New Thanh Hoa bishop begins his mission among the poor
Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews/UCAN) He was poor and homeless, tilled the soil and spent time in jail. These are but a few of details in the résumé of the new bishop of Thanh Hoa, northern Vietnam. No one was surprised then when he announced he would start his mission among the poor.
On June 12, Joseph Nguyen Chi Linh, 55, was appointed bishop of Thanh Hoa replacing Bishop Bartholomew Nguyen Son Lam who died in June 2003. The appointment follows negotiations in April of this year between a Vatican delegation and the Vietnamese government. His term of office will begin on August 4, yet he has already set out the main goals of his ministry.
His past experiences taught him what poverty means and brought him closer to the sufferings of the poorest of the poor. With such a background the pastoral programme of the bishop-designate is already cut out for him.
"Linh has had a hard life. Even before entering the priesthood he experienced the same hardships the poor face every day. Working in rice paddies, homelessness, prison," said his close fried André Nguyen Huu Nghia; same story from Father Joseph Ngo Manh Diep, former pastor of Song My parish where Bishop-designate Linh served before he was ordained. Father Diep said that, his "former assistant knew how to work with the poor and earn their trust." According to him, Linh has the gift of making others see the positive side of even the most difficult situations and thus make them more bearable. "I am certain the bishop-designate will contribute to the growth and development of Thanh Hoa diocese."
The diocese's geographic location makes solidarity with the poor unavoidable. Thanh Hoa (180 km south of Hanoi) is the most densely populated province of Vietnam after Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and one of the poorest. It has more than 125,000 Catholics, mostly peasant farmers and small-scale merchants with little education.
In an interview in last month issue of the Catholic weekly Cong giao va Dan Toc (Catholicism and the Nation), Linh said he wanted to follow the path set by his predecessor in the area of education for the clergy and laity. He added that there was the need to encourage the spirit of charity among the faithful for "only love can generate the enthusiasm and spiritual strength necessary to cope with life's hardships." Furthermore, he said he dreamt of the day when the diocese will be like "a large, close-knit family" in which Catholics join with others to build a better future. Given his background many trust that his words will become deeds.
Joseph Nguyen Chi Linh was born on November 22, 1949, in Thanh Hoa. In 1954 his family fled North Vietnam for the South following the communist takeover. After completing his studies at Stella Maris Minor Seminary in Nha Trang (1,280 km south of Hanoi), he attended Pius X Pontifical College in Da Lat from 1970 to 1977. He was ordained in 1992. In 1995 he went abroad to study and in 2003 graduated from the Institut catholique de Paris. He has been teaching at Nha Trang Major Seminary ever since.
According to Church data, Thanh Hoa diocese has 125,697 Catholics in a total population of 3,467,609. It has 46 parishes, 51 priests, 148 nuns, 45 major seminarians and 668 catechists. (MA)
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