Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06HOCHIMINHCITY1387
2006-12-12 11:09:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Ho Chi Minh City
Cable title:  

ADDITIONAL PROGRESS ON HCMC HOUSE CHURCH REGISTRATIONS

Tags:  PGOV PREL KIRF SOCI VM 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO2585
RR RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHHM #1387 3461109
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121109Z DEC 06
FM AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1865
INFO RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE
RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH CITY 1962
UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 001387 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KIRF SOCI VM
SUBJECT: ADDITIONAL PROGRESS ON HCMC HOUSE CHURCH REGISTRATIONS

REF: DRL/IRF - CONGEN HCMC 12/10 EMAIL

UNCLAS HO CHI MINH CITY 001387

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KIRF SOCI VM
SUBJECT: ADDITIONAL PROGRESS ON HCMC HOUSE CHURCH REGISTRATIONS

REF: DRL/IRF - CONGEN HCMC 12/10 EMAIL


1. (SBU) According to data provided by the the HCMC Committee
for Religious Affairs (CRA) on December 12, over the past few
months the city's district governments have registered 66
meeting points belonging to 27 Protestant house church
organizations. Groups registered include the Pentacostals,
Jehovah's Witnesses, HCMC's five previously non-registered
Baptist organizations, Presbyterians, Methodists, Assemblies of
God and the United Gospel Outreach Church. The size of
registered congregations ranged from 10 up to 300, representing
in all approximately 5,000 worshipers. The list of
locally-registered churches includes congregations affiliated
with some of the most prominent leaders of the HCMC house church
movement: Pastor Pham Dinh Nhan of the Vietnam Evangelical
Fellowship, Pastor Ngoc Hien of the Vietnam Baptist Fellowship,
and Pastor Doan Trung Tin of Vietnam Good News Mission.


2. (SBU) Additional congregations will be registered in the
future as they step forward, HCMC CRA officials told us.
According to the CRA, after these churches demonstrate that they
are operating "stably" for some time, the parent organizations
of each denomination will be able to apply for provincial and
national-level registration. Our CRA contacts emphasized that
these registrations are in addition to the HCMC churches
affiliated with the four denominations -- Mennonite, Seventh Day
Adventist, Grace Baptist, and United World Mission Church (UWMC)
-- that already have received provincial, and in the case of the
UWMC, national, registration in 2005 and 2006.

WINNICK