Letter from priests and lay Catholics to the president of Conference of American Catholic Bishops in Seattle, The Holy William S. Slystad, stating: "When Vietnamese Bishops and priests were allowed to visit other countries in the free world, especially the US, we happily welcomed them and made big cash donations so they could use it to complete their Church’s projects and help other Catholic fellows in Vietnam. However, our initial goodwill has created much more complicated situations with more disadvantages than advantages. Since then, Vietnamese Cardinals, Bishops, priests and church seminarian students have frequently traveled to the US and other free countries under their “formal missions” such as “Church missions serving overseas Vietnamese”. In reality, they have mainly focused on soliciting cash donations. In fact, we, the Vietnamese Catholics in the US have been already cared religiously by American Catholic Church equally to other Catholic immigrants. Native Vietnam Catholic Church in Vietnam has no more obligations to render any services or assistance to us, religiously or spiritually. Vietnamese Cardinals, Bishops, priests and church students have spent several months to visit the U.S. Some have stayed here for half a year or longer, just for visiting. Each visiting Church official is able to raise hundreds of thousands dollars. Some collect million dollars because they travel across 50 states and many other countries with their made-up requests that they build and/ or rebuild churches and other institutions such as institutions for retired priests, orphanages, educational or cultural funds, etc. Our cash assistance that had been originally aimed to meet our native Church’s critical demands has created damaging complications to the Church in Vietnam and also has corrupted Church officials. • American Bishops have forbidden cash collections inside the churches. Many Vietnamese priests serving in dioceses on the US soil who work as illegitimate and unofficial liaisons between Vietnam and the U.S. Church have bent the rules by authorizing cash collections just outside the church buildings. There have been awful incidents of Bishops and priests who wore vestments standing in front of the churches’ main entrances to “beg” parishioners for cash donations immediately after Masses. It has created distasteful images that resemble with “de-luxe beggars” and has poked thorny pains in out hearts and generated disrespect among non-Catholics towards our Church and Church leaders. In addition, many state-controlled Church officials have been granted exit visas easily while other non state-controlled Church officials have been strictly prohibited to travel outside Vietnam. These discriminated treatments have created injustice, negative impacts and deep divisions between different Churches and also inside our Catholic Church itself. • Advise Vietnamese Bishop/ priests NOT to abuse their authority to offer assistance to visiting priests from Vietnam by hosting and/ or organizing “Raising Fund Feasts” for them. There have been more than enough protests, assaults and lawsuits pertaining to cash solicitations on churches’ premises. The letter is signed first by seven priests, beginning with Rev. Peter Phan Van Loi, who is under house arrest in Hue, Rev. Peter Nguyen Huu Giai of the Archdiocese of Hue, Rev. Stephen Chan Tin of Saigon, Vietnam, Rev. John Baptist Dinh Xuan Minh in Germany, two priests now in California and New Zealand who were confined to reeducation camps following the fall of South Vietnam, and a pastor in North Carolina. The Lay Catholics and parishoners signatures are by 56 people around the world. A large number are affiliated with Vietnam Catholic Conscience in the Diocese of San Jose, California, which is a center of resistance to Communist Vietnam by Vietnamese people.   more »