Vietnam does not recognize new cardinal
HANOI - Vietnam on Monday refused to recognize Pope
John Paul II's appointment of a new cardinal for Ho Chi Minh City,
renewing tension between the Vatican and the communist country,
which tightly controls religion.
Archbishop Jean-Baptiste Pham Minh Man was chosen Sunday as
one of 31 cardinals. Officials at the Vietnamese Government
Committee for Religious Affairs, however, said the Vatican did not
seek permission to elevate Man and they were unaware of the
appointment.
An official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the
government has asked the Vietnamese Embassy in Rome to
investigate and that Prime Minister Phan Van Khai would be
informed. The official said it could create problems between
Vietnam and the Vatican.
But officials in Rome familiar with the strains between Hanoi and
the Vatican said, "They are asking too much," when told that
Vietnam had not recognized Man's appointment.
Vietnam has rejected past appointments and a rift was created in
the 1990s after Archbishop Nguyen Van Binh's death in Ho Chi
Minh City in 1995. Vietnam blocked the Vatican's chosen successor
who was considered too influential and it did not allow Man, the
Vatican's second choice, to assume the position until talks
smoothed the way in 1998.
The government official said the Vatican had agreed to get
approval from Hanoi before making future appointments for
bishops, archbishops and cardinals.
But another official in Rome who spoke on condition of anonymity
said the Vatican never seeks permission regarding appointments
of cardinals and that nominations are entirely up to the pope.
Man did not immediately respond Monday to questions.
Only a handful of state-sponsored churches are permitted to
operate in Vietnam. There are more than 5 million Roman Catholics
in the country - the second-largest religion after Buddhism - and
only three cardinals have been recognized since the end of the
Vietnam War in 1975. Pham Ding Tung is the only cardinal still living
after being appointed in Hanoi in 1994, according to the capital
city's diocese.
The new cardinals will receive their red hats at a ceremony Oct. 21
in Rome.
By Margie Mason - The Associated Press - September 29, 2003.
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