Vietnam, Vietnamese and memories

"Victory in the war forfeited, at least here was evidence of a hard-fought battle won."

"This is what that war was all about," a fellow volunteer commented to me back in 2005 as we watched a gathering of thousands of Vietnamese men, women and children gleefully celebrate another year of freedom of religion in America.

A Vietnam War vet, Mike expressed pride in what he'd fought for: To liberate these Catholics from Communist oppression. Victory in the war forfeited, at least here was evidence of a hard-fought battle won.

Father Jack Lombardi, chaplain at the National Shrine Grotto of Loudes in Emmitsburg, Maryland, told me that this year's Vietnamese celebration was "HUGE," which I interpret to mean larger than the 4,000-plus attendance that we saw there three years ago. The many acres of Grotto grounds "belong" to the throngs on that day. And it is a spectacular sight to see.

Having lost most of my eyesight, I rely now on memory to conjure up details from my sight experiences; and I no longer can drive, so I've had to give up the pleasure of being a regular volunteer at the Grotto, along with the privilege of partaking in such a celebration again. But permit me to recall for you some of my thoughts on that glorious celebration.

Volunteers gather early at the Grotto on Vietnamese festival day. Father Jack enunciates the plan for parking and traffic flow and bus arrival and disembarkation; we get an overview of the entire operation -- where vendors will set up, where port-a-johns are situated, where we volunteers will be stationed and needed throughout the day -- and we're clued in on the schedule for activities and Mass, which we're free (and eager) to attend.

The Vietnamese women are beautiful: Petite, elegant, porcelain-like, gracious, grateful ladies. My volunteer friend Mike, the war vet, comments as we look on, in a moment in the day when we get a break from frenetic activity, that the women here, wearing exquisite ankle-length silk dresses, display colors and styles that signify their cultural heritage. So at a glance, they all know each other socially, if not personally.

For most here, this day is a reunion. They come to the Grotto annually from points all over the Mid-Atlantic and East. They bring packed meals and meet up at the picnic grounds. They exchange gifts and buy new ones from a myriad of mobile shops set up to sell Catholic books and music and sacramentals that are unique to their language and interests. And everyone dresses in their finest suits and silks.

So as Mike and I watch, the folks gather for a procession. We admire young girls and boys dressed all in white lining up to walk with clergy and a throng of followers along the Grotto path. Praying and singing, they revel in this day -- free in America to praise God and to be Catholic.

There's a very interesting series published recently in the Cumberland Times-News written by William B. Ketter, vice president of news for CNHI, the newspaper's parent company, in which he chronicles his eight-day motorcycle trek -- part of a two-week vacation in Vietnam -- along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. This apparently was the primary north-south route used by the Communist North to transport weapons and ammunition to its troops in the South, where American troops and civilians fought and perished.

In his photograph that accompanies his story online, Mr. Ketter looks to be too young to know anything first-hand from the 1960s-'70s era of the war. He says his trail tour started in the northern mountains and ended 850 miles later at DaNang on the southern sea tip. My brother has mentioned DaNang. He doesn't talk about his service much; and when he does, it's mostly with Mom. I remember sitting at the dining room table and writing him letters, while watching grisly combat scenes sent home by war correspondents on the nightly TV news. I would've been nine or ten years old.

Jim served in the Navy Seabees, a year in Vietnam (1965-66). He's seen soldiers and civilians maimed and killed; and he had some close calls himself --like a mortar shell that dropped in front of him, as he lay on his belly taking cover in a raid, and didn't explode. He jokes that he backed away from that one like the cartoon characters we see who miraculously crawl tenuously out of a bad situation on all twenty toe and finger tips. A deeply religious person, Jim does, in fact, believe that was a miracle, an answer to many prayers for him to survive and come home well.

I imaged a cartoon character, too, when my favorite ICU nurse Than (in April of 2006 when I underwent a very complicated heart surgery), daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, revved up the machine to administer prescribed respiratory therapy for me. The machine that she handled seemed to weigh as much as she did; and I asked her if her teeth chattered when she wielded that monster to roll it over my back and penetrate the depths of my clogged lungs with its "vibrative" powers. I joked that her feet probably came off the floor and that she doubtless shook and trembled for a considerable time afterward, like the cartoon characters that we see with lines indicating motion drawn all around them.

Than was my favorite nurse because she was sweet and thoughtful, thorough and professional, and Vietnamese -- and I felt protective and appreciative of her on levels beyond my immediate need and total reliance on her at the time. I asked my best friend in the hospital, respiratory therapist Clifton, if he could watch out for Than, help her with that monster machine, and just be there for her (as he was for me) if she needed a helpful hand or a friend during the lonesome night shift.

Clifton brought Than to visit me one night after I was stepped down to the Acute Care Unit. It was great to have the chance to thank her and to show her that I was moving forward on the long path to recovery and to say a farewell. Clifton told me later that Than was becoming a friend of his and his family's. I was so happy to know that Than, a young single woman working hard to help others and make a living alone in the city, would have a good and dependable friend and mentor in Clifton.

I told Than about the Vietnamese celebration at the Grotto. I wonder if she was there this year.

copyright Nancy E. Thoerig 09-20-08

Religion, immigrants both have their place in U.S.

Published in Cumberland Times-News Letters on September 9, 2008

"The church aims to educate and encourage those who are in power to respect and protect the dignity of those who are vulnerable – to remain conscious of immigrants as people who have a right to migrate to improve their lives and to ensure that conditions for enforcing regulations and laws are humane and promote the common good."

To the Editor:

Religion has a place in politics. And immigrants have a place in society.

Hopefully, Judith Weller (“Church has lost its way on immigration issue,” Sept. 4) read Charles Haynes’ column (“We tire of faith-based politics,” Sept. 5), in which the senior scholar at the First Amendment Center in Washington, D.C., acknowledges “the mixture of God and politics in America can be a volatile brew.” He continues: “But for most Christians and for many others, faith by definition requires political involvement of some kind. Contrary to the freedom-from-religion crowd, the First Amendment doesn’t bar religion from politics. It protects the right of houses of worship to speak out on the public-policy issues of the day.”

It’s a good response to Dr. Weller’s letter, in which she goes astray in her interpretation of the first amendment and in her (lack of) understanding of the purpose and place of faith and social action in society today – and in the past and future.

Regarding immigration, the Catholic Church doesn’t attempt to be involved in determining legal status or deciding what is best for the state, as Dr. Weller implies it does. The church urges the state to do what is best for everyone; and it is interested in protecting the dignity of immigrants and attending to their human needs.

In a piece titled “The Economics of Immigration,” the Maryland Catholic Conference states: “It is reasonable to ask what impact immigrants, including those who are undocumented, have on the economy, public benefits, and native-born workers. The answer is largely positive. Research shows that immigrants – documented and undocumented alike – work hard, pay taxes and help grow the economy.” The article cites such sources as the Council of Economic Advisers (established by the Employment Act of 1946 to provide objective economic analysis and advice to the President of the United States), the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (which studies the economic impact of entrepreneurship), the Social Security Advisory Board, the General Accounting Office and more.

Politics of managing who may enter the country or not and how; and legalities of deciding who is detained or deported and why, are up to the state. The church aims to educate and encourage those who are in power to respect and protect the dignity of those who are vulnerable – to remain conscious of immigrants as people who have a right to migrate to improve their lives and to ensure that conditions for enforcing regulations and laws are humane and promote the common good.

by Nancy E. Thoerig 09-09-08

What Is Church's Teaching on Immigration?

Published in Cumberland Times-News Letters and picked up by Catholic Relief Services blog on August 29, 2008.

"...people have a right to migrate to improve their lives, while countries have a right to defend their borders."

To the Editor:

Eileen Steele’s commentary (“Some things need discussing,” August 26), in which she says “the Catholic Church has a wrong-headed approach to the illegals,” though she gives no elucidation as to what offends her, caused me, a cradle Catholic, to wonder: What is the crux of the Church’s teaching on immigration; and how does it fit into the political debate?

Probably the best source I found to answer questions is the Maryland Catholic Conference , informed by bishops O’Brien, Wuerl and Saltarelli of Baltimore, Washington and Wilmington, respectively, to advocate for public policy and pastoral interests in Annapolis and on Capitol Hill. The MCC, the site summarizes, aims to keep before our legislators “moral and religious dimensions of secular issues” and “values of the Gospel as norms for social and political life” and to promote “peace and justice.”

“Undocumented immigrants are persons with dignity,” the bishops state in their document titled “Where All Find a Home;” and they call us to learn about the immigration system, reasons people migrate, and needs of immigrants and their families: “Our American ideals call us to participate in the public debate; our Catholic faith urges us to do so with charity.”

Basically, the Church advances the position that people have a right to migrate to improve their lives, while countries have a right to defend their borders. When the two ideals conflict, citizens of the “receiving nation,” if capable, should respond with generosity to meet basic individual needs and keep families together. The church’s position separates legal questions surrounding entry into the U.S. from social questions of dignified treatment for immigrants.

The bishops cite organized Catholic outreaches to immigrants: “Catholic Relief Services, headquartered in Baltimore, assists 80 million people worldwide, including many who have been displaced by war, genocide and the threat of starvation. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops works for a just federal immigration policy and promotes economic initiatives that help people stay in their homelands. In Maryland, immigrants are served through the good work of organizations like the Hispanic Apostolate in Baltimore, the Spanish Catholic Center in Langley Park, and the Seton Center in Princess Anne.”

The bishops urge Catholics to educate themselves – and the site posts informational pieces about the process, history, economics and root causes for immigration – and to thoughtfully discuss the issues toward finding “local solutions to local challenges.” We are reminded that the Holy Family were immigrants who found shelter in a foreign land and that our first American saint, Frances Xavier Cabrini, was an Italian immigrant.

Our individual political beliefs are our own – and contrary to what Dr. Steele would lead readers to believe, “political speeches” are not made in Catholic churches; and no “political agenda” is “pushed down (anyone’s) throat” – but we are called to be reasonable and charitable in forming our opinions and actions.

by Nancy E. Thoerig 08-29-08