Church ends Jubilee wanting to "be more involved" in the life of Vietnam
Hue (AsiaNews) - The Catholic Church has brought values to Vietnamese national culture such as respect for life and human dignity, equality, charity, spirit of service and sacrifice, now at the end of its Jubilee year, it wants to be involved in building the country in all aspects: cultural, social, economic, in the practice of filial love to express gratitude to past generations and to the heroes of the people.
At the conclusion of the jubilee year celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Catholic hierarchy and the 350th of the institution of the first two Apostolic Vicariates. The year began in the parish of Kien So, in the Archdiocese of Hanoi, November 24, 2009. It was followed by the Assembly of the People of God at the archdiocese's pastoral center, 21 to 25 November 2010 andended at the National Marian Shrine of La Vang (pictured) January 4 to 6 this year .
The three final days, despite the torrential rain and cold, were attended by more than 500 thousand people, 35 Vietnamese bishops and seven from other countries, 1200 priests and a large number of catechists and volunteers.
The final message, which was presented on behalf of the Bishops Conference by Archbishop Nguyen Van Nhon, says that "the organization of the jubilee is an opportunity for the Church to relate to and learn the lesson of history: the presence of the Church, the religion of Good News, the religion of love and service. The purpose of Catholicism is to bring the message of Good News to the people and country, love of God and salvation history has shown that the charity of Catholicism meets the great humanity of Buddhism. It is the deep sentiment of religion, the practical social philosophy of Confucianism and innate honest life of the Vietnamese people, always respectful of "Troi - Phat," God and Buddhism.
The bishops assembly believe that to become truly the Church of the country, it must integrate more into the history and culture of the people. In more than 400 years of presence, it has already contributed greatly to the life and development of Vietnam. It 'was a Catholic who first transliterated the Vietnamese language in the Latin alphabet. Many talented people and scholars attended and graduated from Catholic institutions. And Catholics have brought important values to society and now want to be involved in its development.
The history of Catholicism in Vietnam shows that religious values have contributed to the culture of the country. Besides the contributions of other religions, Catholicism has borne fruit in the national culture, like language, poems, hymns, education and architecture. In particular, Catholics have participated and have worked hard to build a just and equitable society.
Today Catholics love their country and their people. It is not only a natural feeling, is a Gospel requirement. "By engaging in the construction of society, the Church does not want to take the place of government, but only wants to participate in the life of the country to serve all through dialogue, mutual respect and cooperation," said Benedict XVI to all of us. "The life of Catholics is based on love, honesty, respect for the common good."
The Pope also appointed 28 December 2010, Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, his envoy to the jubilee. During the closing ceremony of the Holy Year, the cardinal also blessed a new statue of Our Lady of La Vang and the first stone of the new sanctuary, construction of which was authorized by the government. Which was represented on the second day of the concluding celebrations, by Nguyen Thien Nhan, one of five deputy prime ministers. He stressed the significance of the jubilee for the successful organization at the sanctuary. The government press in this respect, spoke of the Holy Year and "the increased activity of the Catholic Church in Vietnam with the participation of representatives of the Churches of France, the United States, Malaysia, Italy, Republic of Korea and Canada."
In particular this year, the Vietnamese bishops have asked all the faithful to cooperate and work together in a spirit of unity and charity. However, the Vietnamese Church must create the conditions for the participation of the faithful in its mission. Catholic families are intended to support and strengthen and increase the vocation of Christian marriage, to build real domestic churches, the cradle of life, and first schools of formation.
In this regard, a number of lay faithful, during the jubilee told AsiaNews that the leaders of the Episcopal Conference, wanted to organize monumental "Hoanh trang" celebrations, but have failed to encourage pastoral work in parishes and the participation of the faithful at a grass roots level was lacking.
The end of the jubilee was a moment of hope for the love and the sanctity of all Vietnamese Catholics. As Benedict XVI said, " the works of the Good News that have been announced and started by missionaries amid many difficulties. However, the mission has also brought about rich results for our Church. The first fruits and flowers are Vietnam’s Martyr Saints, in particular Saint Dung Lac. Whilst we are happy to remember those who brought the faith to us, at the same time we want to renew and increase the number of postulants, full of enthusiastic for the promotion of missionary activity here. With Our Lady of La Vang on our side, we should go out to announce the Good News to everyone."
.png)
02/01/2023 13:29
