Archbishop
Girelli to Vietnamese: Religious freedom, a right that every nation must respect
By
Thanh Thuy - AsiaNews
08/16/2013
The non-resident representative of the Holy See has
recently visited the Asian country, encountering different communities. He
stressed the courage of the faithful, urging them to follow the example of
Abraham "who believed in the love of God." The enthusiasm of Catholics in
meeting Pope Francis’s envoy.
Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews)
- Vietnamese Catholics "are a minority" of the population, but they can make a
decisive contribution to the development of the nation by promoting "a true
freedom of religion and conscience" as well as "basic Human Rights", which every
nation in the world "has the duty to respect." This was the appeal made to the
faithful by Msgr. Leopoldo Girelli, non-resident representative of the Holy See,
in the course of a three-day visit Aug. 10 to 12. The Vatican diplomat visited
the diocese of Vinh Long (for the second time, after the first trip in October
2011), Long Xueyn and other areas of the Mekong Delta, meeting tens of thousands
of Catholics in celebrations for their meeting "with Pope Francis's envoy".
In Vinh Long, about 180 km from Ho Chi Minh City in southern Vietnam, Msgr.
Girelli visited the parish of My Thanh. The second leg of the journey was a
visit to the parish of Bo Ot in the neighboring Diocese of Long Xuyen, where he
concelebrated a Mass with the local bishop, Msgr. Joseph Tan Xuan Tieu and 30
other priests, in the presence of more than 5 thousand faithful of the area and
other neighboring parishes.
The enthusiasm of the Catholic community was great. They viewed the papal
representative's visit as a sign that "the love of Jesus in our midst." In his
homily, Msgr. Girelli invited the faithful to pray and carry out charitable
works following the example of Abraham "who obeyed the call of God."
The Holy See's non-resident representative's visit also touched on the community
of Cu Lao Gieng in the town of Gieng Isle, An Giang province, cradle of the
local Catholic community, a land of missionaries and martyrs, including St.
Peter Đoàn Công and St. Emmanuel Lê Văn Phụng. It is from these lands that the
work of evangelization of Vietnam began, a country where Catholics represent 10%
of the population and are often victims of persecution, abuses or violations of
religious freedom by the communist authorities (local or central government).
In this vein Msgr. Girelli underlined the commitment to "the promotion of a true
freedom of religion and conscience" because they are "the fundamental rights of
every human being, with which every nation in the world has a duty to comply."
The prelate also expressed admiration and pride for the development of the
Vietnamese Church and Catholic community, which has been able to "live with
courage, faith, following the example of Abraham who always believed in the love
of God."