US embassy cable - 04HANOI2856

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HANOI 002856 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, KIRF, VM, HUMANR, ETMIN, RELFREE 
SUBJECT: CATHOLICS DEDICATE NEW CATHEDRAL 
 
1. (U) Summary:  A large number of Catholic bishops, priests 
and believers celebrated the dedication of a new cathedral 
in Lang Son City on October 2.  The dedication comes after a 
long period of difficult relations between the Catholic 
Church and provincial authorities in Lang Son and is 
reflective of the improving situation for Catholic believers 
in Vietnam.  End Summary. 
 
2. (U) At least 4,000 Catholics attended the October 2 
dedication ceremony for Lang Son Diocese, including the 
archbishops of Hanoi, Hue and Saigon; 20 bishops from around 
the country; some one hundred and forty priests from many 
northern dioceses, southern Vinh Long Diocese -- the 
previous home to Lang Son Diocese's bishop -- and abroad; 
and as many as forty nuns.  Lang Son Diocese geographically 
covers the northern mountainous Cao Bang and Lang Son 
Provinces and part of Ha Giang Province.  Many of the 5000 
Catholics in the diocese are ethnic minorities.  According 
to Thomas Nguyen Xuan Thuy, a professor at the Hanoi 
Seminary, the ceremony was "unexpectedly well organized" and 
drew a "record number" of clergy.  The dedication was timed 
to take place immediately after the end of the annual 
Episcopal Council meeting in Hanoi. 
 
3. (U) The dedication of the new cathedral helps mark the 
end of a long and difficult period in relations between the 
diocese and local authorities.  When current Bishop Ngo 
Quang Kiet took over the diocese in 1999, he found it 
consisted of one priest and a nun in her late 90s.  (Note: 
Bishop Kiet, who also runs operations of the Archbishopric 
of Hanoi on behalf of the elderly Archbishop, is a 
significant and rising figure in the Vietnamese Catholic 
church.  He is rumored as a likely successor to the 
Archbishop of Hanoi.  End Note.)  His predecessor, Bishop 
Pham Van Du, had passed away in 1998.  Bishop Du, who became 
the first bishop for Lang Son in 1960, had only been allowed 
by authorities to reside in the Bishop's Office in Lang Son 
City since 1990. 
 
4. (U) After taking over as bishop, Kiet managed to 
temporarily transfer some priests from Vinh Long Province in 
Southern Vietnam to Lang Son.  In 2002, he ordained two new 
priests who had graduated from Hanoi Seminary in 2001. 
Bishop Kiet also managed to get consent from local 
authorities to bring nuns of the Dominican Order back for 
charity and religious work on an ad hoc basis.  (Note: 
Historically, there have been five branches of the Dominican 
Order in Vietnam, including one in Lang Son Province.  Most 
of nuns from Lang Son Diocese left for the South in 1954. 
End Note.) 
 
5. (U) Construction of the new cathedral in Lang Son City 
started in 2002, with most of the financing needed coming 
from local donations as well as Vietnamese Catholics in the 
United States and elsewhere, said Thuy.  Bishop Kiet 
reportedly had undertaken long negotiations with local 
authorities over the rebuilding of the cathedral, which was 
destroyed in 1969 during American bombings. 
 
6. (U) Thuy said Bishop Kiet faced no major difficulties in 
getting permission to conduct the dedication ceremony as 
well as to facilitate large clerical participation in the 
event.  The Church had gone through normal procedures in 
seeking approval to organize the dedication ceremony, which 
was considered an "irregular activity" requiring special 
political approval as it was not on the diocese's approved 
calendar of annual events.  According to Thuy, Lang Son 
provincial officials are "no longer so difficult to deal 
with."  He implicitly attributed this change to Bishop 
Kiet's tendency to "favor conciliatory approaches" 
concerning operations of the Catholic Church in Lang Son. 
 
7. (U) Despite the improved relations, Catholic clergy at 
the ceremony told PolFSN that the GVN has not relaxed its 
influence over Church operations, especially -- they said -- 
as compared with Protestant churches.  They confirmed, 
however, that the Church tends to keep a long-term view when 
it comes to disagreements with Hanoi.  The GVN cannot really 
"control" the Church where there are strong Catholic 
communities, opined Thuy. 
 
8. (U) Comment:  The experience of Bishop Kiet in Lang Son 
is an excellent microcosm for the overall situation of 
Catholics in Vietnam.  While clergy still chafe under 
Government restrictions, the improvements over the last 
twenty years have been dramatic.  Credit can be given to 
both sides -- the Church has been patient but determined, 
favoring pressure without sustained confrontation -- and the 
GVN and Party have lessened their reflexive hostility to 
organized religious groups.  These advances are, of course, 
not evenly distributed across Vietnam, but that Lang Son -- 
in the mountainous, ethnic minority north -- has made such 
progress is perhaps a hopeful sign for other troubled 
minority areas.  As always, though, a long-term view is 
required.  End Comment. 
MARINE