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From asylum seeker to new Catholic bishop
Barney Zwartz
June 7, 2011
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Vietnamese refugee Vincent Long Van Nguyen, has been appointed Catholic Bishop in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. Photo: Justin McManus
FOR eight terrifying days, wedged upright as one of 147 people in a 17-metre boat, Vincent Long Van Nguyen suspected he might not survive.
‘‘We were dependent on the mercy of the weather. We ran out of food after two days because of the number of people who leapt on the boat at the last moment,’’ he said yesterday.
But unlike half the desperate Vietnamese who fled the cruel communist government in the 1970s and '80s and died because of unseaworthy boats, bad weather or pirates, everyone on Long’s boat made it to Malaysia.
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The 16 months he spent in the refugee camp was nearly as difficult but it set the path for the 18-year-old’s life.
That path of service will receive public acknowledgment this month when he is ordained Australia’s first Asian Catholic bishop. But he does not see it as just personal recognition, but also for the huge contribution of Vietnamese Catholics to the church.
The Vietnamese are disproportionately represented in Catholic
Read more: theage.com.au/victoria/from-asylum-seeker-to-new-catholic-bishop-20110606-1fpb3.html#ixzz1Oo2MXt5d
Barney Zwartz
June 7, 2011
Canadian Forex Transferswww.CanadianForex.ca
Moving Overseas Or Buying Property Abroad? Great Rates, Low Fees!
Vietnamese refugee Vincent Long Van Nguyen, has been appointed Catholic Bishop in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. Photo: Justin McManus
FOR eight terrifying days, wedged upright as one of 147 people in a 17-metre boat, Vincent Long Van Nguyen suspected he might not survive.
‘‘We were dependent on the mercy of the weather. We ran out of food after two days because of the number of people who leapt on the boat at the last moment,’’ he said yesterday.
But unlike half the desperate Vietnamese who fled the cruel communist government in the 1970s and '80s and died because of unseaworthy boats, bad weather or pirates, everyone on Long’s boat made it to Malaysia.
Advertisement: Story continues below
The 16 months he spent in the refugee camp was nearly as difficult but it set the path for the 18-year-old’s life.
That path of service will receive public acknowledgment this month when he is ordained Australia’s first Asian Catholic bishop. But he does not see it as just personal recognition, but also for the huge contribution of Vietnamese Catholics to the church.
The Vietnamese are disproportionately represented in Catholic
Read more: theage.com.au/victoria/from-asylum-seeker-to-new-catholic-bishop-20110606-1fpb3.html#ixzz1Oo2MXt5d