Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews) - "What struck me most" about Pope Francis' recent apostolic visit to South Korea, August 13 to 18, for the Asian Youth Day (AYD), was "the joy" that the Pontiff showed on every occasion. He is a person open "to dialogue, helpful, open-minded and curious, in particular with regard to Vietnam," the nation and the Church that Bergoglio is attentive to.
These were the words of Msgr. Paul Bui Van
Doc, Archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City
and president of the Vietnamese bishops'
conference in an interview with
Radio Free Asia (RFA), about the recent meeting with Pope Francis. The
prelate was part of the delegation on the apostolic trip to South Korea, as a representative of the Vietnamese Church.
"Throughout our
conversation - he said - the Pope
was at ease and relaxed."
In relation to specific events,
the president of the Vietnamese bishops'
conference said that "the
Church of South Korea is a living, very dynamic Church
[...] engaged in the proclamation
of the Good News".And the
clergy and the
ecclesiastical hierarchy "show a great efficiency in the organization of the Church as in
everything else."
A second element that
emerged from the Archbishops time in Seoul
is the "dynamism" of the laity
in Korea, which far "exceeds" that of the Vietnamese;
their role "is very important"
within the Church and the whole church
community. "There are a lot
of young enthusiasts - notes Abp.
Paul - who
offered themselves as volunteers in the organization of the ceremonies."
For this he invites the laity of Vietnam to
participate "with renewed enthusiasm and dynamism" in Church activities,
in particular with regard to "the proclamation of the Gospel".
Condemning the clericalism that is
still pervasive in the Vietnamese church, the president
of the bishops conference urges "priests
to abandon this attitude" and the faithful, especially the young, to
"cooperate more and more" in the life of the Church. Vietnamese young people who went to the Asian Youth
Day, he says, participated with "great enthusiasm," although "in some respects less dynamic".
Finally, the archbishop of Saigon hints at a
possible Papal Apostolic Journey to
Vietnam, which certainly will not happen
before "2016 or even later".
He explains that Francis does not
pose any particular organizational or ceremonial constraints, because "wherever he
goes he feels at ease, satisfied and happy." But of
course, he concludes, "the entire Church in Vietnam
will have to take part in preparations" and areas
of "sufficiently large" to accommodate a large
number of the faithful would have to be identified.