October 2002

Hello

Happy October to all my friends!

Hi, welcome to this month’s Emmaus Journey. This past month of September, three cardinals in the Church passed away, of whom Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận, the President of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, was tremendously mourned and greatly missed by the Vietnamese people in general and Vietnamese Catholics in particular. He was the first Vietnamese who held one the highest positions in the Roman Curia. He assisted the Pope in the promotion of peace and justice among peoples. He was an intelligent man, a good teacher, a popular preacher but above all, he was an authentic Christian who loves God, the Church, the Motherland, and people with his whole heart despite difficulties and challenges in life. He showed us how to live a gospel of joy and hope in the midst of sufferings. He taught us as Jesus’ followers, we have to forgive others, even our enemies. What he experienced during the thirteen years (1975-1988) in the communist prison without trial, nine of which in isolation, did not turn him into a man of anger but a man of deep faith and compassion.

His life experience and testimony of hope were recounted in several books and widely received by people: The Road of Hope (12 languages); Pilgrims on Road of Hope (4 languages); The Road of Hope in the Light of God’s Word and the Second Vatican Council (2 languages); Prayers of Hope (3 languages); Five Loaves and Two Fish (10 languages); Testimony of Hope: Spiritual Excercises to John Paul II (8 languages).

I would like to enclose here a short biography of the late beloved Cardinal Nguyễn Văn Thuận and some of his words.

Let us pray to God that through the intercession of Our Mother of Perpetual Help award him eternal rest in heaven.

Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyễn Văn Thuận was born at Phủ Cam in the Diocese of Huế, Province of Thừa Thiên, Việt Nam, on April l7, l928. He was the eldest of 8: 3 boys and 5 girls. His father, Mr. Nguyễn Văn Ấm, passed away on July 1, l993 in Sydney, Australia. His mother, née Elizabeth Ngô Ðình Thị Hiệp, was one of the daughters of the late Mr. Ngô Ðình Khả, one of the highest officials of the Imperial Court in Huế in 1930’s, and one of the younger sisters of Mr. Ngô Ðình Diệm, the late President of the South Việt Nam (1954-1963). Mrs. Ấm is now l00 years old and living in Sydney, Australia, with the rest of her family.

Cardinal Thuận was born into a family with a long Catholic tradition. His relatives were among the martyrs since l698.

From early age Fr. Thuận was brought up in a Catholic environment with deep faith, owing much to his examplary holy mother Elizabeth. Every evening she told her son stories from the Bible and those of the martyrs of Vietnam, especially of his ancestors, introduced him to the example of St Theresa of the Infant Jesus, taught him to love and forgive, and she also taught him to cherish his homeland of Vietnam.

Thuận entered the Minor Seminary in early teen, and continued his studies in philosophy and theology at the Major Seminary Kim Long at Hue. He was ordained priest on June ll, l953. In addition to his parish work at the Francis Xavier Parish, he also was chaplain to the Hue Prison and to the Pellerin (Bình Linh) school of the De La Salle Brothers, where he himself had been educated.

Later he was sent to study Canon Law at the Pontifical University Urbaniana in Rome from l956-59. He was awarded Doctor of Canon Law with High Distinction ‘maxima cum lauda’ for his thesis on ‘Military Chaplaincy in the World’. While studying in Rome, Fr. Thuan accompanied his uncle Bishop Peter Mary Ngô Ðình Thục to the audience with His Holiness Pope Pius XII.

Upon his return to Việt Nam in 1959, he was Professor and since 1962 Rector of the Minor Seminary Hoan Thiện. From l964-l967, he was also named the Vicar General of the Diocese of Huế.

On April l3, l967 Pope Paul VI named him Bishop, the first Vietnamese Bishop of Nha Trang, replacing Bishop Raymond Paul Piquet, M.E.P. (Bishop of Nha Trang from l957-l967).

He was consecrated Bishop on June 24, l967, the solemnity of St John the Baptist, at Huế by H.E. Angelo Palmas, Apostolic Delegate for Việt Nam, Laos, and Cambodia. He took as his motto: Joy and Hope (Gaudium et Spes), the title of one of the documents of the Vatican II Council.

His installation took place on July 10, l967. During his eight years in Nha Trang he spared no effort in the development of the diocese before the advent of difficult times. He focused on the training of the grassroot cadres, increasing the number of major seminarians from 42 to 147, and of minor seminarians from 200 to 500. He also organized in-service courses for priests of 6 dioceses in Central Việt Nam. He also introduced into his diocese some programs such as Development and Training of Youth Associations, the laity movement, parish associations and parish councils with training courses for the Justice and Peace Movement, Cursillos and Focolare. Bishop Thuận also founded the Community of Hope and the Lavang Community.

Bishop Thuận wrote six circular letters for the formation of his diocese:

1. Awake and Pray (1968)

2. Strong in Faith, Advance with Serenity (1969)

3. Justice and Peace (l970)

4. The Mission of Christ is also our Mission

5. Remembering 300 years (l971)

6. Holy Years of Renewal and Reconciliation (1971).

As the youngest bishop in Việt Nam then, Cardinal Thuận held various positions in the Vietnamese Episcopal Conference: Chairman of the Justice and Peace Committee, the Social Communication Committee and the Development of Vietnam Committee in charge of the charity organization COREV, to assist in the resttlement of refugees from the war areas. He was one of the founding members of the Catholic Radio Station of Asia, ‘Radio Veritas’ which was based in Manila, Philippines. He frequently attended the Asian Bishops Conference of Asia (F.A.B.C.). He was named Consultor of the Pontifical Council of the Laity from l971-l975. It was through these meetings that he had the opportunity to meet Pope John Paul II, then Archbishop of Cracow, and to learn from him of pastoral experiences during the most difficult period in Poland under the communist regime. He was also appointed Consultor, then a member of the Congregation for the Evangelization of the Peoples, and a member of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments.

On April 23, l975 Pope Paul VI named him Archbishop Coadjutor with rights of succession to the Archbishop of Saigon, and at the same time named him titular Archbishop of Vadesi. However, the Communist regime from North Việt Nam which had just succeeded in invading the South, did not approve this nomination and forced him to return to the diocese of Nha Trang, which was taken care by his successor, Bishop Paul Nguyễn Văn Hoà, the present President of the Conference of Vietnamese Catholic Bishops.

On the solemnity of Assumption, l5.8.75 he was detained and escorted to Nha Trang where he was held in house arrest at Cây Vông, but was later taken to North Việt Nam where he was imprisoned for more than 13 years, 9 of which were spent in solitary confinement at Vinh Quang (Vinh Phu) prison. Later, he was again held under house arrest at Giang-Xá. During his years of imprisonment, he wrote a book entitled ‘The Road of Hope’, the Spiritual Testimony (Will) to all the Catholic Vietnamese in Viet Nam and abroad.

On November 21, l988, Feast of the Presentation of Our Lady, he was released from detention and was ordered to live at the Archbishop House in Hà Nội, without permission to perform any pastoral work. In March l999, he was allowed to visit his aged parents in Sydney, Australia, and travel to Rome to meet the Holy Father. After that, he returned to Việt Nam.

In l99l he was allowed to travel to Rome for medical treatment but was not allowed to return. Ever since he lived in exile, though his heart was always with the Church in Viet Nam and his homeland. He spared no efforts to assist social services in Viet Nam, for example leprosariums, charitable organizations, research programs to promote the culture of Vietnam and of the Catholic Church in Viet Nam, reconstruction of churches, the training of seminarians as conditions allowed. In spite of the persecutions imposed on the Church and on himself personally, he always lived and preached forgiveness and reconciliation.

On November ll, l994 the Holy Father named him Vice President of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace, and subsequently the its President on June 24, l998 replacing Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, who had retired. He held this position until his death.

Since his release from prison, he had undergone 7 operations, 3 of which he suffered infections and was critically ill. The seccond last operation was on April l7, 2001 at the Saint Elisabeth’s Medical Center, Boston, USA, and the last operation was on May 8,2002 at the Centre of Research for Tumors in Milan, Italy.

His condition worsened at the beginning of June 2002 and received treatment at Agostino Gemelli Hospital, a teaching hospital attached to the Catholic Sacred Heart University in Rome. He was later transferred to Pio XI Hospital for further treatment.

In his life outside Vietnam, Cardinal Thuận was often invited to preach and lecture in many countries and to various audiences. He gave talks at the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris during Lent, and at various universities in the world. In Mexico, in May l998 he preached to more than 50,000 young people. On May ll, l996 he received an Honorary Doctorate at the Jesuit University in New Orleans, U.S.A. He also received other honorary titles and awards as: "Commandeur de l’Ordre National du Mérite," Embassy of France to the Holy See on June 9, l999 - Roma; Prize "Together for Peace Foundation" on December 12 2000 - Rome, Italy; Prize for Peace (SERMIG - Associazione Missionaria di giovani) on 20 October 2001 -Turin, Italy); Prize of Peace 2001, Center of Studies G. Donati, on 9 December 2001, Pistoia, Italy.

The Congregation for the Evangelization of the Peoples also entrusted him with the responsibility of visiting and overseeing the seminaries in a number of countries in Africa.

During Lent 2000 he received a special invitation from Pope John Paul II to preach the Lenten Retreat to the Curia, at the beginning of the third millenium. When the Holy Father received him in private audience after the retreat, giving him a chalice, Cardinal Thuan said: "24 years ago I said Mass with 3 drops of wine and I drop of water in the palm of my hand, I never would have thought that today the Holy Father would give me a gilded chalice. Our Lord is great indeed and so is his love."

In February 2l, 2001 he was elevated to the College of Cardinals by the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, who named him Cardinal of the Church of Santa Maria della Scala. This church is under the pastoral care of the Carmelite Fathers.

He died on September 16, 2002 in Rome. On September 20, 2002, Pope John Paul II presided and gave a homily during Cardinal Nguyễn Văn Thuận’s funeral Mass. The beloved Cardinal was buried on September 21, 2002.

(Compiled by The Coordinating Office of the Apostolate for the Vietnamese in the Diaspora.Rome)

A unique characteristic of Christian love is the love of enemies, an aspect that non-believers find inconceivable. One day in prison I was asked by a guard:

"Do you love us?"

"Yes, I love you."

"But we have kept you in prison for so many years, without a trial, without a sentence, and you love us? That’s impossible! Perhaps it’s not true!"

"I’ve been with you many years, you’ve seen it’s true."

"When you are free, won’t you send your faithful to burn our homes, to kill our families?"

"No! Even if you want to kill me, I love you."

"But why?"

"Because Jesus had taught me to love everyone, even my enemies. If I don’t, I am no longer worthy to be called a Christian."

"It’s very beautiful, but very hard to understand."

Jesus insisted on this mark of Christian love, and only with this attitude of heart can one bring true peace to the earth. "For if you love those who love you. and if you greet only your brothers and sisters. Do not even the Gentiles also do the same?. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Mt 5:46-47, 44).

"Study in order to understand. Study in order to reform. Study in order to serve. Study in order to love."

"Action without prayer is useless in the sight of God; otherwise, a robot could do more than you."

"Prayer is the foundation of the spiritual life. When you are praying, you are joined in communication with God, just as an electric light bulb glows by being connected with a generator."

"Love the Church. Obey the Church. Be loyal to the Church. Pray for the Church."

"If you want to avoid suffering, do not expect to become a saint."

"Love is not blind; it sees the weakness of the beloved and tries to shoulder his/her burdens; likewise it sees the abilities of the beloved and subtly encourage his/her potential.

"Complaining is a contagious epidemic whose symptoms are pessimism, loss of peace, doubts, and a loss of zeal which comes from being united with God."

"Do not be angry when others criticize you, but rather be thankful that they fail to mention so many other bad things about you."

"There is no such thing as an unworthy work, only an unworthy heart."