VIETNAM

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(1) Conference Episcopale du Vietnam – Full member

1. Internal situation
Character : Commission of Bishops’ Conference
Contact Person : Fr. F. X. Vu Phan Long, OFM
E-mail : vphl@hcmc.netnam.vn
Personnel :
Fax : 84 8 8228087
Postal address : 3 Mai Thi Luu
Q 1, Thanh Pho HoChiMinh – Vietnam

2. Activities:

Making the Bible available for the people, especially the poor in the countryside.
Lectures on Scriptures in the Major Seminaries and Intercongrational Institute for male and female religious.
Training various ways and methods of approaching God’s Word for prayer and life.
Prepare Gospel texts with simple commentaries for family evening prayer at home, more substantial commentaries for parish priests.
In the session of September 2006, the Episcopal Conference “upgraded” our Pastoral Biblical Equip into a Sub-Commission of the Episcopal Commission for the Doctrine of Faith. The Head of this Sub-Commission is Bishop Joseph Vo Duc Minh, coadjutor of Nha Trang (vdmjoe@hcm.vnn.vn).

3. Publications in 2006:
Website for Biblical Pastoral is working: www.kinhthanhvn.org.
Translation of the Magisterium’s Documents in Vietnamese (Dogma Constitution “Dei Verbum”; Instruction “Scripture and Christology”; L’Interprétation de la Bible dans l’Eglise),
Eventual publication of booklets to explain God’s Word according to the different ages.

4. Projects for the coming year:

Formation:
o Hopefully in a near future we can realize a more technical translation of the Bible for study (exegesis),
o We continue to offer guidelines to pastors and faithful to help the reading of Divine Word,
o Occasionally, we will present new studies on Holy Scripture and present the books of the Bible in a more technical language.

Homilitic Service:
o We continue to present the outlines of the pericopes, so that parish priests could build up substantial homilies.

Catechetic Activity:
o We encourage current collaboration between biblical specialists and catechists to prepare simple Lessons on Holy Scripture.
o At the beginning of October 2006, the Episcopal Conference published the Pastoral Letter “Living the Faith today”. In order to help the faithful to approach the Gospel according to St Luke, and under the light of St Luke, to put the directives of the Pastoral Letter into application, our Pastoral Biblical Equip prepares one lesson on St Luke every month (from December 2006 to November 2007) and releases it to the faithful on the Website.

5. Other important reflections:

As you can see, formation remains our main concern. We present Sunday pericopes in simple, technical and pastoral commentaries. In the Major Seminaries, we help the seminarians to share God’s Word in small groups, a kind of prayer time and in the same time, a preparation for their future ministry. We help them in confronting their lives and the social context under the light of God’s Word. We propose holy texts (usually the Gospel text of the tomorrow mass) for the families to read during the evening prayer at home, at times accompanied by a short and simple commentary. We encourage children to bring with them the New Testament to Sunday mass, so that they could follow the text more seriously when the priest reads on the pulpit. The translation of the Magisterium’s Documents on Holy Scripture is progressing. But the problem remains more acute: we have grave shortage of teachers and well-trained catechists.

Actually, Mgr Joseph, our president, is contacting the Vietnamese biblical scholars all over the world to unify efforts and initiatives, so that the service of God’s Word would progress better.

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(2) The Liturgy of the Hours Group – AM

1. Internal situation

Character : We always remain an informal Group.
Our work, in cooperation with the United Bible Societies since 14 years, is aiming at diffusing widely the Bible.
Contact Person : Fr. Pascal Nguyen Ngoc Tinh, OFM
Fr. Joseph Tran Hoa Hung, SDB
E-mail : pascaltinh@hcm.vnn.vn
tranhoahung@hcmc.netnam.vn
Fax : (84.8) 8205541
Personnel : Our Group consists of 21 members: 11 members are working regularly, 8 members are temporarily pausing, 6 are involved in the duties in the community and the Archdiocese of HoChiMinh City (direction, formation, teaching, pastoral work), 1 sick, 1 busy in writing the dotor’s thesis on the subject of the biblical theology ; 2 members are studying abroad on the Bible.
Address : 58/1 Pham Ngoc Thach, P.6, Q.3, HoChiMinh City, Viet Nam.

2. Activities

Actual work:

o “God’s Word for all people” (New Testament) has been published : biblical text of The Liturgy of The Hours Group ; pastoral commentaries of Bernard Hurault and Louis Hurault.
o “God’s Word for all people” (Old and New Testament-Pastoral Bible) has also been published later, at the end of 2006.
o We have finished the revision of the New Testament.
o As for the text of the Old Testament, one team has revised the books : Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, the Historical Books, and is revising the Deuteronomium.

Formation

o Three members of the Group are teaching the Holy Scriptures in the Inter congregational Institute “Paul Nguyen Van Binh” for the religious seminarians, 2 in the Inter diocesan Major Seminary of Hue, 4 in the Inter congregational Institute of St. Thomas for Dominican sisters and other sisters, 1 in the Salesian Institute, 1 in the Inter congregational Institute of St. John Baptist de la Salle and 1 in the sessions of “Faith and Culture” and of Theological Courses for lay people, 1 member is helping the seminarians and sisters to learn the biblical languages.

Animation

o The weekly celebration of the God’s Word and Eucharistic Adoration are organized every Wednesday in the Redemptorist Parish by one member collaborating with the Biblical Apostolate Group.

3. Publications

Books:

500 copies of the Bible (size 25,5 cm x 34,5 cm)
130.000 copies of the New Testament (pocket)
7.000 copies of the Four Gospels
20.000 copies of Lectionary
45.000 copies of the God’s Word for all people (New Testament) + 10.000 copies of Pastoral Bible (size 14 cm x 21,5 cm)
10.000 copies of Pastoral Bible (size 16,5 cm x 22,5 cm) for old people: in preparation
Bible Stories for Children: in preparation
Books in braille for groups of blind people :

20 volumes of the Four Gospels
20 volumes of the Psalms
20 volumes of the Lectionary

4. Project

We intend to set up a review for a biblical pastoral ministry