Francis Xavier Nguyen Cardinal Van Thuan

President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace

His Eminence Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan serves the Catholic Church as President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in Rome. He was formerly Archbishop of Saigon, Vietnam. Cardinal Van Thuan was born in Hue, Vietnam, in 1928 and completed studies in philosophy and theology in Vietnam. He was ordained to the priesthood of the Catholic Church in 1953. He pursued advanced studies in Rome from 1953-1959, and received a doctorate in Canon Law from Gregorian University in Rome.

He was a professor and then rector of the major seminary of Nha Trang, Vietnam. Cardinal Van Thuan was ordained to the episcopacy in April 1967 and led the Diocese of Nha Trang for eight years, until he was named coadjutor and later Archbishop of Saigon on April 23, 1975, by Pope Paul VI. Archbishop Van Thuan was accused by Vietnamese Communist authorities of being implanted in Saigon as a subversive influence. He was arrested on August 15, 1975, and imprisoned without trial for a total of 13 years, nine of them in solitary confinement. Instead of turning to bitterness or despair at this injustice, he chose to emulate Saint Paul's experience of writing letters while in prison and send a message of love and hope to his people, especially to youth, telling how every day, even in captivity, he lived his devotion to Jesus and Mary.

He wrote of a Divine voice calling out to him to “Choose God and not God's works,” and responded, “'Yes, Lord, you are sending me here to be your love among my brothers, in the midst of hunger, cold, exhausting work, humiliation, injustice. I choose you, your will; I am your missionary here.' From this moment on a new peace fills my heart and stays with me for 13 years. I feel my human weakness; I renew this choice in the face of difficult situations; and I never lack peace.” (From Five Loaves and Two Fish).

When he finally was freed, in 1991, he was expelled from his homeland. He went to Rome, where he served the Church in the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, becoming its president in 1998. He was elevated a Cardinal of the Catholic Church on February 21, 2001.

Cardinal Van Thuan has published several books written during his captivity, two of which have been translated into a number of Western languages. The English versions are Five Loaves and Two Fish (1998) and The Road of Hope (1996).

The Faith and Freedom Award recognizes an individual who exemplifies commitment to faith and freedom through exemplary leadership in civic, business, or religious life. The Acton Institute is honored to present Cardinal Van Thuan with the Faith and Freedom Award for his witness to the triumph in faith over the forces of totalitarianism.

Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty
Faith and Freedom Award

His Eminence François-Xavier Nguyên Cardinal Van Thuân

We honor His Eminence François-Xavier Nguyên Cardinal Van Thuân here this evening because his life stands as a dramatic example for others concerned with the purposes of faith and freedom. The cardinal remained committed, despite great personal suffering, to the ideals of his faith. As a young archbishop, the cardinal was arrested and imprisoned without trial or sentence by Vietnamese Communist Authorities. He then spent thirteen years in prison, nine of those years in isolation. Instead of turning to despair, he wrote letters to his congregation outside his prison walls, just as St. Paul wrote to his congregations from prison. Identifying with the suffering of our Lord, he wrote of the love of Christ, and encouraged the Vietnamese Church to remain focused on this love, instead of turning to hatred and the desire for revenge, as they endured their persecution.

Upon exile from Vietnam in 1991, the cardinal served the Church in Rome as the president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Pope John Paul II made him a cardinal in 2001.

Tonight, the Acton Institute proudly recognizes his enduring example to all as a life lived dedicated to freedom of the human spirit and commitment to one’s faith. We present this, the Faith and Freedom Award, in recognition of his exemplary commitment to faith and freedom in religious, civic, and business life. Therefore, by unanimous decision of the Acton Institute’s Board of Directors, we are honored to salute His Eminence François-Xavier Nguyên Cardinal Van Thuân, on this day, October 22, 2002.