VT9288.0963 February 17, 1998 45 EM-lines (524 words)
VIETNAM UCAN FEATURE - PASTOR RUNS A HOME FOR ELDERLY BESIDES PARISH DUTY
CU CHI, Vietnam (UCAN) -- Although preoccupied with the pastoral care of 4,000 Catholics in his parish in southern Vietnam, Father Paul Nguyen Van Khi still has time to manage an elderly people's home he founded in 1989.
"The home for the elderly is a place where Catholics in my parish bear witness to Christian compassion and charity toward needy people," said Father Khi, whose Tan Thong parish belonging to Phu Cuong diocese is located in the Cu Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City.
Most of the 12 elderly in the home, aged between 75-90, had fled Cambodia when ethnic Vietnamese there were being killed or expelled during the coup that ousted the government of King Norodom Sihanouk in 1970.
Father Khi told UCA News that, moved by the sight of homeless elderly people who had no family support, he set up a thatched home for them on a piece of land behind the church building in 1989.
Today a new brick house built with parishioners' donations has replaced the original one. The new house has individual rooms.
The credit for the home, Father Khi said, belongs to all the parishioners for being able "to identify the needs of poor people and then stimulate and nourish compassion for them."
Parish youth are exceptionally active in helping the elderly, especially those who cannot take care of themselves, he noted, taking turns cleaning the rooms, washing clothes and cooking meals for the elderly.
"Only after I had done this work for some time did I realize that I have a duty towards these people. Should they have a family, things would have been different," said Nguyen Phi Long, a 26-year-old catechist.
Young people have the duty of filial piety, and helping elderly people is a way of practicing it, he added.
"I feel happy and consoled, because not only the priest but also all the people here care for us," a member of the home told UCA News.
"I cannot remember where my native village is, because all my relatives have died. When I was still able to work, I wandered here and there and sold my own labor," said Nguyen Thi Tho, a woman in her 80s. Though not a Catholic, she said she feels secure and comfortable thanks to the care by the parish.
Some of the elderly residents have adopted Catholicism.
Besides elderly people, Father Khi, who was honored in 1996 and 1997 by Cu Chi district through the "Good people, good deeds" movement it launched, also cares for others in need, especially youth.
The parish supports some 70 families that do not have wage earners. Every week parishioners donate some money to buy rice for these families. In addition, it also helps poor students with partial scholarships.
"I am always thinking of ways to advance the youth, as they are being faced with an uncertain future," Father Khi said, adding that otherwise another whole generation would be doomed to backwardness and poverty.
Most of Cu Chi district's 19,000 population live on small industries, such as handicrafts manufacture and trading, while some are factory workers. Arable land in the district is scarce.
END
BA9383.0963 February 20, 1998 21 EM-lines (226 words)
BANGLADESH NEW CHRISTIAN WOMEN'S NETWORK DISCUSSES WOMEN'S PROBLEMS IN CHURCH
DHAKA (UCAN) -- The Bangladesh Conference of Religious has initiated a Christian women's network to promote the advance of Bangladeshi women and to protect their rights in society and in the Church.
At a Feb. 14 meeting, some 60 women stressed the need for such a network to fight for equal rights for women and to protest oppression of women as other women in Bangladesh, including rural women, were already doing.
The women, mostly members of religious congregations, observed that abusive cultural traditions such as demanding dowry from a bride's family have entered the Church community, and that Church leaders rarely protests against them.
Agreeing that this situation must be protested strongly and unitedly, the meeting participants decided to focus on raising awareness among women first, and then among men as well.
Furthermore, the group agreed that women Religious were considered "second-class citizens" in Christian communities, just like women in general society.
A seven-member working committee including four laywomen activists was set up to organize activities for the network, with marking International Women's Day March 8 an immediate priority.
Holy Cross Sister Pauline Naedu observed that Pope John Paul II has stressed the importance of women being aware of their rights and using this awareness to be the voice for their suffering, voiceless sisters.
The meeting was convened by Our Lady of the Missions Sister Carmel.
END
CH9361.0962 February 12, 1998 60 EM-lines (676 words)
CHINA NEW BISHOPS' CONFERENCE HEAD GIVES TOP PRIORITY TO RELIGIOUS FORMATION
HONG KONG (UCAN) -- Strengthening priests' and nuns' spiritual formation should top the priorities of Church development in the next five years, says the new head of China's government-approved bishops' conference.
Bishop Joseph Liu Yuanren of Nanjing was elected president of the Bishops' Conference of the Catholic Church in China (BCCCC), during the Sixth National Congress of Catholic Representatives held in Beijing Jan 17-21.
Hoping he could bring vigorous growth to the China Church, Bishop Liu told UCA News Feb. 2 that consolidating one's spiritual foundation was not something "you do whenever you feel like and neglect when you don't."
It is a crucial element in the development of future Church leaders, he said, adding that it is dangerous for the younger generation of priests to think that everything is complete once they are ordained priests.
The 75-year-old bishop maintained that priests need instead to go further and constantly upgrade their effectiveness as priests.
Nuns' religious formation is as important as that of priests, he continued, enabling them not to fear or withdraw from difficulties.
Both groups need to strengthen their spiritual roots so that they can "weather any storms faced by the Church," he said.
Doubting that he could shoulder the heavy burden laid on him as BCCCC president by himself, Bishop Liu said he considered the appointment a divine call and that "God will share my cross when I can carry it no more."
The bishop said he expected his presidency to bring about more cooperation with Protestants, and he expressed confidence that, based on mutual respect, there will be "real unity" between Catholics and Protestants some day.
Nanjing-based Bishop Ding Guangxun (K.H. Ting), former head of the China Christian Council and the Three-Self Patriotic Movement Committee of Protestant Churches of China, had personally offered his congratulations to Bishop Liu on his election. Nanjing is a strong base of the Protestant Church.
As for communion with the pope, the BCCCC president noted that the Church in China is a regional Church and everything it does is for the universal Church.
He said that he and Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan of Beijing, chairman of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), which serves as a bridge with the government, play different roles and that the two bodies should be chaired by different persons so that they may confer together whenever necessary.
The late Bishop Joseph Zong Huaide of Jinan and Zhoucun, whom Bishop Liu succeeded as BCCCC president, headed both Church bodies simultaneously.
Three senior bishops -- Aloysius Jin Luxian of Shanghai, Bernardine Dong Guangqing of Hankou and Matthew Yu Chengcai of Haimen -- who stepped down from their posts in the bishops' conference and became honorary presidents, "will help us in Church affairs," Bishop Liu said.
Bishop Dong, 81, told UCA News Jan. 23 that younger priests should take charge, while noting that the Church comprised young, middle-aged and elderly laypeople, Religious and priests.
The youngest bishop in China, Bishop Fang Xinyao of Linyi, 44, was elected to the BCCCC standing committee during the national congress.
Ordained a bishop last July, Bishop Fang told UCA News Jan. 24 that he "would cooperate with the elderly bishops on the basis of solidarity and learn from them," adding that he never thought to receive such a nomination.
Two of the six committees under the BCCCC have new directors, with Bishop Liu having replaced Bishop Jin of Shanghai as head of the committee for seminary education and Bishop Anthony Li Du'an of Xi'an having replaced the late Bishop Cai Tiyuan of Shantou as liturgy committee head.
Bishop Fu of Beijing remains as head of the committees for Church administration and for external relations, Anthony Tu Shihua of Hanyang for the theological study center, and Liu Jinghe of Tangshan for Church economic development and social services.
Anthony Liu Bainian, who remains CCPA vice president, told UCA News Jan. 22 that the Church had undertaken evangelization in the light of patriotism and the principles of autonomy and self-administration, social good and unity inside the Church during the past five years.
END