Father Quyet appointed to pursue new goals By Fabvienen Taylor
JACKSON — “I’ve run out of things to say,” said Father Anthony Quyet, St. Therese pastor, to a question about his recent appointment granting him permission to pursue studies in spirituality.
“No, actually I will be studying two years for a doctor of ministry at the Catholic Theological Union (CTU) in Chicago,” said the 59-year-old priest, who will leave the end of January 2008. Father Jeffrey Waldrep will be administrator of the parish.
CTU is the largest Roman Catholic school of theology and ministry in North America. Father Quyet will be in residence there with the Sacred Heart Fathers, who have a prominent presence in the northern part of the Diocese of Jackson.
Father Quyet’s field of study will encompass three areas — liturgy, spirituality and cross-cultural ministry, concentrating in the latter.
After completing his studies, Father Quyet, a native of Vietnam, will spend time in both the Diocese of Jackson and the Diocese of Xuan Loc in Vietnam.
“In this time of the shortage of priests Bishop (Joseph) Latino is being very generous, first in allowing me to pursue personal growth in furthering my education for the benefit of this diocese and secondly, for allowing me to offer some service to the church in Vietnam.”
His services were requested by Bishop Trinh of Xuan Loc diocese, according to Father Quyet, who will teach and work in priest training in a seminary with 300 students.
“There is a strong need to help with formation in spirituality and evangelization in some religious orders of priests and sisters,” he said. “I hope with some others to start a house of studies and to recruit seminarians, who may want to come here, and need preparation in the language and culture awareness.
Bishop Latino, Father Quyet said, views the church in a universal way. “He told me we have to look at the future needs as well as the immediate needs of the diocese,” Father Quyet said, noting that a number of foreign dioceses are seeking vocations in Vietnam.
“I see myself as a kind of ambassador on loan, in a sense, when I will be there.”
Father Quyet is excited about pursuing cross-cultural ministries, emphasizing that bringing the Gospel message of Jesus, especially the dignity of each person, to various cultures has the power to transform that culture, to bring out the best of that culture.
Father Quyet pointed out his years of practical experience in cross-cultural ministry since coming to the Jackson diocese in 1979.
“I’ve had experience working with the white, African-American, Hispanic, Vietnamese and Filipino cultures in our parishes,” he said. “I’ve been exposed to the practical aspect of taking the Gospel message across different cultures, of bringing the Gospel into culture, instead of imposing one culture upon another one, as the French did in Vietnam.”
Close to Vietnam’s capital, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), the town of Bao Loc, where the seminary is located, is about 75 percent Catholic, he said.
Father Quyet described predominantly Buddhist Vietnamese as very family-oriented and loyal to their communities.
About 10 percent of the country’s population is Catholic. “It is an honor, a top choice to have a priest in the family. Priests are very influential there,” Father Quyet said.
His hometown, Tan Bui, which he has returned to many times to visit family, is predominantly Catholic.
“The church is the center of town,” he said. “Every road leads to the church.”
