Father Vien Nguyen

By Eileen Casey
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) — A priest known to many as the key contributor to the mobilization and empowerment of residents of a district of New Orleans especially hard hit by Katrina was honored last month by Pax Christi USA.

Father Vien Nguyen, pastor at Mary Queen of Vietnam Church in New Orleans East, received the 2008 Eileen Egan Peacemaker Award in recognition of his “strong and extraordinary prophetic witness for peace” during a time of devastating injustice.

Father Nguyen has been an anchor of hope in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In the midst of resettlement efforts in the Versailles community, where Father Nguyen and his church are located, the priest was at the forefront of the endeavor, ensuring relief services such as shelter, food, water and emergency electrical power to victims during the crisis.

The tightknit, largely Vietnamese Catholic community — where 3,500 people attend Mary Queen of Vietnam’s Sunday Masses — worked to recover from the storm as soon as possible. Through reconstruction and actively persuading former residents to come back after Katrina , the New Orleans East district has the highest return rate in the city — 95 percent.

In addition to leading efforts at redevelopment and evacuee return, Father Nguyen has been fighting against a toxic neighborhood landfill — the Chef Menteur landfill.

Although the landfill has been shut down, it is still filled with Katrina debris, creating a health hazard to those living in the area. Father Nguyen has demanded that the debris be removed.

In commenting on his award, the priest said, “It is not for me; it is for the whole community.

“It is a recognition of what we have endeavored, our accomplishments and the value that was in our endeavors,” he said. “No one in the community set out (to do what they did) so that we would be recognized.”

“The goal was to return to how we were before, whatever it took, and we did it. In it, values were identified and acknowledged,” he said. But, he added, “We are still struggling to get back to our feet.”

Although Father Nguyen and his church community have helped reopen businesses in New Orleans East, some problems, such as the lack of health care, linger.

“Pre-Katrina there were two hospitals in this district and another in St. Bernard Parish,” a civil entity, he said. “There is still no hospital here after three years since the storm. We have established two clinics, one in July and one in August. These are short-term clinics, however.”

“The question is of long-term sustainability. It is the Church and nonprofits that are working on this instead,” he said, and not “the for-profits” involved before Katrina.
The Mary Queen of Vietnam community plans to build a garden, farmers’ market, community center and retirement home in the near future.

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