War, vocations to priesthood and religious life have flourished among Vietnamese Catholic youths who have been able to escape the communist country. However, recent data have shown a decline rate.
At the same time, the divorce rate among Vietnamese Catholics is rising especially in inter-faith marriages of couples between the ages of 25 and 40. Among Vietnamese Catholics, divorce is uncommon, and has been viewed as a disgrace not only for the couple but also for their families.
Church attendance among youth is another problem in Vietnamese Catholic communities. Initiatives including Youth Mass in English, and education services to help children overcome language obstacles have been discussed along subtle influences of secularism.
Participants have been discussing at length the situation of the Church in their homeland. “The constant government oppression of the Church - which at times amounts to outright persecution - has caused great concerns among Vietnamese Catholic communities around the world and requires appropriate reactions,” said Fr. John Tran, a participant at the conference.
“Vietnamese police had beaten up brutally hundreds of Catholics in Tam Toa and even two priests of the Vinh diocese were beaten to half death. Facing these sorts of bad news we feel very sorrowful. We pray and discuss on what we can do to help the Church in our Mother land,” he added.
In another development, a US Catholic delegation visited Vietnam to strengthen relations between the Churches in the two countries.
Bishop William Stephen Skylstad of Spokane - a former president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops - and his delegates, arrived Vietnam on Aug. 16 after attending the 9th Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences Plenary Assembly, held Aug. 11-16 in Manila.
Cardinal Jean Baptise Pham Minh Man of Saigon Archdiocese greeted the U.S. delegates on Sunday Aug. 16 when they arrived in Vietnam. In their six-day visit which had wrapped up on Aug. 21, U.S. delegates visited Saigon Archdiocese, Hue Archdiocese and the dioceses of Da Nang and My Tho.
Especially, the delegation visited the Shrine of Our Lady of La Vang, near Hue, on Aug 20. Thirty-five local priests and 2,000 lay Catholics and Religious were at the shrine for the occasion.
Bishop Skylstad, who was accompanied by a Vietnamese-American priest Fr.Joachim Le Quang Hien and laywoman Virginia Farris, a Church worker, praised Vietnamese Catholics for being able to keep a strong faith against all odds. He proudly noted that Vietnamese Catholics in his diocese have a deep devotion to the Eucharist and the Blessed Mother.