Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews) "Protecting human life against the culture of death" was the theme of three days of meetings held this month in the Me Hang Cuu Giup Parish in Ho Chi Minh City. The meetings were held on 13, 17 and 21 February 2006.
"We need to discuss, to learn and to pray," said Fr Joseph, one of the organizers.
"It's also necessary to put in place programmes to protect human life and to push back the culture of death in Vietnamese society, preventing social ills such as sexual abuse against children and abortion."
A doctor, Nguyen, who talked about sexuality and sexual desires, said the atmosphere of the meetings was "very good". "Almost 1,000 people were present and they listened attentively, asked questions and discussed among themselves."
After the meetings, questions were raised about diverse social problems and the organisation of activities, like safeguarding families and parish communities, was discussed. One participant, Hoang, told AsiaNews: "Through the forum I have realized the negative influence of social ills on everyone in the parish, so I have determined to do my best to protect my family, and primarily myself, from a culture of death." Hoang's wife added: "I hope every parish will organize forums to allow everyone to confront life and to share their experiences. I am 55 years old and I am from Binh An Parish. This is the first time I have come across such meetings and for me, it has been very important to participate."
The abortion rate is very high in Vietnam: data supplied by the "Centre for the Protection of Mothers and Children" based in Ho Chi Minh City, indicates that in the first nine months of 2005, 74,264 abortions were reported, including 554 of girls aged under 18. Information about the number of abortions carried out in private centres was however unavailable.
