Asia

Vietnamese pray for peace
A BISHOP in central Vietnam has called upon Catholics in his diocese to pray for peace in Iraq, not least because the Vietnamese people know the great suffering that war causes.
Bishop Paul Tinh Nguyen Binh Tinh of Na Deng earlier this month told the press that Catholics would respond to his call because the Vietnamese experienced great loss and suffering in wars between 1945 and 1975 and now cherish peace.
He said it was his duty as
bishop to speak out to his diocese because parishioners are part of "the communion of the Church, which is Christ's body", and that is why they need to pray for peace in Iraq.
Besides praying, he also encouraged everyone in the Vietnamese Church to organise activities for peace in Iraq. The bishop's appeal was spelled out in a pastoral letter he recently issued in light of a looming allied attack on Iraq.