HO CHI MINH CITY (UCAN): The Diocese of Can Tho in southern Vietnam responded to Pope Francis’ culture of care by drawing up pastoral plans to attend to people in need in the coming Lunar New Year.
Bishop Stephanus Tri Buu Thien said he appreciated the pope’s World Day of Peace message, A Culture of Care as a Path to Peace, in which he said caring for one another plays an important role in building a more fraternal society and fighting the culture of indifference, waste and confrontation.
Bishop Thien said that although local Catholics face economic difficulties due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they should follow the Good Samaritan and the pope’s culture of care by working hard to support themselves and provide material and spiritual support for their poorer neighbours to celebrate the Lunar New Year festival, which runs from February 10 to 16.
The 70-year-old bishop, who is in charge of the country’s interfaith dialogue ministry, called on local priests and religious to educate laypeople on how to exercise the culture of care in their daily life, to stand on their own feet, to take responsibility for their families and not depend on other people’s financial help when they can deal with their problems.
Parish priests should encourage people to toil tirelessly to improve their economic lives and save up for their own basic needs and the seven-day new year festival. The 65-year-old diocese serves some 200,000 Catholics out of a total population of 5.5 million in Can Tho and the four provinces of Ca Mau, Bac Lieu, Hau Giang and Soc Trang.
Bishop Thien asked people to hold no extravagant parties, offer no wreaths but instead give money to families with funerals and to avoid alcohol.
He called on parishes and congregations to make action plans and raise funds to give material and spiritual support to people in need in the Lunar New Year festival. The diocese has 241 priests serving 145 parishes.
They should visit and offer basic food, money and other gifts to the poor. They also should build and repair houses for those who need shelters and organise free meals for them.
He said local people should take the initiative to show the culture of care to the poorest of the poor during the traditional festival.
He asked priests to report the results of their charitable work to him after the festival.
The diocese, which is home to ethnic Khmer and Chinese groups, also offers charitable services to people in need as a way of approaching followers of other faiths.
On January 3, the parishes of Cai Tac and Song Doc, in the provinces of Hau Giang and Ca Mau, opened shops where poor families, regardless of their background, can obtain food, clothes and other basic goods without money. Families can visit the shops once a month and buy goods costing 100,000 dong ($33) each. They also have free food and can have their hair cut without charge.
The diocese holds monthly online Masses for the elderly and patients who cannot attend church. Priests administer the Eucharist to them every month.
