Author Ha Huy Thanh presented the book Compassion in Vietnamese and English in Hanoi, sharing his views on tolerance, humanity, and solutions to global conflicts.

The book was first published in Vietnamese by Thanh Nien Publishing House in 2017, with a print run of 15,000 copies. Pope Francis gave the text careful consideration after it was translated into Italian at the end of 2023.

Pope Francis is presented with the Italian version of the book by author Ha Huy Thanh. Photo courtesy of the author

The Vatican's Tota Pulchra cultural association invited him to present the book at the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva. Even more surprising, Pope Francis invited Thanh to attend a ceremony in St. Peter's Square. He even came down to the VIP stand to receive the book directly from Thanh, listen to the author's message, and sign the book.

In 2024, the Writers' Association Publishing House and the Golden Heritage Group published Compassion in a bilingual version. Thirteen chapters, comprising over 350 pages, focus on the generalization of the principle of love based on the approach of "Understand - Share - Create Solutions. "The Journey of Compassion" is the second part of the book, which contains writings about the author's journey to spread compassion around the world, as well as critiques from academics and experts.

Ha Huy Thanh shared that he was very happy and surprised when the Italian translation of Compassion was strongly supported and welcomed. Therefore, when he launched the book with a bilingual Vietnamese-English version, he hoped that the messages he wanted to convey through his work would spread worldwide.

Commenting on this special bilingual book, poet Nguyen Quang Thieu, Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association and first Deputy Secretary General of the Asian-African Writers Association, said, "With this book, author Ha Huy Thanh proves to be a psychologist, educator, and writer. And behind all this, he is like a missionary who uses his own unique way to awaken and spread love in each person."

The Vietnamese-English bilingual version of Compassion. Photo courtesy of the author

"The book contains the beauty and principles of the life of a man who has contemplated, awakened, and spoken to his fellow men with his wisdom and conscience," said poet Nguyen Quang Thieu.

"Writing about love is not new, many people have touched on this subject, but what is new about Ha Huy Thanh is an expansive vision of love, especially in three dimensions: Length - from tradition to modernity, breadth - from nation to humanity, and depth - human spirituality," said Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Van Hanh (Saigon University).

On this occasion, Thanh will give away e-book copies to readers who register on the website compassion.vn.