{"id":25942,"date":"2010-11-12T11:12:40","date_gmt":"2010-11-12T15:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2010\/11\/francis-xavier-cardinal-nguyen\/"},"modified":"2014-06-06T16:17:51","modified_gmt":"2014-06-06T20:17:51","slug":"francis-xavier-cardinal-nguyen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2010\/11\/francis-xavier-cardinal-nguyen\/","title":{"rendered":"Francis Xavier Cardinal Nguyên Van Thuán, a beacon of hope"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"FXN<\/a>The process of\u00a0canonization has begun, as many know, of Francis Xavier Cardinal Nguy\u00ean Van\u00a0Thu\u00e1n. The cardinal’s reputation of holiness was born through his virtue and\u00a0the crucible of suffering in prison for 13 years, 9 of them in solitary\u00a0confinement. His is a true to witness to hope for us today.<\/p>\n

Pope Benedict twice referred to Cardinal Van\u00a0Thu\u00e1n\u00a0in his 2007 encyclical,\u00a0Spe Salvi<\/a><\/i><\/strong>, where spoke about the way the cardinal faced hopelessness. The Pope said of\u00a0Van\u00a0Thu\u00e1n ought to be a challenge to us: “the fact that he could listen and speak to God became for him an increasing power of hope, which enabled him, after his release, to become for people all over the world a witness to hope –to that great hope which does not wane even in the nights of solitude” (32).<\/p>\n

Van\u00a0Thu\u00e1n\u00a0was a priest for 49 years, a bishop for 35 and a cardinal of the Roman Church for a year and a half. When he came to Rome Pope John Paul II appointed him the president of the\u00a0Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Cardinal\u00a0Francis Xavier Cardinal Nguy\u00ean Van Thu\u00e1n died on September 16, 2002, at 74 years old. The Congregation of Saints allowed the process of canonization to proceed in\u00a02007 and the cause is currently be studied. It is reported that several miracles are claimed or credited to the\u00a0intercession of Cardinal\u00a0Francis Xavier Cardinal Nguy\u00ean Van Thu\u00e1n.<\/p>\n

When Cardinal Van\u00a0Thu\u00e1n\u00a0is canonized\u00a0he will be the first Vietnamese saints since the martyrs of Vietnam. A great spiritual\u00a0honor for the people of Vi\u00eat Nam, a beacon of hope.<\/p>\n

Books by\u00a0Francis Xavier Cardinal Nguy\u00ean Van Thu\u00e1n:<\/p>\n

Testimony of Hope: The Spiritual Exercises of Pope John Paul II<\/i><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(2000)<\/p>\n

The Road of Hope: A Gospel from Prison<\/i><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(2001)<\/p>\n

Prayers of Hope, Words of Courage<\/i><\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(2002)<\/p>\n

Five Loaves & Two Fish<\/a><\/i><\/strong>\u00a0(2003)<\/p>\n