A Churchman In Vietnam; Pham Minh Man.(Interview)

Byline: Kenneth L. Woodward

In his light-blue shirt, black slacks and gray leather sandals, Pham Minh Man looks like many other prosperous Vietnamese on a late Sunday afternoon, except for the clerical collar. In a surprise move last September, Pope John Paul II elevated Pham, archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City, to cardinal--the first cardinal from the country's south. Kicking off his sandals, Cardinal Pham sat back with NEWSWEEK's Kenneth L. Woodward to talk about the challenges of the church under one of the world's few remaining communist governments.

WOODWARD: I understand the central government in Hanoi was puzzled when the pope named you the new cardinal of Vietnam.

PHAM: My three predecessors were all from Hanoi, and at first the government thought the pope had given me new authority here. I told them only the color of my robes had changed, that I have no new responsibilities as archbishop of Ho Chi Minh City. I did not mention that as a cardinal, I have new responsibilities to Rome. They accepted my elevation as an honor for Vietnam.

What controls does the government exercise over the Roman Catholic Church?

Until this year, for example, I could not invite another bishop to stay with me at my house. Now I can, if I inform the government first. Students still cannot enter a seminary without government permission. For my own seminary we get about 25 applicants a year. And every year the government rejects about five just to demonstrate its control. Still, in this diocese now we have about 250 seminarians. And we can send priests to study in the United States, Europe and Asia. I tell them we want the intellectualism of Europe, the practicality of the United States--and the heart of Asia.

Are you permitted to operate Catholic schools?