Lent of prayer and solidarity with Catholic and non-Catholic poor in Bùi Chu
Hanoi (AsiaNews) - Lent has been a time for initiatives in favour of the poor, the marginalised and the unfortunate in the Diocese of Bui Chu, in the province of Nam Dinh, one of the first in northern Vietnam to experience evangelisation in the past.
The province includes 13 districts and 700 parishes and is home to about 400,000 Catholics, who represent almost 21 per cent of the area's population.
During recent weeks, youth groups and students also organised prayers and fasting in preparation for Easter as well as special gatherings and spiritual retreats for the less fortunate and social activities for marginalised people.
Organised by priests and faithful, the various activities included meetings of missionary activity aimed in particular at the catechumens who on 20 April 20, Easter Sunday, will be baptised.
Responding with enthusiasm to Pope Francis' call, Caritas volunteers took part in charity work dedicated to the poor.
More than 500 people benefitted from the various initiatives without distinction of religion, Catholic and not Catholic, all victims of discrimination and living on the edge of society.
In association with diocesan Caritas director Fr Joseph Tran Hung Đạo, Mgr Tôma Aquinô Vũ Đình Hiệu, bishop of Bùi Chu and president of the Commission for Social Activities Caritas Vietnam, closely followed all the initiatives.
Accompanied by a group of nuns, the prelate visited in person the poorest parishes and shelters in five districts.
Mary Nguyen Thi Hanh, a mother of two born in 1989, is among the many people who received comfort and help.
Through the local Church, she was able to overcome a serious illness and now wants to "turn her thoughts to the priests and nuns who were near me and helped me and my family in difficult circumstances."
Ms Vũ Thi Xước, a 75-year-old atheist woman, is grateful towards "religion" for the support she received when she was in economic hardship. "Even if they are small gifts," she told AsiaNews, "they are signs of God's love and respect for the faithful. And they are a great source of warmth to my heart."
In this context, the youth of the diocese, who are in Hanoi to study, organised a pilgrimage and a spiritual retreat at Châu Sơn monastery in order to reflect on the values of prayer and penance and prepare for Holy Week and Easter.
"We felt the warmth and guidance of the Good Shepherd," a student said as he spoke about Mgr Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet, archbishop emeritus of Hanoi. "We shall never forget to pray for him and for the Church during this Lent season."
Vietnam's 87 million people include 48 per cent Buddhists, more than 7 per cent Catholics, 5.6 per cent syncretistic and 20 per cent atheist.
As a small, albeit significant minority, the Christian community is particularly active in education, health and social affairs.
Conversely, religious freedom has steadily eroded. Under Decree 92, more controls and restrictions have been imposed on religious practice, increasingly under the thumb of the Communist Party and the one-party state.
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24/10/2019 17:56
05/01/2007
