The people are used to such hassles. "It happens, you know, it's all over (the place)," said the auxiliary bishop.
Although the Vietnamese are free to worship, the restrictions have had their effect even on Church life.
Bishop Luong said that many remain "pre-Vatican II Catholics." Lay faithful are struggling to "catch up" and learn their "duties as a member of the Church in a post-Vatican II" era where lay members participate more in Church activities, he said.
While they have the freedom to worship, "they find freedom of religion a concern," he said. "Freedom in education, in helping the poor, in a thousand activities, all these things are limited.
"You know,” Bishop Luong observed, “without schools, without services to the poor, without services to the elderly and the handicapped, I mean what else is the Church doing?"
Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and papal envoy to the Jubilee celebrations, spoke in the closing Mass on Jan. 6 about evangelizing in every sector of society.
Bishop Luong seconded this statement. "Everybody has to bear witness to their faith, but I think that in Vietnam, you know, it's really limited," he said. "You're not as free as you think in other countries. Only when you live there do you experience the many restrictions and do you know what it is."
Even as a Vietnamese himself, it takes him a while to readjust when he returns to California.
He's hopeful that the Church will eventually be permitted to participate in activities for the benefit of society like organizing charity for the poor and working in education and health care.
"Vietnam is really in great need, but they don't allow us to help. So, I think there are a lot of hopes, a lot of things that we need to long for, but the reality is so far away."
He longs for the government to begin treating Catholics as important citizens. Instead of being suspicious of Catholics, “they ought to have them participating in different areas to rebuild the country."
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Pope Benedict XVI's appointment of a non-resident representative, Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, as diplomatic envoy to the nation is a step in the right direction, he said. He hoped that the representative might not only improve relations between the Holy See and Vietnam, but also better those between the local Church and the government.
"I don't think the Church in Vietnam has the leverage to be able to talk, maybe the non-resident representative, a mediator, could do that," he said.
In an attitude typical of missionary efforts that brought Catholicism to Vietnam, he shook off all negativity, saying "nevertheless, as you and I know, the Catholic Church has always survived because Christ is always with us."