Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Hanoi (Agenzia Fides) – Agenzia Fides has received a desperate plea from Fr. Vincent Pham Trung Thanh, Provincial Superior of the Redemptorists in Vietnam, explaining that this December 8, 8 parishioners of the parish in Thai Ha (Hanoi) will be on trial in a City Court for “damaging state property and creating disorder in public area.” Those facing trial are six men and two women, all Catholics, who are “innocent faithful from a human and juridical perspective. In spite of this, they will be judged and found guilty,” says the text of a letter written by the Provincial Superior to his brothers and the faithful of the parish.
The eight people have simply prayed on land that once belonged to the parish run by the Redemptorits and that was later taken over by the government in the 50s. Since 1996, the Redemptorist Order has been asking for legitimate restitution, however without any success. When word got out that the government had sold the land to private owners, spontaneous groups of people began organizing prayerful “demonstrations” outside the property lines in early 2008. Some of the faithful were arrested for stepping over the line of property and for having brought icons and statues, and now they will be subject to trial with the risk of being sent to prison. The area has has since become a public park, with nighttime workers.
“In these painful circumstances, we will be in communion with them and praying for those who must bear with the injustice. The Beatitudes invite us to overcome adversities and abandon ourselves to the Lord. He makes good come from all that happens, for those who love Him.”
Fr. Vincent is asking all the faithful to pray “for our brothers and sister, for all those who hold positions of power in our country, for our beloved Church in Vietnam.” “May the Lord, who is rich in mercy and infinitely just, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, grant us the grace we need,” the Letter concludes.
“The Catholics of Thai Ha are innocent victims of human rights violations,” says a statement from the Federation of Catholic Media in Vietnam, which includes radios, magazines, and websites of the Vietnamese living outside the country. Many priests in the Federation have made a special petition for the liberation of the eight persons.
In addition, the community of the Redemptorists in Thai Ha says that for the second time in two months, the Chapel of Saint Gerard of the Redemptorist Monastery has been attacked and looted by a group of people that shout threats and hate slogans against the Catholic Church. They are “grave acts of intimidation that place religious liberty in the country on the line,” the Federation says, asking that believers be respected and calling for an end to the anti-Catholic media campaign. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 2/12/2008)
