Will First Generation of Fully Americanized USA Vietnamese Catholics Impact The Faith Like Their Parents ?

American Vietnamese Catholics  contribute a good bit to American Catholicism considering their numbers. We often see this in a dramatic way as to Vocations to the ppriesthood and religious life.

It therefore going to be interesting to see what impact the American culture has on the first generation of young Vietnamese Catholics that have no memory of Vietnam, being a refugee, living under communist rule etc.

PBS had a interesting video and transcript of a interview up here that hid a wide range of topics. See Vietnamese Catholics in the US .

On the topic I mentioned:

VALENTE: But preserving religious traditions from Vietnam is also important to these first- and second-generation immigrants. The Marion Days Festival draws thousands of teens. This drum group traveled to Carthage from San Jose, California. Many youngsters accompany their grandparents, though they admit they are more likely to speak to them in English than Vietnamese.


ALISON PHAM (Drummer): I just like the environment, like being all together, getting to praise God as a group, especially uniting with other Vietnamese people because I know a lot of times, you know, people don’t—they lose their culture, and they don’t join together.

VALENTE: The priests in Carthage worry that the rate of vocations eventually will decline among Vietnamese families, as it has among Americans. Boys used to enroll in the seminary here during high school. That’s no longer the case, and it’s becoming more difficult to attract college-age men.

FATHER TRAN: Last year I didn’t get any. But this year I’m blessed enough to have five. So it’s just give and take.

VALENTE: Still, the congregation currently has 150 men in the U.S. studying to be priests or brothers—a number that would thrill any other seminary. Father Tran says he hopes the example of men like Father Basil, who seem to thrive as priests, will inspire other young people to try religious life.

FATHER BASIL: I live in wartime in my country. Here I feel peace. I feel peace in my heart and my mind