Hanoi, Jan. 25, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Angered by the Vietnamese government's refusal to restore Church possession of the office once occupied by the apostolic nuncio in Hanoi, more than 2,000 Catholics demonstrated at the site on January 25. Some were beaten and taken into custody by local police.
Traffic came to a halt in Hanoi on Friday when Catholic priests, religious, and laity marched in procession from St. Joseph cathedral to the building that once housed the apostolic delegation and is currently being used by the government for commercial enterprises (the garden of what was the nunciature is now a parking lot for government officials). The morning protest was followed by another demonstration after the Mass celebrated for the 89th birthday of Cardinal Paul Joseph Pham Dinh Tung, the retired Archbishop of Hanoi.
During the second protest, some Catholic women climbed over a gate to place flowers at a statue of the Virgin Mary inside the building. There they were confronted by security officials. Disregarding the women's explanations for venturing into the building, the guards attacked them with batons, kicking and cuffing them. When several other protestors broke through the gate to rescue the women, they too were embroiled in the scuffle with police.
The protestors took control the building for a while-- long enough to put up a large cross in the garden-- before the security force was reinforced by local police units.
As they regained control of the building, police made several arrests. A local source reported that officials are still looking for others who were actively involved in the protest.
The January 25 clash was the most serious conflict yet in a confrontation that began in December. Hanoi's Catholics have demonstrated daily at the old nuncio's office. Today's demonstrations were the largest to date, coming in the face of warnings that the government might take action against the protests.
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| The first protest in front of the building |
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| Carrying a large cross to the site |
During the second protest, some Catholic women climbed over a gate to place flowers at a statue of the Virgin Mary inside the building. There they were confronted by security officials. Disregarding the women's explanations for venturing into the building, the guards attacked them with batons, kicking and cuffing them. When several other protestors broke through the gate to rescue the women, they too were embroiled in the scuffle with police.
The protestors took control the building for a while-- long enough to put up a large cross in the garden-- before the security force was reinforced by local police units.
As they regained control of the building, police made several arrests. A local source reported that officials are still looking for others who were actively involved in the protest.
The January 25 clash was the most serious conflict yet in a confrontation that began in December. Hanoi's Catholics have demonstrated daily at the old nuncio's office. Today's demonstrations were the largest to date, coming in the face of warnings that the government might take action against the protests.