Reporter (PV): The 8th National Congress of Vietnamese Catholics for National Construction and Defense (term 2023 - 2028) opened on the afternoon of October 11 in Hanoi. Could you please tell us about the significance of the Congress?
Priest Nguyen Van Rien: The Congress is not only to implement the organization's Charter, but more importantly, it is also an opportunity to comprehensively analyze the characteristics and results of patriotic emulation in a period, thereby drawing experiences and orienting the emulation movement for the following years; at the same time, the Congress also commends and rewards outstanding collectives and individuals in the emulation movements of "living a good life - living a good religion", thereby spreading the examples of outstanding individuals and organizations in the emulation of living a good life - living a good religion, contributing to the development of the homeland and the country. The term summary report has partly clarified the contributions of Catholic compatriots to the development achievements of localities and the development of the country; at the same time, it shows the coordination and support of the Party Committee, the government, and the Fatherland Front for the activities of the Vietnam Catholic Solidarity Committee.
The Vietnam Catholic Solidarity Committee is a social organization under the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, so the Congress is solemnly organized, selecting truly outstanding examples to commend and reward will arouse patriotism, national pride and strengthen national solidarity among Catholics.
From summarizing the practices in localities and the recent local congresses in provinces and cities, the National Congress will promote collective intelligence to draw experiences in innovating the working methods of the Vietnam Catholic Solidarity Committee, in which it will clarify the meaning of the Congress theme: "Company - Sharing - Service" to apply to the patriotic emulation of good life and good religion among most Catholic compatriots.
Reporter: The Central Committee for Catholic Solidarity has drafted a summary report on patriotic emulation among Catholics nationwide for the period 2018 - 2023 to submit to the Congress for evaluation and approval at the official session. So, can you share the highlights of the patriotic emulation of Catholics nationwide?
Priest Nguyen Van Rien : The highlight of the patriotic emulation is that Catholics have achieved many successes in economic development, sustainable poverty reduction; promoted the beauty of charity in social charity; actively joined hands to protect the environment and respond to climate change. Up to now, many companies and businesses owned by Catholics have overcome the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic, risen to develop and become positive factors in the application of science, engineering and advanced technology in production and business.
In rural areas, Catholics have formed links in the production and consumption of agricultural products; formed agricultural farms to increase productivity and the value of goods, thereby increasing family income. These are highlights in responding to the movement "All people unite to build new rural areas, civilized urban areas, living a good life and good religion" launched by the Central Committee of the Solidarity of Catholics in Vietnam. This movement has been concretized into 8 emulation contents, in which the focus is on economic development, hunger eradication and poverty reduction. And the emulation results from the grassroots level have been evaluated and summarized to reflect this focus.
A completely new point is that the 2018 - 2023 term of the Vietnam Catholic Solidarity Committee was affected by the COVID-19 epidemic. Although this situation was not included in the operational plan of the Vietnam Catholic Solidarity Committee, with charity and national solidarity, Catholics have joined hands to support the Government in preventing and fighting the epidemic. Many monks and lay people have volunteered to join the front line against the epidemic with actions that enrich charity and strengthen the love of compatriots. In Ho Chi Minh City alone, the amount of money and materials that Catholics have donated to support the fight against the epidemic has reached tens of billions of VND.
PV: Personnel participating in the Vietnam Catholic Solidarity Committee is one of the contents of great interest at the Congress. Could you please tell us what criteria for personnel are focused on?
Priest Nguyen Van Rien : In recent terms, the personnel work has been focused on building towards rejuvenation and succession,... But the core criteria that the Central Committee of the Vietnam Catholic Solidarity Committee has drawn out is to ensure the "3T": exemplary, active, voluntary. Exemplary: is a typical Catholic who lives a good life - good religion; Active: enthusiastic and responsible in work; Voluntary: voluntarily participates in the organization of the Vietnam Catholic Solidarity Committee.
The criterion of “Exemplary” is applied flexibly: This priest or monk may be exemplary in charitable activities and environmental protection; another priest may be exemplary because of his prestige in gathering and promoting resources among Catholics to build his parish and hometown;… Or this parishioner is exemplary in competing to become rich legitimately, participating in social charity; another parishioner is exemplary in building new rural areas, living a good life and following his religion;…
With careful preparation and thorough evaluation, I believe that the Congress will select exemplary personnel with prestige and experience in building and implementing the patriotic emulation movement to live a good life and practice good religion.
In addition, the Congress will promote the direction of the Bishops' Council: "Living the Gospel in the heart of the nation to serve the happiness of our compatriots" and the favorable conditions from the policies of our Party and State to build key tasks close to practical needs, close to the country's socio-economic development plan and the Church's pastoral guidance.
PV: Thank you very much Father!
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