Nguyen Hung

Despite the warnings, plans push ahead for new barriers, to the detriment of people living in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. The worst off are the millions of Vietnamese who live in the Mekong delta, the lowest lying area on ​​the majestic river.

Scores of people actively participate in ‘Family love extends God’s love’, a meeting that brought more than a hundred young families together in Giang Xá parish. The Youth Ministry Commission in Phủ Lý district met in An Phú.

Unfettered industrial development and the lack of government enforcement of environmental protection threaten the existence of local tribal communities. "Many children have contracted scabies. Adults are pale," said the local diocese’s charity and social committee. Local authorities confirm that "about 80 per cent of the poor are affected by illnesses due to contaminated water." Local clergymen and nuns are very aware of the importance of environmental protection for the health of local communities. Water contamination is a growing problem in the region.

The local Communist Party section told the parish to keep the church open to visitors. Parishioners are opposed to this because Chinese tourists are aggressive towards worshippers, cause degradation and undermine local cultural traditions. For Catholics, protecting the building’s sacredness is a duty.

Small shops selling products made by children operate in the city’s pastoral centre. On the theme ‘Come to love’, 453 social workers organised activities for blind and deaf children.

October's heavy rains in the central provinces have left an exhausted population. Food and water are lacking. Many parishes are submerged. Priests and bishops distribute food, seeds and feed for livestock. Caritas: "We are building new homes and giving scholarships to the poorest children."

Government authorises plant to dump effluent into Quyên River, which provides a livelihood to tens of thousands of people. For days, residents have demonstrated in a peaceful manner to stop the decision. Redemptorist Fr Đặng Hữu Nam has taken thousands of families, Catholic and non-Catholics, to sign a petition against the plant.

The blessed visited twice the parish in the 1990s. In her memory the faithful built a monument in the churchyard. Twice a month the priest celebrates a Mass for Mother Teresa and all the Christians in procession kiss a relic. The parish Caritas supports projects for AIDS patients and poor people. For the superior of the Missionaries of Charity of Christ, “the seeds planted by Mother Teresa are beginning to grow."

Rice output has been halved. In many provinces, sea pollution has made fishing impossible. Mgr Vũ Đình Hieu, chairman of the Caritas Commission for social and charitable activities, calls on Catholics to help those most affected. Caritas youth bring food and drinking water to the most polluted areas.

The church cares for a community of farmers and poor workers of Krong Noh district in the south of Vietnam. The mountainous terrain makes it difficult for faithful to travel to meetings, they have to cover 80 km just to go to mass. For almost 20 years Fr. Anton Nguyễn Phi Hùng goes to visit each household, baptizing 200 catechumens every Easter.

The Jubilee of the Volunteers of Mercy will be celebrated on 4 September, the anniversary of the Albanian Blessed’s death and perhaps of her canonisation. The Missionaries of Charity of Christ in Vietnam were founded in 1975, but in 1995, the Communists drove them from the country. After returning ten years ago, they now work with orphans, the poor, prostitutes and people living with AIDS.

For the first time, the United States hosted a two-day meeting with ten Southeast Asian nations. The main topics were security, economic development and the China Sea situation. Hanoi wants to be a major partner for Washington. The US has become Vietnam’s main export market with bilateral trade reaching US$ 37 billion in 2015.