Archbishop Daniel Bohan returned from a January pastoral visit to Viet Nam with a strengthend sense of the importance of community life in the church. “The lack of community life in our parish, is something that pulls us down and prevents the church from being what it needs to be. The importance now is to put emphasis on the family in the diocese and to encourage the family,” said the Archbishop in an interview.

The original purpose of the pastoral visit was to visit the families of Vietnamese priests and seminarians in the Regina Archdiocese and get a better understanding of the culture from which they came. The archdiocesan directory lists about 36 international priests out of approximately 100. They come from Viet Nam, Philippines, Africa and South America. He was accompanied on the trip with Most Reverend Monsignor Ken Miller and Reverend Thomas Nguyen who hails from Viet Nam. It wasn’t a recruiting trip for more priests or seminarians but he said there is a seminarian interested in coming to Regina.

The group visited a beach not far from where Father Thomas boarded a boat for a dangerous escape from the country. “I’d forgotten the hardship in that, the risk, the sacrifice involved in that. It helped me appreciate him and the other Vietnamese who had come to Canada at that time, how much sacrifice it did involve.”

Archbishop Bohan found the Viet Nam Church strong and growing. “Father Thomas’ home church seats 2,500, has three Sunday masses and all are full.” The communist regime at one time arrested priests, closed churches and monasteries but now pretty much leaves them alone although there is some government regulation affecting churches. For example, he needed permission from the local authorities if he was to say mass in a local church.

Following the Viet Nam war the Communist regime confiscated all church properties but 10 years ago began returning those properties recognizing the good work the church does in education and other things, said Bohan.  One monastery had more than 100 seminarians, mostly young men and it was expanding because the demand is so great. “When a priest identifies someone with a vocation they promote (encourage) him and even have them stay in the rectory, something which couldn’t happen here,” said the Archbishop. Asked if he determined why the church was strong and growing in Viet Nam he thought it was largely due to a strong sense of family and community. “When we visited families the entire extended family would be there. There is a strong sense of family and community.” He also felt a defiance of government control may have something to do with it. “When the church is persecuted it becomes stronger.” He told the story that he read in a newspaper of a church in Hanoi that was raided by what was presumed to be a government gang. “The pastor managed to ring the church bell and within 10 minutes some 30,000 people showed up and the gang left.” Catholics are not allowed to have government jobs including police and military yet the number of practicing Catholics is growing so it takes a sacrifice to be a Catholic, said Bohan. “I asked a bishop the participation rate of Catholics and he said 100%. All Catholics regularly attend Sunday mass.” Many churches said the Archbishop also have uniformed marching brass bands. They played just outside one of the churches in which the Archbishop said mass. “They’re really loud of course.”

Bohan said he would take time to reflect on the experience and what he learned. Besides family and community he said, they train lay people to teach catechism. “One of our challenges in our archdiocese is that we’re going to have to revise the parish catechetical programs. Part of our problem is that our young people do not know the church, do not know what the church believes and what God does for them…..That’s a serious thing we have to address.”

It was the Archbishop’s first visit to Viet Nam. He said while he would like to make pastoral visits to home countries of other international priests there are no plans to do so. “It’s a challenge and it depends on my ability to do that now.”