THE DIOCESE OF HUNG HOA

Canonically established in 1895 by Pope Leo XIII, Hung Hoa is geographically the largest diocese in Vietnam. Its territory covers the nine northernmost provinces of the country, which are located along the China and Laos borders. Catholics number over 200,000 among a population of 10 million. Almost all Catholics live by small-scale farming.

[Religious Vocations]

The Episcopal See has been vacant since the death of the late Ordinary, Bishop Nguyen Phung Hieu, in 1992. The diocese’s administration has been entrusted to the Reverend Dinh Tien Cung, who also serves as the rector of the Cathedral. Older clergy was trained in the Pre-Vatican II years of the 30s, 40’s and early 50s; younger ones were privately tutored in their preparation for the priesthood by local pastors during the years of oppressive Communist rule in the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.

For the first time since 1954, one priest was permitted by the government in 1995 to go abroad for studies in Canon Law in Rome. The diocese is now staffed by only 18 priests including the Episcopal Administrator despite his poor health, and a 98 year old priest who is serving as pastor in a remote and mountainous area far away from civilization.

Ten are full time pastors (acknowledged by the government). Some are responsible for several parishes serving between 15,000 to 20,000 faithful; parish boundaries encompass from a dozen to over twenty parishes and missions.

Four others are weekend pastors authorized by the government to serve in a parish on a temporary basis to be renewed every six months. They are only allowed to minister at their assigned parishes on weekends while living in the diocesan pastoral and administrative center that serves as a safe haven for the “sans abris” (homeless) clergy and seminarians.

By the conclusion of this mission, two of them had not had their temporary residency permits renewed; this means they are “jobless”. Their next good luck will have to result from “costly and laborious negotiations” between the church and local authorities. Ministry of the permanent deaconate is not customary in Vietnam.

On weekends, a pastor usually celebrates the Eucharist at about 8 of his parishes and missions, commuting from one to another on motorcycles along bumpy dirt roads and across ferries, which makes traveling arduous and time consuming. The diocese’s privately owned motorized means of transportation terminated with the departure of all Missions Estrangers de Paris priests in 1955. Priests including the bishop traveled within the diocese mostly on bicycles. The diocese received a donation of two Peugeot motorcycles from the Paris-based Missions Estrangers in 1978; three additional ones arrived from Paris in 1978. By the mid 1980s, priests were seen riding Japanese made motorcycles on their pastoral rounds.

In addition to Sunday Masses, other pastoral cares for the sick and the dying, parish organizations and overseeing repair work on century-old church buildings would take up the remainder of the pastors’ week. Catechesis to this mass of faithful is most of the time impossible. I wonder how much time they can find to prepare their homilies.

Four seminarians having completed their theological studies in June 1997 were awaiting government authorization to be ordained to the priesthood. Ten others are in either philosophy or theology studies at the seminary of Hanoi. Every two years, this seminary serving 8 dioceses in the Episcopal province of Hanoi is allowed to admit a new freshman class of about 120.

The diocese of Hung Hoa is allocated 10 slots for the upcoming freshman class in the Fall of 1998. Over 100 students are being tested to compete for these 10 slots pending government’s sanctions on each individual admission. Thirteen men are sent to the South for their philosophical and theological studies, which are “privately” arranged and taught by faculty chosen from various male religious orders in Saigon. Others are enrolled in the University of Hanoi and local community colleges. These “free standing” seminarians are partially supported by the diocese in the hope that the authorities will allow them to enter a seminary or religious institute some day in the future.

The Sisters of the Holy Cross is the only religious congregation of about 80 members in the diocese. Non-resident candidates and younger members attend local high schools or community colleges where they usually specialize in preschool, primary education and languages.

The community was founded in the early 50’s, several years prior to the communist rule in North Vietnam. Members who entered before the late 80’s had no formal education. Formation of new members is found to be challenging to the leadership and formation teams. As a result, a few have been entrusted to formation houses of other diocesan religious communities in the South; these young sisters now serve on the formation teams at their Mother house in Son Tay. Their ministries primarily consist of teaching catechism to children in parishes (without pay) and running four preschool facilities throughout the diocese. They farm for their own food supplies.

[Religious Education]

The diocese is continuously training 60 master catechists who are predominantly farmers. Their formation programs and commissioning to local parishes are planned around their times away from farming. When they are not occupied by planting or harvesting seasons, these catechists gather a few times each year for a one-week or two-week on-going catechetical formation program, followed by their commissioning to local parishes to train fellow catechists who number about one thousand throughout the diocese.

Master catechists received basic training in catechesis; everyone is acutely conscious that their knowledge base needs to be deepened and expanded. In May 97, the diocese came up with funds to pay for 12 master catechists to attend a twelve month catechetical formation program directed by a Jesuit in Saigon.

The program was tailored to meet the needs of about 40 master catechists from several dioceses in North Vietnam; by mid July the authorities discovered it and caught the whole operation in full session. Students were arrested and detained for two weeks, then released with stern warning of more severe consequences if they would commit the same offense again. The program director is still detained in jail.

Religion classes are crowded; many a time churches have no pews or kneelers, while children sit on the church floor or in the churchyard to receive instruction. For many, neither parents nor parish can afford textbooks; they therefore have to hand copy the week’s lesson to bring home. Children crawl on the floor, which serves both as seat and desk, to tackle the task of writing.

The only Catechism Text available is the one compiled by a diocese in the South; it consists of two levels (First Communion and Confirmation). Scriptures and prayer components are obviously integrated in the lesson format; however abstract concepts and language are still very evident in the Questions and Answers parts that children have to memorize. Teaching aides such as posters, pictures, or audio and video tapes are unknown to them.

Many children are not going to school, but this is not by their own choice; their parents are financially unable to pay for their tuition. Catholic families are usually large in size; feeding the whole family is a real struggle, let alone paying tuition for their primary or high school education. It is scary to see this mass of young Catholics at risk of becoming unskilled and uneducated adults in the future. It is a threat not only to their material well-being but also to their faith as well as to the church in Vietnam.

Boys aspiring to the priesthood or religious orders seem to fare better than girls. For the former, families and their pastor make coordinated efforts to financially assist them in completing their high school education, while the latter ones have less priority as they might be needed at home or in the rice field; yet admission to any woman religious congregation requires high school diploma.

[Catholic Life]

The church is the center of people’s lives even in parishes or missions where their pastors are not in residence. People gather daily for morning and evening prayer, sometimes for over one hour each. Children are required by parents to be present too. When the pastors happen to come unannounced even in the middle of the day, people leave rice fields or homes to gather in the church within 30 minutes for Mass at the sounds of church bells or drum beats.

Sunday Masses are usually celebrated on the grounds outside the church to accommodate a much larger number of people coming from surrounding parishes and missions. Confession lines are endless every time the pastor comes into town.

Coming out of a group session for the Eucharist at about 8:00 p.m. one evening, I saw something like a big baby all curled up being lifted above the crowd around the confessional that was set up on the front steps of the parish house. A moment later, the same scene reemerged followed by the priest. Communion was distributed to just one person.

A youngster exited holding a tiny kerosene lamp in his hand; sitting on the bicycle saddle was an elderly lady in her late 80s. She was being supported by one hand of the walking bicycle conductor while he navigated the bike with the other hand. The lady is paralyzed and bed ridden but occasionally insists to be brought to church in such a fashion.

My heart got heavier as my eyes followed the cortege gradually disappearing into the dark night... Suddenly I experienced a powerful sensation that Christ was so vividly present entwining the lives of these people with those of the Sisters in my religious family through His Divine Compassion. He indeed touched deeply the core of my being...

They [...the youngster and the elderly lady] straddled on a 3 ft wide rough and bumpy dirt road on which I stumbled quite a few times only making a distance of about half a mile with the help of a bright flashlight. Later that night I conferred with the pastor on the use of wheelchairs; the response was that it would cost over 100 US dollars, which was beyond the means of the parish. By the way, there are at least two similar cases in almost every parish; the pastor’s octogenarian father is in the same boat and transported around in the same fashion. There is no other choice.

Catechumens and coming-home Catholics are numerous. The entire H’Mong tribe converted to Catholicism several years ago as a result of their listening to instructions on Radio Veritas aired from Manila and from another Protestant broadcast. Should a “comrade” (Government agent) decide to confiscate their short wave radio, they would fiercely and fearlessly fight back to retain their cherished property.

Scattered in the high mountains along Lao's borders, everyone - old and young, adults and children - gathers every 6 months to make a pilgrimage of 3 days to the closest parish church of the centenarian pastor to receive the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist. It takes them 12 days to walk through mountains and jungles each way. Their offerings usually come in the form of a pair of chickens they raise at home. In return, the pastor finds ways to feed them and send them home with some provisions for their return journey. Stories have been circulated that the pastor would have everything given to him as gifts, even a dozen mangos, sold in the city market for cash to be spent for these highland faithful of his.

The diocese has no sources of income, being stripped of properties generating income in the early days of the Regime in the 50’s and given the fact that the majority of the faithful are struggling to survive on their meager rice crops as described above. A lucky parish collects a few hundred US dollars in yearly Sunday Offerings; consequently offertory assessments are unthinkable. Small grants from the Propaganda Fide help defray some of the costs incurred (each priest is entitled to 3 bottles of altar wine per year), and etc. Clergy receives no salary at all.