Rhetoric and Reality
The official daily Quan Doi Nhan Dan, on September 12,
1999, highly praised the religious policy
of the Communist Party, emphasizing that “All people of good will and of respect
for the truth could verify that the State of Vietnam has always sought and
created favorable conditions for the exercise of the right to religious freedom
of all citizens. It has never raised obstacle to performing religious
activities. Neither has it modified this policy to subvert religious groups by
forced integration into the Fatherland Front. The task required of them is they
have to integrate themselves into one organization. Caution should be made to
avoid misdemeanor as a certain number of discontented people ever pretend to
represent the totality of certain religious groups.”
Realities nevertheless prove the reverse. The State-affiliated
Buddhist Church of Vietnam, as a case in point, is created in replacement of
the Vietnam Unified Buddhist Church and other Buddhist organizations that
existed in South Vietnam before 1975. Current State-created Hoa Hao and Cao Dai
organizations are vested with full authorization to eliminate legitimate sects
that operated in the South before the Communist takeover of power in April 1975
and that are loyal to the principles and tenets of faith professed by pure
Caodaism and Hoa Hao Buddhism. Various independent Evangelical Churches are
coerced to integrate in the State-affiliated Evangelical Churches thought
processes of “normalization.” Schemes to put Catholicism under control by means
of limitations on religious activities of the clergy and restrictions to
religious activities of the laity are irreversibly increasing. Restrictive
measures still weigh on the formation, ordination, and nomination of priests of
the Catholic Church. To the distress of the faithful of all faiths, the State
has never stopped creating laws to secure monopoly of power, subjecting the
religions under permanent and tight control.
The Decree 26
April 24 1999/HDCP
The decree
drew debates and criticisms among religious circles in Saigon and diverse provinces.
At an assembly in a highland province, a priest ironically noted that the piece
of law resembles the Old Testament. Like Bible, it prescribes in it details and
obligations analogous to the ones the Parisians had to observe.
Nguyen Van Ngoc, deputy-director of the Bureau of Religious
Affairs, declared during an assembly of the Catholic clergy of Saigon on
September 30, 1999, that the Bureau had duly put into practice the policy of
“doi moi” (renovation) in the light of the resolution of Eighth Congress of the
Party (1996). Revision has been made, including the regulations, namely the
Decree 69, in 1991, which replaced the 277 of 1977. The accomplishment realized by the Bureau was
concretized in the Directive 37 of the Politburo made public in July 1999. The
Decree 26 has been elaborated in the light of this directive. All these works
are the first step of an evolution that leads to adoption of a legislative
religious code to be passed by the National Assembly by 2001.
The deputy-director nevertheless failed to convince the
audience. The vicar of the Saigon Main Cathedral expressed different views.
Contrarily to what the deputy-director affirmed the decree, if viewed in the light
of principles application as directed in the guidelines of the directive, is
inadequate. The decree failed to incorporate the directives, which are destined
to create services of common interests and well-being to the people. Numerous
dispositions of decree are irresponsive to openness. Rather, they foster “belt-tightening”
and “door-fastening.” Doubts were raised as to how a legislative code would be made
responsive enough to the aspirations of the clergy and believers of all faiths.
The Legislative Code Project
Beginning in 2000, the State sent to diverse Churches
in the country several copies of the draft of ordinance on religions prepared
by the Bureau of Religious Affairs for consultation. Having examined the text,
the Catholic bishops and clergy, in general, called into question certain concepts
of religion and the interpretation of the role of the civil society by the
Bureau in this regard. On December
23, 2000, in the first communiqué, the representative of the Vietnamese
Catholic clergy, expressed views of a large on the project (EDA 326.
Translation, EDA, Document 327).
The project
was sent to the Episcopal Conference on Christmas Day, December 25, 2000. The
letter included in it stressed that the elaboration of this text has been
implemented for many years. The addressed is asked to furnish response before January
24, 2001. The letter was signed by Le Quang Vinh, Chief of the Committee of
Elaboration of the Project on Religions. In general, the project aroused no
surprise among the religious circles. Ever since July 1998, the Politburo had
promised in its directives to hierarchies of all Churches to give them
opportunity to express opinions on a project for religions. The opinions on the
project should be submitted to the Permanent Office of the National Assembly
for judgment and decision.
During the session of discussion on January 5, 2001,
the discussion among the clergy showed signs of reluctance. Certain priests
even asked the assembly to stop the discussion. There are a number of drawbacks
in the draft. On January 16, 2001, a communiqué was sent to the Bureau of Religious
Affairs. In it, Cardinal of Hanoi Pham Dinh Tung, President of the Episcopal
Conference expressed the consensus of opinions of the prelacy of the ecclesiastic
province of Saigon on the project. The communiqué takes a distance as regards the
details of diverse prescriptions in the draft. The text reveals in common the
viewpoints of the Church. There are a number
of drawbacks. The greatest one lies in the concept according to which the draft
does not conceive religion as an institution, negating the autonomy
characteristic of the Church in the life of civil society. Religion is entitled
to its own status, the laws, rules, and regulations that the civil authorities
should respect. Disrespect to them results in social hostility, political disorder,
and community crisis. Still, the absence of autonomy of religion predisposes
violations of religious freedom. The mandate is prescribed in the International
Covenants on the Rights of Man.
The text invented an ironic expression that
characterizes subordination, “co che xin-cho,”
which literally means “the system whereby one must apply for permission
so that it could be granted.” It can also
be interpreted as “the system functioning on legal procedures of applying for
authorization and authorization is likely to be granted in accordance with the
law” In a way, this system should only be applied to an association. The system
“xin-cho,” in the view of the
communist authority, is appropriate. It potentially rules out opposition and
hostility as serious problems remain unsolved. The claims for the Church
properties appropriated or confiscated by the State are at issue. The right to community
ownership of properties of the Church constitutes another burning question. All
these questions are dislocated in the context of the project. It confuses the
management of private property with that of the society. Another communiqué was
sent to the civil authorities. This second text calls into question, in
particular, the conduct of affairs of the State as regards religious matter.
The text also stresses the right to autonomy of a Church and the rules and regulations
that subordinate the Churches to the State power, just like any other civil
associations. Autonomy is characteristic of the Church; it is embodied in its
right to self- determination of the religion. The monopoly of power of the
State is like that of a person who plays at the same time the role of a player
and an arbiter in a soccer game, and that is democratically inconceivable. In his
letter to competent State authorities, Msgr. Nguyen Son Lam, secretary-general
of the Episcopal Conference further stressed that the Church should be
recognized as a "moral person." It is a social institution in itself and
for itself. By virtue of this status, it acts responsibly and independently
without tutelage of the State ((June 11, 2001, on the occasion of the visit to
Vietnam of the Vatican delegation (EDA 323)
Report from
Viet Catholic News
The Viet catholic News noted that the opinions it monitored
from certain clerical circles can be grouped into categories. The first group
reflecting general opinion considered the project inappropriate. The proposed
text guarantees freedom of religion, but the Communist Party hangs on to
monopoly of power. The second group, largely representing the clergy from Hue, thought
that the clergy showed no interest in the proposed legal text. The third group including
many participants at the conference of January 5, (2000) were likely to agree
to boycott the text. Other general remarks were that the authorities have never
taken into consideration the ideas offered. They elaborate and put into
practice only concepts that are true to themselves, instead. Legislative texts
compiled by communist cadres and party members should serve, first and
foremost, the supremacy of communism and interest of the Communist Party.
Other Remarks
The project only comprises few new elements compared
with the multitude of legal texts of this type already promulgated by the
government since the foundation of the Republic Democratic of Vietnam in and
before 1954. In fact, they have consistently accommodated the situation with
new laws. The first decree signed in 1954 by Ho Chi Minh, followed by the
Decree 277 CP by Pham Van Dong in 1977, the Decree 69 HDBT sinned by Do Muoi on
March 21, 1991, then the Decree 26/1999/ND'CP by Phan Van Khai on April 19,
1999, including multiple directives for application, amends, and complements. The
actual text differs from the other texts in that it foresees an ordinance to be
promulgated by the National Assembly.
The compilation of the project is based on Article
70 of the 1992 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the
Resolution No. 42/2000/QH concerning the compilation of laws and ordinances for
the year 2000. It contains 6 segments comprising assigned objectives, general
prescriptions, civic rights and duties, prescriptions concerning religious
organizations and activities, international religions and activities of
religions overseas, and responsibilities of the State. Globally, the project
does not bring in significant changes. Most provisions are mere repetitions or
interpretations of the orientations and decisions of the Politburo and the laws,
rules, and regulations of the government on the religions.
In fact, except for segment II, which is devoted in
part to the definition of 13 terms relating to religion, the rest mostly
rephrases or implements the ideological implications, rules and regulations
already introduced in previous law-decrees. By simple phraseology, belief is
designated as faith in supernatural forces; religion, the community of persons
of the same faith operated on a doctrinal system, religious duties and a
specific liturgy; religious organization, an organization founded on a religious
purpose operated on a statute in conformity with the legislation of the State;
a leader, a responsible recognized by the State; the Church, the most general
system of administrative organization of a religion comprising the religious,
administrative responsible, ecclesiastic dignitaries, and lay executive members,
establishments of cult, and establishment of formation of that religion;
believer, a person that has faith or is attached to a religious organization;
religious, an adept that practices the observance of particular rules of a
Church concerning his religious life and that is specialized in religious activities;
lay responsible, layman that participates in the gestation of a Church;
ecclesiastic dignitaries, a religious conducting an administrative function;
establishment of cult, place where ceremony and services of cult are performed;
establishment of formation of religions schools or classes where the religious
are taught or and formed to become ecclesiastic dignitaries and specialists in
religious activities; religious activities, exercises of religious life,
propagation of religion, and its administration; and superstitious activities,
anti-scientific actions.
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