Pope Praises Efforts of Vietnamese Catholics : Religion: At least 1,000 from O.C. in spellbound audience hear him call for unity, healing wounds of past.

DENVER —  In his first-ever meeting with a Vietnamese audience, Pope John Paul II on Sunday applauded efforts by expatriates to preserve cultural traditions in their adopted countries, challenging them to strengthen unity among themselves and support the Catholic church in their homeland.

The 73-year-old pontiff told a spellbound audience of 13,000 Vietnamese Catholics--at least 1,000 of whom were from Orange County--that he recognizes the hardship and suffering they have endured in the last two decades. Their challenge now, he said, is “to keep pure and lively your Catholic identity, never giving in to discouragement or sadness.”

John Paul’s words were balm for this refugee community, whose lives were disrupted and forever changed when their exodus from Vietnam began in 1975 with the Communist takeover of their country.

“All of my life, Vietnam was a country that I did not know, that my parents told me about in hope that I would one day want to learn about it on my own,” Michael Mai, 17, of Huntington Beach, said after the Pope’s speech. “Now, after seeing my people here in one room together and listening to the Holy Father, I feel as if in one day, I’ve been reunited with my birthplace.”

The special audience with Vietnamese Catholics followed the conclusion of World Youth Day, a four-day, Vatican-created event intended to encourage and nurture religious enthusiasm.

His gentle, encouraging words brought tears to the eyes of many.

“I was so happy just listening to him,” said Ngoc-Thu Hoang, 27, of Stanton. “He understands us so well; he knows how important it is for us to keep our traditions.”

Others also found hope and peace in the Pope’s message.

“Not only did his words give us strength to forge ahead, they also gave our younger people much thought for their future,” said Quoc Lan Nguyen, 29, of Westminster. “He touched us in so many ways, much more than he will ever realize.”

More than 800 members of the Orange County contingent came to Denver as early as last Tuesday in a caravan of buses. The others arrived as late as Saturday night.

According to World Youth Day officials, the Pope granted the Vietnamese community an audience because he could not visit their home country because the Communist government would not ensure his personal safety.

The Vietnamese said they believe this meeting was an overture by the Vatican to the Communist government, which associates Catholicism with French Colonial rule in the 18th Century, when the religion was introduced.

The Pope “is definitely trying to reach out to the Vietnamese in Vietnam indirectly,” said Monsignor Dominic Luong, director of the Vietnamese Apostolates in New Orleans. “This was the only safe way he knew how.”

Vietnamese Communist leaders are also believed to be sending signals of their own. They sent Father Thien Cam, a priest of the government-run Catholic organization, Hoi Cong Giao Yeu Nuoc, or roughly translated, “Patriotic Catholic Assn.,” to attend Sunday’s audience with the Pope.

Cam declined to answer questions this week, but an assistant said: “He came here with the government’s approval. That should say everything.”

Sunday’s audience, which came from as far away as Australia, clapped wildly, proudly sang their national anthem, “Vietnam, Vietnam,” and screamed “We love you!” as John Paul entered McNichols Sports Arena about 25 minutes later than planned.

After four hectic days in which his itinerary left him few free hours during the World Youth Day celebration, the Pope looked visibly exhausted during most of his meeting with Vietnamese Catholics. But listeners said they lost out on nothing, as the pontiff told them in caring words everything they said they wanted to hear about themselves and their spiritual belief.

The crowd was especially appreciative and slightly amused at the Pope’s greeting address, which he attempted in heavily accented Vietnamese.

“You have enough?” the Pope asked with a grin, after his halting attempt in their native tongue. They clapped and hooted for more.

Unlike earlier speeches John Paul gave to various audiences this week, including his Thursday meeting with President Clinton, the Pope’s talk Sunday avoided controversial issues such as abortion, euthanasia and women in the clergy.

Instead, the pontiff focused on the cultural identity, tradition and conflicts of Vietnamese refugees and immigrants in a 30-minute prepared address delivered largely in English.

“I know that you are active in preserving your national customs. . . . I know that you make great efforts to keep the Vietnamese language alive among your children and young people,” the Pope told the audience, who punctuated his every sentence with applause.

“This is a way of showing your love for the homeland, for your own people’s culture and history,” he said. “It can also be an enrichment of the nation in which you have found a new home.”

The Pope also challenged the Vietnamese to maintain unity among themselves, referring to many Vietnamese priests’ lament that some immigrants tend to be aggressively competitive within their own community.

“I wish to encourage you to maintain a great spiritual unity among yourselves and to strengthen more and more the spirit of cooperation between all these different groups,” he said. “There is strength in unity; there is only pain and scandal in division and conflict.”

He later added: “Perhaps the greatest challenge of the present is to heal any ill-feeling or divisions which have grown up between citizens in the same country.”

One listener, Hung Nguyen, 19, of Westminster, agreed. “When he said the Vietnamese must be committed, he is right. Everything that we do, we must always do together to survive.

Energized by the enthusiasm of his adoring audience, the Pope made another passionate appeal: “Do not forget the Church in Vietnam.”

Catholics in Vietnam share the same religious faith and need financial help and other support, the Pope said during a thunderous ovation. “They need your help to restore and rebuild churches, seminaries, convents, schools, hospitals, and other institutions which have no other aim but to serve the needs of the Vietnamese people.”

The plea hit home. “That message is for all the younger people so we can preserve our history when we grow older,” said Hoa Dinh, of Santa Ana. “That is something we must always remember.”

In his conclusion, the Pope praised the Vietnamese for overcoming hardship and expressed hope that they would “now succeed in giving their (new homelands) the development, progress and unity to which they aspired and to which they have a right.”