CARDINAL MAN TALKS ABOUT LAND AND OTHER CATHOLIC CONCERNS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HO CHI MINH CITY 000503 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR EAP/MLS, DRL/IRF AND DRL/AWH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KIRF PHUM PGOV PREL SOCI VM SUBJECT: CARDINAL MAN TALKS ABOUT LAND AND OTHER CATHOLIC CONCERNS REF: A) HANOI 448 B) 07 HCMC 1221 C) 07 HCMC 844 AND PREVIOUS HO CHI MIN 00000503 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (SBU) At dinner with the Consul General on May 14, HCMC Cardinal Pham Minh Man was upbeat regarding the recent return of land at La Vang, an important pilgrimage site in Hue province. Despite this positive development, the Cardinal stressed the Church still has many outstanding property issues to resolve. Plans to open an expanded center for HIV/AIDS patients appear to be moving haltingly forward, while the Church's recently re-opened Pastoral Center in HCMC is drawing large crowds of lay people "thirsty" for Catholic instruction. The Cardinal said the June visit of a Vatican official to Hanoi will focus primarily on filling current and anticipated vacancies in the ranks of Vietnamese Bishops. End summary. Property Issues -------------- ¶2. (SBU) During his dinner with the Consul General on May 14, Cardinal Man was pleased to report that La Vang, the site of a former pilgrimage center in Hue, would be returned to the Church. The Cardinal confirmed that 21 out of 23 hectares at La Vang would be returned; the remaining two hectares had "environmental issues," according to local authorities in Hue. The Church is in the process of finalizing paperwork for the transfer of title, but plans to expand the national pilgrimage center there (the Church currently has a six-hectare plot with temporary center on the site),hopefully in time to receive thousands of delegates and pilgrims on August 28. The site is one of three key properties the Church has been pressing the GVN to return; the other two are the former residence of the Papal Nuncio in Hanoi and the Pontifical Institute in Dalat (Ref A). The Church on Social Work -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The Cardinal said their efforts to establish an HIV-AIDS center for single mothers and orphans in an outlying district of HCMC had been moving forward, albeit haltingly. The Church has been trying to expand their current HIV-AIDS work through the building of this center since December 2005, but problems with corrupt officials and slow-moving HCMC bureaucracy have plagued progress thus far (Ref B). They thought they had made a breakthrough a few months ago when they finally received the go-ahead from newly-appointed local officials of Can Gio district (after the former district leaders had been sacked for corrupt land dealings) and a decision memo authorizing the operation of the shelter made the rounds with all relevant HCMC agencies. Unfortunately, the decision now appears to be stuck in the HCMC People's Committee--specifically with a new Committee vice chairman who appears reluctant to grant permission despite the support the project has from Committee Deputy Chairman Hai. Having pushed for 2.5 years already, the church is taking this latest setback in stride and is trying to find a way forward. ¶4. (SBU) On a more positive note, the Cardinal said the Church's newly-opened pastoral center (a training facility for lay persons who will serve as deacons and in other non-ordained roles) in HCMC is bringing in thousands of HCMC residents "thirsty" for theological studies after the many years the Church was unable to provide such courses. Demand is exceeding expectations and the center is literally packed to capacity with no sign of officials interfering with those attending or otherwise discouraging Catholic studies. The Cardinal said he eventually wants to further expand the Church's education efforts with children and young people. ¶5. (SBU) The Cardinal contrasted success with the pastoral center with the church's ongoing frustration over the roadblocks they face with their social work activities. In a separate conversation, the HCMC Vicar General Huynh Cong Minh said that the Church has been allowed to carry out charitable works "illegally" by having small religious groups work without formal NGO status. A good example of this is the Mai Tam shelter for HIV-positive mothers, children and orphans run by Catholic Father Toai. While they continue to work through the red tape towards full NGO status for this any other entities, the Church also wants full management over the new HIV/AIDS Center they are trying to build and hopes this proposal will also be accepted by the GVN. Vatican Emissary Will Focus on Bishops -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The Consul General brought up a recent Catholic News article noting the upcoming visit of Vatican representative Monsignor Pietor Parolin to Hanoi in June and asked whether this was a positive sign of advancing GVN-Vatican relations. The Cardinal said Monsignor Parolin would be continuing discussions with the GVN regarding the need to appoint new bishops to current and upcoming vacancies in dioceses where bishops are HO CHI MIN 00000503 002.2 OF 002 reaching retirement age or are too ill to carry out their duties. The Vatican wanted to come in May but the Cardinal said the GVN declined because they would be tied up with Vesak Day celebrations. The Cardinal said appointing new bishops from the South has been problematic, because the GVN doesn't want "too many Southerners" filling these key leadership roles (Ref C). News From America (and a bit of humor) -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Cardinal Man will be visiting the U.S. twice during 2008, both times as part of longer international journeys. Asked about attitudes among Vietnamese Americans toward Vietnam, he replied that the majority want to rebuild links with their homeland while a small but very vocal minority remains militantly opposed to any contact with the GVN or Vietnam. The Cardinal went on to explain that during his last American trip he learned that there are three types of Vietnamese Catholic communities in the USA: Vietnamese, Vietnamese-Americans and American-Vietnamese. In Vietnamese communities, the churches are full. In Vietnamese-American communities, the churches are half full. In American-Vietnamese communities, they are ready to sell the churches. ¶8. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Hanoi. FAIRFAX