An educational visit has raised a very tricky question for the Catholics: how can the Church study another religion without in any way compromising its own beliefs?
About 100 Catholic nuns from a theology institute visited Minh Dang Quang Buddhist Monastery in Ho Chi Minh City on 26 October 2026 to do seated meditation and to ask the monks about Buddhist teaching. Photos of the visit spread online and have sparked a debate among Vietnamese Catholics as to whether the nuns had gone over the line. The visit (reported this week by UCA News based in Vietnam) has attracted attention given that the Vatican is in favour of dialogue between religions but also insists on the distinct character of Christian prayer.
Redemptorist Father Peter Dinh Ngoc Lam, theology lecturer, was with the sisters from the Theology Institute of the Inter-Congregations of Lovers of the Holy Cross. A Buddhist monk had introduced them to meditation. The monastery saw it as a case of mutual learning, the critics were very much focused on the images of incense and meditation in front of a Buddha image. The whole issue hinges on the difference between simply observing a practice and actually participating in the religious significance of it.
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Vatican II’s 1965 declaration Nostra Aetate deals with Buddhism in a very specific way and states quite clearly that the Church rejects nothing which is true and holy in the other religions. That is a starting point for respect and for conversation, but it by no means makes Catholic and Buddhist worship the same. A September 2026 Vatican note reiterates the point of fraternity and the need for clarity about one’s own faith. That is guidance which is entirely compatible with genuine dialogue and at the same time leaves the meaning of the various spiritual practices open to examination.
An education can be gained through simply listening to the monks, watching the practices and asking questions without in any way necessarily converting to a different faith. A photograph however cannot tell the outside world whether a visitor is simply observing, is in the act of prayer or is actually engaged in a religious practice. To take every movement as being an act of worship is an interpretation rather than a fact established by the photographs.
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The Vietnamese priests have come to different conclusions. Father Peter Nguyen Van Khai of the Redemptorists has been quite critical of the incense offerings and of meditation before a Buddha image as being at odds with the Catholic faith. Father Joseph Pham Quoc Thuan has a different view and has said the visit was part of a course on the comparison of religious traditions. He has also warned against jumping to the conclusion that the sisters have abandoned their faith. Father Joseph Ta Duy Tuyen told UCA News: “It is not enough to see someone sitting in a Buddhist temple and conclude that the person is worshipping Buddha.” The issue is one of religious significance.
A very useful dividing line is provided by a 1989 Vatican letter on Christian meditation. It states that techniques from other traditions may be of assistance in the process of recollection, but cautions against the mixing of incommensurable spiritualities. Christian prayer has its own purpose and its own theology. That letter doesn’t in any way settle the matter in relation to this visit to the monastery. It simply illustrates the point that the context, what was actually said and the intention of the people involved are all of the utmost importance.
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The most serious objection is that visible participation in the rites of another faith can be confusing to Catholics even if the intention is entirely good. That objection absolutely requires a response, particularly from an institution which is training religious sisters. On the other hand, to declare a breach simply on the grounds of images circulating in the public domain ignores the Church’s well-established teaching which is in favour of informed contact with the religions of the world. The Vatican has provided the principles, it hasn’t provided the facts and those facts are not in the public domain.
The key issues are practical. Did the group actually participate in an act of Buddhist worship or were they simply learning a meditation technique as part of a formal lesson? What did the instructors say before and after? UCA News has reported the views of local clergy on the matter, not some formal Vatican determination that the sisters had broken Church rules. Until the organisers make it clear what actually occurred, that distinction must be maintained.
The HCMC incident is as much a communication problem as it is a theological one. A visit to a class which was intended to be an exercise in building understanding can take on a very different complexion when the photographs get circulated in isolation. A more complete account from the institute would go some way to explaining precisely what the sisters were doing. Catholics don’t have to be either/or in terms of respect for Buddhists and respect for their own faith, but those who are in the dialogue business do have to make the difference clear.