US embassy cable - 03HANOI2532

UNCLAS HANOI 002532 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR DRL/IRF AND EAP/BCLTV 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, SOCI, VM, HUMANR, RELFREE 
SUBJECT:  Vietnamese Catholics install new Bishop 
--          and welcome a new Cardinal 
 
Ref:  A.  Vatican City 4461  B. Hanoi 2294  C. Hanoi 1698 
 
1.  (U)  In an open air ceremony in Son Tay town of Ha Tay 
province (adjacent to Hanoi), Vietnamese Catholics formally 
installed Father Anton Vu Huy Chuong as Bishop of Hung Hoa 
diocese, which covers most or all of the provinces of Ha 
Tay, Son La, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, and Phu Tho.  As 
noted in ref b, this bishopric had been vacant for more than 
a decade, due to inability between the Vatican and the GVN 
to agree on an appointment. 
 
2.  (U)  Among the guests of honor were newly appointed 
Cardinal (ref a) Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man (concurrently 
Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City), the Archbishop of Hue, and 
all of Vietnam's other 21 Bishops.  Missing only was 
Cardinal Paul Joseph Pham Dinh Tung, who is also Archbishop 
of Hanoi and who has long been in poor health.  More than 
400 priests and 100 nuns also attended, along with a crowd 
of over 10,000 people, many of them ethnic minorities, 
primarily Hmong from Son La and Lai Chau provinces.  (Note: 
officials in those provinces had insisted in June that there 
were no religious believers of any religion locally -- ref 
c.)  Pol/C was the only foreign diplomat and perhaps the 
only Westerner present (although there may have been some 
overseas Viet Kieu among the crowd).   No GVN officials were 
introduced or obvious among the attendees, but there may 
have been representatives of the Government Committee on 
Religious Affairs (CRA) present. 
 
3.  (U)  Bishop Chuong is a native of Hung Hoa diocese who 
had been among the Catholic exodus to the south in 1954.  He 
had most recently been resident in Can Tho province, and 
indicated to Pol/C how pleased he had been to return to his 
native home about two months ago.  Visibly tired after the 
three hour ceremony -- in full regalia -- despite the sunny 
skies and 90 degree Fahrenheit heat, he promised a follow-on 
meeting with Pol/C "after six days" to discuss conditions 
for Catholics in his diocese, especially among the 
minorities.  The organizers made a point of including one 
Hmong woman to read a Bible lesson in Hmong during the 
service, the only lay person invited to speak. 
 
4.  (U)  Cardinal Man was not a center of attention, 
although he and other Bishops sat on the stage and performed 
ritual blessings.  He did not, for example, place the 
Bishop's new mitre on his head.  However, Cardinal Man was 
referred to during the service by this new title, and 
Catholics in the congregation appeared delighted by the news 
(which has not appeared in the Vietnamese media, as far as 
Embassy is aware).  Bishops, priests, and lay persons with 
whom Pol/C spoke expressed uniform optimism that the GVN's 
approval or lack thereof would be of no relevance for Man's 
appointment as Cardinal.  In contrast, the invitation to the 
Bishop's own ordination explicitly noted that Pope Jean Paul 
II's appointment of Bishop Chuong had been "recognized by 
the State of Vietnam." 
 
5.  (U)  According to foreign journalists, the Foreign 
Ministry has so far declined to comment on reports of 
Cardinal Man's appointment, as well as on unattributed 
comments from a CRA official that the GVN would not "accept" 
this "unilateral" appointment, or that Vietnamese diplomats 
in Rome had been instructed to protest to the Vatican. 
 
6.  (U)  Comment:  This installation marks another positive 
step for Vietnamese Catholics, especially their ability to 
organize such a large scale celebration.  Like other 
Catholic leaders, Bishop Chuong will have to walk a fine 
line of adhering to the Vatican without alienating GVN 
officials, a task made all the more difficult by the non- 
recognized status of most or all of the ethnic minority 
congregations in the Northwest Highland areas of his 
diocese. 
PORTER