(September 22, 2011) Church people expect the first Vietnamese Catholic dictionary
launched with great fanfare on Monday, will make a major contribution in developing
theology in Vietnam. “Today I would like to introduce you to the first Catholic Dictionary
in Vietnamese,” Bishop Paul Bui Van Doc of My Tho, head of the bishops’ Episcopal
Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith, told about 200 Catholics at the launching
ceremony at Archbishop’s Residence in Ho Chi Minh City. Most Vietnamese Christian
dictionaries sold in local Catholic bookstores are translated from foreign originals,
he noted. He said “This work stems from the local Church’s dearest wish to promote
indigenous Catholic theology in the future. The dictionary is seen as a first step
to fulfilling this wish”, he added. Bishop Doc said the book, with 500 basic Christian
terms, has concise, clear and comprehensible definitions. It uses latest Church documentation
and theological books, and most of all refers to Catholic Church catechism. Father
Pierre Nguyen Chi Thiet, head of the team responsible for the dictionary, said about
150 bishops, priests, Religious and ordinary Catholics, who specialize in Church
history, culture, linguistics, philosophy, scripture and theology compiled the dictionary
over four years. The priest said in the coming years, his team plans to compile a
further 1,000 Catholic terms related to Church, Christianity, morality, canon law,
ministry, philosophy, spirituality and theology.