VZCZCXRO2634
RR RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHHI #0558/01 1340729
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 130729Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY HANOI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7803
INFO RUEHHM/AMCONSUL HO CHI MINH 4703
RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN 0053
RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 HANOI 000558 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MLS AND DRL/IRF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KIRF PHUM PGOV PREL VM
SUBJECT: Vietnamese Provinces Work to Get Religious Freedom Right 
 
HANOI 00000558  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: Although the Government of Vietnam's Committee on 
Religious Affairs (CRA) struggles to implement of the legal 
framework on religious freedom in some isolated provinces, a growing 
number of provincial and local authorities are having real success 
in promoting freedom of religion.  On a recent visit to three of 
Vietnam's northern provinces, both Catholic and Protestant leaders 
highlighted a smooth registration process, freedom of assembly and 
worship for religious organizations, provincial support for church 
social and charitable activities, and a noticeable absence of land 
and property disputes.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Poloff recently traveled to the provinces of Thanh Hoa, 
Ninh Binh and Nam Dinh south of Hanoi and met with provincial 
authorities, Catholic Church leaders and pastors of the Evangelical 
Church of Vietnam - North (ECVN).  All highlighted a smooth 
registration process and freedom of assembly and worship for 
religious organizations, provincial support for church social and 
charitable activities. 
 
Smooth Registration for Churches 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Catholic Church was not required to register in any of 
the three provinces, as it existed prior to the implementation of 
the legal framework on religion, and has technically been recognized 
by local authorities.  The same was true of the small ECVN 
congregation in Nam Dinh while the ECVN church in Thanh Hoa province 
was required to register, as it was newly re-established in 2005. 
The pastor in charge of the ECVN church in Thanh Hoa province 
emphasized that his church received a great deal of assistance from 
the provincial authorities in preparing the registration application 
and establishing the church building and facilities.  The church now 
has 120 members and six congregations and is growing. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Director of the Thanh Hoa CRA told Poloff they have a 
"positive relationship" with the ECVN and other religious 
denominations.  Since May 2006, nine Protestant sub-congregations 
have applied for registration and been approved; six of those are 
affiliated with the ECVN and none are pending.  The Da Nang Cao Dai 
missionary church has a small group of followers in Thanh Hoa 
province and CRA is working with the church's leadership in Da Nang 
to provide information and instructions on registering their 
congregation in Thanh Hoa.  In an overall effort to be transparent 
and provide clear information on the registration process, the Thanh 
Hoa CRA enlarged all of the registration instructions and forms to 
poster size, and hung them outside of the CRA office in full public 
view, a move that CRA said was receiving positive public feedback. 
 
 
Churches Face Shortage of Trained Clergy 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Both the Bishop of Thanh Hoa and the Vicar General of Phat 
Diem diocese in Ninh Binh province cited a shortage of trained 
priests, resulting from the closure of Catholic seminaries following 
the Communist takeover in Vietnam. The seminaries began to reopen in 
1993, but can only accommodate a limited number of students.  The 
Phat Diem diocese has only 50 priests to serve 145,000 followers in 
73 parishes.  However, the Vicar General said the situation is 
improving and his goal is to have at least one priest for every 1000 
followers.  The Bishop of Thanh Hoa echoed this problem - his 
diocese currently has 60 priests to minister to some 135,000 
followers, but he hopes to increase that number to 100 by 2010. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The Bishop of Bui Chu diocese in Nam Dinh province said 
that while his diocese currently has sufficient priests to minister 
to his flock of 387,000, he hopes to be part of the solution to the 
priest shortage in other provinces by opening a new seminary to 
train 50 priests per year.  The new seminary project is pending 
final permission from the Holy See; the provincial authorities 
already granted all necessary permission without any problems. 
 
¶7. (SBU) The ECVN also struggles with a lack of trained pastors to 
lead their faithful.  The Nam Dinh ECVN pastor in charge reports 
that four ECVN churches in three provinces (Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, and 
Ha Nam) banded together to host short pastoral training courses. 
Both the ECVN churches in Thanh Hoa and Nam Dinh provinces also send 
pastoral students to training held by the main ECVN church in Hanoi 
without any hindrance from local officials. 
 
Churches Permitted to do Charitable Work 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Religious leaders said they are free to undertake social 
and charitable activities in each of the three provinces; most 
emphasized, however, that they do so within existing GVN rules and 
regulations.  In Thanh Hoa, the CRA deputy director said religious 
groups are permitted to undertake social and charitable activities, 
 
HANOI 00000558  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
but must follow the same regulations as all other social groups.  He 
highlighted that both the Catholic and Buddhist churches are active 
in disaster relief efforts and the nuns at a local convent have 
opened a kindergarten.  The Catholic Congregation of the Holy Cross 
Lovers in Thanh Hoa province runs a small medical clinic with basic 
care.  The Buddhist church also provides services for the poor and 
children with disabilities and the Catholic Church has permission to 
run a youth vocational school.  The Nam Dinh Catholic Church also 
runs a kindergarten, as well as an orphanage housing approximately 
100 children, including many who are physically or mentally 
disabled. 
 
¶9. (SBU) In Ninh Binh province one of the priests, Father Hai, 
highlighted a program run by Orbis (a U.S.-based NGO) in which the 
Catholic Church educates people on the benefits of cornea donation 
following death and facilitates the recovery of corneas from those 
who pass away.  After a long effort to start the program, Father Hai 
stepped in to work with Orbis and the provincial Department of 
Foreign Affairs gave full credit to Father Hai as the man behind the 
success of the program.  Father Hai noted that cooperation with the 
local hospital is excellent and they now have a system for donation. 
 Father Hai's success in introducing the program to priests, 
families, and doctors is evidenced by the fact that in an 8000 
person parish, 40-50 people have now donated their corneas after 
death, in order to save the sight of others. 
 
¶10. (SBU) ECVN provincial church leaders highlighted a lack of 
resources and manpower as the primary reasons that their churches 
are unable to do more social and charitable works.  The pastor in 
charge in Nam Dinh shared that "provincial officials are encouraging 
me to conduct more charitable activities, but I only have 40-50 
congregants and as they are largely poor themselves, they have a 
hard time contributing much."  He noted an ongoing relationship with 
a Korean Protestant church, which funded the construction of a 
hospital in the province.  The Korean Protestant congregation 
regularly funds two doctors to travel to Nam Dinh to provide medical 
check-ups for the ECVN congregants and other poor people. 
 
Inter-faith Soccer - Monks v. Priests 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶11. (SBU) The Christian church leaders said that while they do not 
have much interaction with other religious faiths, their followers 
generally live in harmony with those of other faiths.  There are no 
reports of religious-based conflicts between faiths in the three 
provinces.  In Ninh Binh the Provincial CRA facilitated a visit by 
Vietnamese H'mong from France to Catholic churches in the province 
in 2007 and, earlier this year, they conducted a joint tourism trip 
to Hanoi for Catholic priests and Buddhist monks that was very well 
received.  The provincial CRA officials also noted that Catholic 
priests and Buddhist monks compete against each other at a community 
sports festival every year, culminating in a particularly 
high-spirited soccer match. 
 
Looking to the Future 
--------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Many of the church leaders reported that their 
congregations are out growing their facilities.  In Thanh Hoa, for 
example, the diocese plans to build new facilities to accommodate a 
seminary and housing for additional priests, while the ECVN pastor 
is currently preparing a proposal for two new buildings that will 
house Bible classes and a residence for the pastor in charge. 
 
¶13. (SBU) At the same time, leaders of both faiths hope to expand 
their social and charitable activities.  The Bishop of Bui Chu 
diocese in Nam Dinh province is working to open a house to care for 
up to 20 pregnant women in need.  When asked about permission from 
the provincial authorities, he responded that the Church's 
relationship with the province was such that there was no need to 
ask permission.  The Thanh Hoa diocese plans to establish an 
educational scholarship fund to benefit poor students, Catholic or 
not, to contribute to the overall community. 
 
¶14. (SBU) In Nam Dinh province, the ECVN pastor in charge hopes to 
set up a center for orphans and children with disabilities, but 
noted that the church would need international funding and 
assistance to get such a center off the ground.  He also mentioned 
that he is a member of the Religious Initiative by the Vietnam 
Fatherland Front (the Communist Party's umbrella organization) to 
increase participation by faith-based organizations in addressing 
HIV-AIDS and recently attended a UNICEF-sponsored conference in 
Bangkok on children with HIV/AIDS. 
 
¶15. (SBU) The Vicar General of Phat Diem diocese noted that in 
fulfilling their duties as Catholics, the church is also discussing 
how to conduct missionary activities in accordance with the legal 
framework on religion.  He said the Bishop's office has a productive 
 
HANOI 00000558  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
relationship with the provincial CRA and is also having good 
discussions with the People's Committee on the way forward, noting 
that the two sides "meet regularly and talk in a frank and candid 
manner."  While the two sides sometimes have differing views, the 
Vicar General stated that the Church understands it must respect the 
national level ordinances and regulations, remarking that, "We need 
more talks and still have a long way to go, but we will get there." 
 
 
Comment: Provinces On the Right Track on Religion 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶16. (SBU) The overriding impression left by religious leaders in all 
three provinces was very positive.  All cited improved conditions, 
freedom of administration of church affairs, and good working 
relationships with provincial CRA and other local officials.  The 
ECVN pastors in both Nam Dinh and Thanh Hoa provinces confirmed that 
provincial and local authorities have been supportive of the 
development of their congregations and of church activities.  The 
same was true for the Bishop of Nam Dinh, who noted that in his 
seven year tenure, the Catholic church has had no problems with any 
local authorities on any issue and enjoys a positive and productive 
relationship with government officials.  The Bishop of Thanh Hoa 
echoed these sentiments. 
 
¶17. (SBU) A number of factors may account for the steady progress on 
religious freedom in these three provinces.  Both the Catholic and 
Protestant churches have had a long term presence that likely 
contributes to a greater understanding of Christianity and the view 
that religious organizations can contribute to society.  Further, 
the sheer numbers of Catholic followers, close to 700,000, means 
that the Christian faith and the Catholic Church are more integrated 
into the community at large in these three provinces than they are 
in many other areas.  Indeed, one cannot drive more than a mile or 
two in Nam Dinh province without having a Catholic church come into 
view.  As a result, Christian religious organizations in these 
provinces are not regarded as "outside" or "Western" and are not 
viewed as a threat to social stability or to the GVN's authority. 
 
¶18. (SBU) Provincial officials, both from the People's Committee and 
the Committee on Religious Affairs, expressed pride in their 
promotion of the legal framework on religion and noted that they 
continue to work with the various religious groups in their 
provinces to ensure cooperative relations.  While the potential for 
isolated problems still exists, the progress made on religious 
freedom in these provinces and the positive attitude and actions of 
the provincial officials set a good example that other provinces in 
Vietnam can follow over time. 
 
MICHALAK