Catholics Gaining More Freedom in Vietnam

BBC NEWS, Feb. 2 — Restrictions on Catholicism in Vietnam are beginning to ease, in line with a general opening up of the country ever since the reforms of the 1990s, BBC News reported.

Vietnam has the second biggest Catholic community in South-East Asia. After the reunification of Vietnam in 1975, the ruling communist party imposed tight conditions on Catholicism and other faiths. But now seminaries are expanding, priests are free to travel and study overseas and more churches are being built.

Father Peter Phuc said, “In the 1980s, we had a shortage of priests. We felt isolated here. Now I see development; we’re building up again …In the past 10 years, almost every year a new church is built. I can’t keep track.”

However, the Holy See and Vietnam have no diplomatic relations, and the country’s official church is not in communion with Rome. The Vietnamese government, like China, refuses to recognize the Vatican’s authority to appoint clergy and insists on having the final say on appointments.

The are visible signs of improving ties between the two sides. Last November, a senior Vatican emissary was invited to Vietnam. At a packed service at Hanoi’s cathedral, Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe led the ordination of 57 new priests, and he met Deputy Prime Minister Vu Khoan.

Some believe this visit could eventually pave the way for Pope Benedict XVI to visit, something Pope John Paul II tried and failed to do.

“Until now, I hadn’t dared to dream of this,” said Father Joseph Dang, secretary of the Vietnam Bishops’ Conference. “But there are still many steps to take.”

Iran Paper Holds Contest for Holocaust Cartoons

REUTERS, Feb. 7 — Iran’s best-selling newspaper has launched a competition to find the best cartoon about the Holocaust, in retaliation for the publication in many European countries of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad, Reuters reported.

The Brussels-based Conference of European Rabbis denounced the idea and urged the Muslim world to do likewise. The Anti-Defamation League, which fights anti-Semitism, described the competition as “deliberately inflammatory.”

The Iranian daily Hamshahri said the contest was designed to “test the boundaries of free speech” — the reason given by many European newspapers for publishing the cartoons of the prophet. “Does Western free speech allow working on issues like America and Israel’s crimes or an incident like the Holocaust or is this freedom of speech only good for insulting the holy values of divine religions?” the paper asked.

In Paris, Joseph Sitruk, who is the chief rabbi of France, said: “The Iranian regime has plummeted to new depths if it regards the deaths of 6 million Jews as a matter for humor or to score cheap political points. Sadly, we are not surprised by this action.”

He added, “This is a test for the Muslim world to react immediately to condemn their own co-religionists in Iran for such obscene behavior as we condemned those who sought to insult them.”

Pro-Syrian and Anti-Syrian Leaders Cooperate

ASSOCIATED PRESS, Feb. 6 — The leader of the pro-Syrian Hezbollah guerrilla group and a former general who fought Damascus and now leads a parliamentary bloc joined in an alliance to approach some of Lebanon’s thorniest political problems, Associated Press reported.

The meeting between Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, a Shiite Muslim cleric and one of Syria’s close allies in Lebanon, and Michel Aoun, the Maronite Catholic head of the Free Patriotic Movement and presidential contender, capped weeks of negotiations.

In a joint news conference following the meeting, a “paper of understanding” was announced with an agreement on tackling problems including ending rampant corruption and the drafting of a new election law. Other issues mentioned in the paper include establishing diplomatic relations with Syria, disarming Hezbollah guerrillas and the Palestinian factions in Lebanon, the future of the disputed Chebaa Farms area which is occupied by Israel, and the return of Lebanese refugees in Israel.

Aoun was a main proponent of anti-Syrian protests in the wake of former Premier Rafik Hariri’s assassination in 2005, while Nasrallah organized a pro-Syrian demonstration.

Terrorists Gun Down Christian Farm Workers

UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL, Feb. 3 — At least five people were gunned down on the Philippine island of Sulu when suspected Islamist gunmen raided a farm.

The Manila Times reported that an infant was among the dead. Four other persons were wounded.

“Survivors of the carnage told military investigators that the attackers asked them if they were Christian and when they answered Yes, the gunmen just opened fire,” Brig. Gen. Alexander Aleo said. A spokesman for the military’s southern command said at least 20 gunmen were involved in the attack and were armed with automatic weapons.

Reports said the terrorists were suspected to be members of Abu-Sayyaf, the al Qaeda affiliated group operating in the Muslim areas of the southern Philippines.