austraLasia 1398
Bishop De's consecration: second religious
Bishop for Vietnam in 50 years
(and the other one is his boss!)
BUI CHU (N. Vietnam): 19th January 2006 -- Calm, composed,
surrounded by 18 of 30 Vietnamese bishops, 300 of its priests and 5,000
of the faithful, Bishop Peter Van De SDB was consecrated yesterday in
Bui Chu. The consecration took place in the square in front of
Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral, under a huge canopy. Bishop De
becomes assistant to Bishop Tiem, also a Salesian. Bui Chu is the
second largest Diocese in North Vietnam after Hanoi, with over a
million inhabitants, nearly 400,000 of whom are Catholic, and it is a
recognised fact that 99% of Vietnamese Catholics are practicing.
Between the two of them, they have 129 parishes, 500 churches, 81
priests, 500 sisters, 32 seminarians - and endless pastoral work.
Bishop Tiem has already earned himself a moniker,
that of 'Bishop of the poor'. It is a nice title for a Salesian
bishop. Bishop De now enters the scene with 'Da Mihi Animas' as
his motto, Faith, Hope and Charity symbolised on his Coat of Arms and
an establishd reputation for his social concern and more, his social
work amongst the poor and underprivileged, especially in 'protected'
workshops for the handicapped.
Why two bishops in Bui Chu when there are four
vacant bishoprics around the country? It is much easier to
transfer than to create a bishop in a country where such appointments
are closely vetted by the Government. God alone knows how long
the nomination process took for this one. One or other of the two
bishops will be transferred to a 'needier' diocese when the time is
'appropriate'.
Bui Chu's evangelisation dates back to 1533 and the
Spanish Dominicans. The Vietnamese martyrs were martyred nearby.
Bishop Tiem was apppointed here only in 2001. Debonair, very active, extremely practical,
Bishop Tiem has vastly redeveloped the episcopal 'compound' into a
mini-Vatican. There are rooms and facilities for 600 people,
abundant statuary to help the locals visualise the faith and its
beliefs. Statues of Our Lady are predominant, marble slabs with
Hail Mary carved on them in 150 languages, giant rosary beads, but even
more impressive are the formation activities that are the true reason
for all this: priests, sisters, novices, catechists come in for
courses. Next in the pipeline is a major seminary and, of course,
a Youth Centre!
It is probably possible now to speak of a Salesian
'community' in a complex, 'where two .. are gathered' There is in
fact, in a nearby parish, a discreet Salesian presence with the consent
of local authorities, represented by a lone Salesian starting up a
youth work.
But back to Bishop De. His co-consecrators
were the Archbishops of Hanoi, of which Bui Chu is suffragan, and Hue
from which Bishop De hails. Both spoke and both underlined the
spirit of Don Bosco which is flourishing in episcopal form in Bui
Chu. The ceremony was dignified, devout, impeccably organised,
and the rain kept off.
The Church in Vietnam, for many complex reasons,
often has been confined mainly to worship. The Church in Bui Chu
was no exception but it seems now to want to really contribute to
society - and there are expectations of their new Bishop. Those
who know him also know those expectations will not be disappointed.
VOCABULARY
moniker: nickname
debonair: has class!
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