Pope Francis establishes the Van Thuân Foundation

By Vatican News

The rescript of Pope Francis came into force on 25 July 2023, in accordance with Canon 120, paragraph 1 of the Code of Canon Law, calling for the suppression of the Good Samaritan and Justice and Peace Foundations and establishing in their place the Van Thuân Foundation, named after the Vietnamese cardinal who died in 2002. From 1998 to his death Cardinal Van Thuân was president of the then Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Decades before he was detained for 13 years in the prisons of the country. His cause for beatification is currently underway.

In the document, approved in an audience on 3 July 2023 with Cardinal Michael Czerny, president of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the Pope also decreed that, pending the issuance of new statutes, the leftover patrimony of the Good Samaritan and Justice and Peace Foundations be transferred to the newly established Van Thuân Foundation.