CATHOLIC COMMUNITIES ALONG ROUTE ONE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 002949 SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND DRL/RF E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2006 TAGS: PHUM SOCI PREL VM RELFREE HUMANR ETMIN SUBJECT: CATHOLIC COMMUNITIES ALONG ROUTE ONE ¶1. (U) CLASSIFIED BY ROBERT C. PORTER, JR., CHARGE D'AFFAIRES, A.I., REASON: 1.5 (D) ¶2. (C) SUMMARY. EVIDENCE OF CATHOLIC LIFE ALONG ROUTE ONE BETWEEN HO CHI MINH CITY AND HANOI IS ABUNDANT IN MANY SOUTHERN AND CENTRAL LOCATIONS BUT TENDS TO DIMINISH FARTHER NORTH. BISHOPS AND PRIESTS REPORT OFTEN THRIVING CONGREGATIONS BUT LAMENT INSUFFICIENT NUMBERS OF PRIESTS. UNOFFICIALLY-RECOGNIZED NUNS IN CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 HANOI 02949 01 OF 03 130701Z DANANG RUN A CENTER FOR HANDICAPPED CHILDREN AND A PRE- SCHOOL PROGRAM, FINANCED IN PART BY EXPORTS OF HANDICRAFTS. SOME CATHOLIC LEADERS INDICATED THAT FATHER NGUYEN VAN LY HAD BEEN ASKING FOR TROUBLE IN THE RUN-UP TO HIS ARREST AND LENGTHY SENTENCE, BUT EXPRESSED REGRET THAT GVN AUTHORITIES WOULD NOT PERMIT PRISON VISITS BY CATHOLIC CLERGY. END SUMMARY. ¶3. (U) DURING OCTOBER 25-NOVEMBER 2 TRAVEL BY EMBASSY VEHICLE BETWEEN HO CHI MINH CITY AND HANOI (SEPTELS FOCUS ON DISCUSSIONS WITH PROVINCIAL OFFICIALS),POL/C AND POL FSN MADE NUMEROUS IMPROMPTU VISITS TO CATHOLIC CHURCHES ALONG THE ROADSIDE, AS WELL AS STOPS AT SOME PROTESTANT CHURCHES AND BUDDHIST TEMPLES. PRIESTS AND BISHOPS SEEMED HAPPY TO SIT DOWN AND DISCUSS LOCAL CONDITIONS; WHEN CLERICS WERE NOT PRESENT, POL/C TALKED WITH PARISHIONERS ABOUT PARISH ACTIVITIES AND CONCERNS. BIEN HOA: CATHOLIC CENTRAL -------------- ¶4. (U) BIEN HOA PROVINCIAL CAPITAL DONG NAI IS ABOUT 45 KILOMETERS NORTH OF HO CHI MINH CITY ALONG ROUTE ONE AND HOME TO MANY OF THE CATHOLIC REFUGEES WHO LEFT THE NORTH IN 1954. FOR MILES ALONG THE HIGHWAY, CATHOLIC CHURCHES LINE THE HIGHWAY EVERY COUPLE HUNDRED FEET. MANY OF THESE OFTEN LARGE AND STUNNING CHURCHES WERE REBUILT IN THE 1990S WHEN IT BECAME EASIER FOR FAMILIES AND FRIENDS OVERSEAS TO SEND MONEY TOWARD THE REPLACEMENT AND/OR EXPANSION OF EARLIER CHURCH CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 HANOI 02949 01 OF 03 130701Z BUILDINGS. MANY IF NOT MOST OF THESE PARISHES REMAIN BASED ON ORIGINAL PARISH MEMBERSHIP IN THE NORTH AND RETAIN SOME LINKS WITH THEIR ORIGINAL PARISH. ¶5. (SBU) TAN TINH PARISH, FOR EXAMPLE, NOW BOASTS A STUNNING TWO YEAR OLD HEXAGONAL CHURCH, REPORTEDLY BUILT AT A COST OF USD 500,000 AND CAPABLE OF SEATING OVER 1,000 PEOPLE. AT LEAST 200 PEOPLE ATTEND THE DAILY 5 A.M. MASSES, ACCORDING TO PARISHIONERS. ONLY ONE PRIEST SERVES THIS ACTIVE PARISH, HOWEVER. SAI QUAT PARISH, WHOSE 4,000 MEMBERS COME MOSTLY FROM THAI BINH PROVINCE, ALSO HAVE ABOUT 200 PEOPLE FOR EARLY MORNING DAILY MASS AND AT LEAST 1,000 CHILDREN STUDYING CATECHISM. ITS PRIEST CLAIMED THAT BIBLES AND TEACHING MATERIALS WERE SUFFICIENT BUT THAT CLASSROOM SPACE WAS NOT. MONEY FROM OVERSEAS WAS ALSO RESPONSIBLE FOR ITS REBUILDING; THE PRIEST SAID THAT THE CHURCH WAS NOW ABLE TO OFFER SOME FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO THE ORIGINAL PARISH IN THE NORTH. ¶6. (C) NEARBY THACH LAM PARISH STEMS FROM THE 1954 EXODUS FROM NAM BINH AND NOW HAS A SEATING CAPACITY FOR OVER 1,000 PEOPLE ON ITS ELABORATE GRANITE BENCHES (A LOCAL SPECIALITY). IT, TOO, HAS OVER "HUNDREDS" OF CATECHISM STUDENTS BUT ONLY ONE PRIEST. CARPENTERS WERE BUSY BUILDING ADDITIONAL WOODEN BENCHES FOR THE OVERFLOW CROWDS WHO MUST SIT OUTSIDE DURING THE MORE CROWDED SUNDAY MASSES. LAC HOA PARISHIONERS ARE MOSTLY NATIVES OF THAI BINH PROVINCE; THE FRENCH-SPEAKING PRIEST CLAIMED THAT ABOUT 1,000 OF ITS 5,000 MEMBERS TURN UP FOR EARLY MORNING MASS EVERY DAY. HE IS CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 HANOI 02949 01 OF 03 130701Z ASSISTED BY A YOUNGER CURATE WHO, BOTH PRIESTS SAID, HAD NOT BEEN ALLOWED BY THE GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE ON RELIGION TO BECOME A PRIEST OFFICIALLY FOLLOWING SEMINARY. IT OFFERS CATECHISM CLASSES TO ABOUT 1,000 STUDENTS. NEW MEMBERS TEND TO BE ONLY THOSE WHO MARRY INTO CATHOLIC FAMILIES; THE PRIEST SAID THAT THERE WERE FEW EXAMPLES OF VIETNAMESE HAVING BEEN CONVERTED BY FRIENDS. NORTHWARD -------------- ¶7. (C) THUAN DIEN PARISH LIES IN NINH THUAN PROVINCE NORTH OF PHAN THIET. IT HOSTS TWO CHURCHES WITH TOTAL MEMBERSHIP OF ABOUT 2,000 SERVED BY TWO PRIESTS. ABOUT 200 PEOPLE COME FOR MORNING MASSES, AND IT OFFERS BIBLE CLASSES TWICE A WEEK FOR CHILDREN UNDER 16. HO DIEN CHURCH, ALSO IN NINH THUAN PROVINCE, BOASTS A BEAUTIFUL 100-YEAR OLD CHURCH BUILDING THAT WAS RECENTLY RENOVATED. ONE OF ITS TWO PRIESTS BEMOANED THE FRUSTRATIONS THE PARISH HAD FACED IN OBTAINING PERMISSION FROM LOCAL AUTHORITIES FOR EVERY STEP OF THE RECONSTRUCTION. HE ALSO POINTED TO AN ADJACENT LARGE SCHOOL BUILDING AND EXPLAINED THAT IT HAD BEEN TAKEN OVER BY THE STATE IN 1975. CHURCH AUTHORITIES ARE STILL IN TOUCH WITH THE LAST FRENCH PRIEST WHO SERVED THIS PARISH, HE ADDED. ABOUT 400 CHILDREN ATTEND CATECHISM CLASSES BUT CLASSROOM SPACE IS A CONSTRAINT. CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 HANOI 02949 02 OF 03 130702Z ¶8. (U) BEYOND DANANG, CHURCH BUILDINGS ARE NOTICEABLY FEWER ALONG ROUTE ONE. LOCAL AUTHORITIES CLAIMED IN SOME PLACES INCLUDING QUANG NAM AND QUANG TRI PROVINCES THAT U.S. BOMBING HAD DESTROYED EARLIER CHURCHES. THE CHURCH AT LA VANG IN QUANG TRI, WHERE UP TO 100,000 CATHOLICS GATHER EVERY THREE YEARS TO COMMEMORATE THE APPEARANCE OF THE VIRGIN MARY, IS ONE SUCH BOMBED OUT CHURCH. ANOTHER EDIFICE REMAINS IN RUINS ALONG THE RIVER IN DOWNTOWN DONG HAI, CAPITAL OF QUANG BINH PROVINCE, ALTHOUGH POL/C WAS UNABLE TO CONFIRM HOW IT WAS DESTROYED. NOT UNTIL PHAT DIEM DISTRICT IN NINH BINH PROVINCE (SEPTEL) IN THE NORTH DOES THERE APPEAR TO BE ANY MAJOR CONCENTRATION OF CATHOLIC CHURCHES AND COMMUNITIES. DANANG -------------- ¶9. (SBU) OVER 80 CATHOLIC NUNS HAVE SINCE 1993 BEEN RUNNING A CENTER FOR OVER 100 HANDICAPPED YOUTH NEXT DOOR TO THE 75-YEAR OLD PINK CATHEDRAL IN DOWNTOWN DANANG. SEVERAL SISTERS EXPLAINED THAT THEIR ORDER ALSO OPERATES 46 "HOUSES" FOR HANDICAPPED CHILDREN, LEPERS, AND OTHER DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN NATIONWIDE, INCLUDING IN MINORITY AREAS OF BAN ME THUOT, KON TUM, AND GIA LAI. THEY ASSERTED THAT THE STATE RUNS NO SUCH SCHOOLS OR CENTERS ANYWHERE IN THE COUNTRY. THEY ALSO PROVIDE A CENTER FOR MORE THAN 600 PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN, MOSTLY FROM FAMILIES WITH TWO WORKING PARENTS. THEY RECEIVE NO ASSISTANCE FROM THE GOVERNMENT AND MAINTAIN THEMSELVES PRIMARILY BY CONTRIBUTIONS FROM OVERSEAS AND CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 HANOI 02949 02 OF 03 130702Z SALES (MOSTLY EXPORT) OF EMBROIDERY. ¶10. (C). SEVERAL SISTERS ASSERTED THAT THE STATE DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THEIR RELIGIOUS STATUS OFFICIALLY. MANY HAD TAKEN THEIR VOWS BEFORE 1975; THEY CLAIMED THAT NO ONE HAS BEEN ALLOWED OFFICIALLY TO BECOME A NUN SINCE THEN. NEW SISTERS HAVE JOINED "SECRETLY" BUT THE CONVENT HAS PREFERRED NOT TO ASK FOR PERMISSION DUE TO THEIR CONVICTION THE STATE WOULD REFUSE. THE LOCAL COMMITTEE ON RELIGION APPEARS TO BE WELL AWARE OF THEIR EXISTENCE, HOWEVER. SISTERS DESCRIBED HOW THE COMMITTEE KEEPS A CLOSE EYE ON THEIR EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES AND HAS FORCED A CLEAR DEMARCATION -- A FENCE, SEPARATE KITCHENS -- BETWEEN THE CENTER AND THE CONVENT ITSELF. THEY NOTED THAT THEY WERE EXTREMELY CAREFUL NEVER TO DISCUSS RELIGION WITH THE CHILDREN OR TO UNDERTAKE ANY PROSELYTIZING. BISHOPS SPEAK OUT -------------- ¶11. (C) THE BISHOP OF DANANG DESCRIBED THE THREE MAJOR DIFFICULTIES FACING THE CHURCH TODAY AS SELECTION OF BISHOPS, ORDINATION OF PRIESTS, AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR TRAINING. HE CLAIMED THAT THE SITUATION WAS AT LEAST "BETTER NOW" AND NOTED THE MORE THAN 1,000 STUDENTS TAKING CATECHISM AND BIBLE CLASSES AT HIS CATHEDRAL. ONE OF THE FIVE SUNDAY SERVICES IS EXPLICITLY DIRECTED AT YOUTH GROUPS. ¶12. (C) THE BISHOP OF THANH HOA, WHO JUST STEPPED CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 04 HANOI 02949 02 OF 03 130702Z DOWN AS THE SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE OF BISHOPS, NOTED THAT THE INTEREST IN THE CHURCH WAS NOWADAYS LIMITED IN PARTICULAR DUE TO ONGOING PREOCCUPATION WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND STATUS, AND BY SMALLER FAMILY SIZE. PARENTS ARE LESS WILLING TO HAVE AN ONLY SON ENTER THE PRIESTHOOD, HE SAID. HE INSISTED THAT RELATIONS WITH THE GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE ON RELIGION WERE "BETTER THAN BEFORE," AND CLAIMED THAT SRV OFFICIALS WERE NOW "LESS INVOLVED" IN CHURCH AFFAIRS. HE DESCRIBED ONGOING, ACTIVE COMMUNICATION WITH THE VATICAN, BOTH BY E-MAIL AND BY TELEPHONE, AND SAID THAT THE SRV IS AWARE OF SUCH LIAISON AND RAISES NO OBJECTION. HE HIMSELF HAS BEEN TO THE VATICAN ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS, HE NOTED. ¶13. (C) THE BISHOP ADDED WITH PRIDE THAT EACH OF THE 401 CHURCHES IN HIS DIOCESE HAS ONE OR TWO PRIESTS, BUT NOTED THAT THIS NUMBER WAS CLEARLY INSUFFICIENT FOR THE SIZE OF THE MEMBERSHIP. ON SUNDAYS, HE ESTIMATED THAT 1500 PEOPLE WORSHIP AT THE CATHEDRAL, WITH ABOUT 100 PEOPLE AT THE DAILY MORNING MASS. HE SAID HE REGRETTED THAT CATHOLIC CHURCHES IN MINORITY AREAS OPERATED ENTIRELY IN VIETNAMESE LANGUAGE AND THAT THERE WERE, AS OF YET, NO PRIESTS FROM AN ETHNIC MINORITY. FATHER LY -------------- ¶14. (C) THE BISHOP OF DANANG SAID THAT, WHILE HE CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 02 HANOI 02949 03 OF 03 130702Z REGRETTED THE LENGTHY SENTENCE ON FATHER NGUYEN VAN LY, FATHER LY'S ACTIVITIES HAD BEEN "NOT GOOD" AND THAT HE HAD INDEED BEEN MIXING POLITICS AND RELIGION IN WAYS AGAINST WHICH HE HAD BEEN WARNED. THE BISHOP OF THANH HOA CALLED FATHER LY'S CASE "COMPLICATED" AND SAID THAT HE BELIEVED THAT FATHER LY'S GREATEST "CRIME" HAD BEEN TO ADVOCATE A "MULTI-PARTY" SYSTEM. HE CLAIMED THAT FATHER LY HAD "PUSHED" TOO HARD AND HAD FAILED TO ACCEPT DISCIPLINE EITHER FROM THE CHURCH OR FROM THE STATE AND HAD CONTINUED TO ADVOCATE "PERSONAL" VIEWS. ¶15. (C) THE BISHOP OF THANH HOA NONETHELESS EXPRESSED A HOPE THAT FATHER LY WOULD DEMONSTRATE A "GOOD ATTITUDE" IN PRISON AND NOT HAVE TO SERVE THE ENTIRE SENTENCE. HE CONFIRMED, HOWEVER, THAT PRIESTS AND MINISTERS WERE BARRED FROM MAKING PRISON VISITS; FATHER LY WILL BE UNABLE TO MAKE A CONFESSION OR TAKE THE SACRAMENT WHILE HE IS IMPRISONED, HE NOTED. HE ADDED THAT THE CHURCH HAD NOT PRESSED FOR PRISON ACCESS TO CATHOLIC PRISONERS, NOTING THAT IN SOME CASES "THE STATE STILL DOES NOT REALLY UNDERSTAND RELIGION." ¶16. (C) COMMENT: CATHOLIC AND OTHER RELIGIOUS LIFE CONTINUES TO HAVE A NOTICEABLE AND OFTEN VIBRANT PRESENCE THROUGHOUT VIETNAM, ALTHOUGH ITS VISIBILITY AND DYNAMISM IS VARIABLE. THERE APPEARS TO BE A BROAD RECOGNITION BY CATHOLICS AND OTHERS THAT THE OFFICIAL ENVIRONMENT FOR RELIGIOUS LIFE HAS IMPROVED DRAMATICALLY OVER THE PAST FIFTEEN YEARS AND THAT FEWER CONSTRAINTS NOW EXIST ON STATE-SANCTIONED SERVICES OR CONTACTS WITH RELIGIOUS ENTITIES ABROAD. CONFIDENTIAL PAGE 03 HANOI 02949 03 OF 03 130702Z PORTER CONFIDENTIAL