After the reveal by Bishop Anthony Vu Huy Chuong of Hung Hoa on cases in which people masquerading as priests and lay Catholics were employed in state media to discredit the Church, other dioceses have launched counter-attacks on state media’s dishonesty.
A Catholic prosecutor in Phat Diem diocese has condemned an article on the People’s Police newspaper of distorting his opinion. “I confirmed that I never said anything relating to Thai Ha, I never asked for the punishment [against the protestors], I did not mention God in my answers,” said Judge Vu Kim My of Kim Son, Ninh Binh who has immediately spoken out against a report carried on the paper on Sep. 15. He stated that the reporter asked him only two questions relating to general law’s knowledge. “The rest of the report was added by themselves”, said Judge Vu.
The case of Judge Vu is a further evidence of what Mgr Vu Huy Chuong denounced on Sep. 8 of a campaign of falsehoods and disinformation by state media.
In an article on New Hanoi newspaper dated Aug. 20, Nguyen Quoc Cuong of Dai On parish in Chuong My, Ha Tay accused Thai Ha protestors of “not following Catholic Catechism”. But, Hanoi archdiocese quickly found out that the man only existed in the imagination of his inventors. “He simply does not exist in our parish,” said a parish council member of Dai On.
Even more miracously, the same paper could make a dead person speak out against their brothers and sisters in faith. Nguyen Duc Thang was introduced as a parishioner of Thach Bich, and further, a Church dissident who strongly opposed protests at Thai Ha. This time, the archdiocese discovered that the person did exist. “Yes, he was a Catholic in my parish”, said Fr. Nguyen Khac Que, the vicar of Thach Bich. But, “he already died a few years ago. I have no idea how a dead person could answer an interview of the paper,” he scathed.
Right in front of Thai Ha monastery, a group of cameramen from Hanoi Television interviewed an elderly person on Sep. 4. He was introduced as a Catholic. But when protestors asked him his Christian name, he did not know and admitted that he was a beggar. “They [the television cameramen] had given me some money to act and speak as instructed,” he disclosed.
On The Voice of Vietnam, the state’s official radio network, Fr. Nguyen Van Khanh, vicar of Gia Nghia in Lam Dong province, was reported to oppose protests in Thai Ha, and to praise the land policy of the government stating that “all the parish’s land problems with the government were solved completely in fairness.” However, when contacted by Church authorities of Dalat diocese, he insisted that no one had interviewed him. Furthermore, he lamented that his parish’s land “was confiscated without any compensation.” The parish was forced to move deep inside the mountainous area of Dak Nut. After all petitions had gone into deaf ears, “we had to buy a new piece of land to build a new church. We strongly disagree with the government on the way it handles land disputes,” Fr Nguyen added.
In a communiqué read at every Sunday Mass, Fr. Anthony Pham Anh Dung, the vice chancellor of the Archdiocese of Hanoi, warned priests and faithful of the archdiocese on tricks of state media “in order to make up fake scenarios to distort and deceit public opinion.”
It listed cases in Can Kiem and Nam Du as particular examples before calling “all priests and faithful to be smart and vigilant could they be contacted by state media.”
“We also not to forget to pray for penmen and other media personnels. May they know how to respect every one, and have the courage to act according to their conscience,” Fr. Anthony suggested requesting the communiqué to be read at every Sunday Mass throughout the archdiocese.
In many dioceses, faithful have gathered around display cases, where the church bulletins are posted, to see the images and articles on the events in Hanoi, of which the highly controlled national media have falsely reported.
People have been warned not to read articles from Catholic News Agencies. However, nowadays, these articles are on high demand. They have been translated into Vietnamese, then printed to post on the church bulletins, or photocopied to send around.
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| A beggar or a super star of Hanoi Television? |
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| A church bulletin board full of articles on Thai Ha |
The case of Judge Vu is a further evidence of what Mgr Vu Huy Chuong denounced on Sep. 8 of a campaign of falsehoods and disinformation by state media.
In an article on New Hanoi newspaper dated Aug. 20, Nguyen Quoc Cuong of Dai On parish in Chuong My, Ha Tay accused Thai Ha protestors of “not following Catholic Catechism”. But, Hanoi archdiocese quickly found out that the man only existed in the imagination of his inventors. “He simply does not exist in our parish,” said a parish council member of Dai On.
Even more miracously, the same paper could make a dead person speak out against their brothers and sisters in faith. Nguyen Duc Thang was introduced as a parishioner of Thach Bich, and further, a Church dissident who strongly opposed protests at Thai Ha. This time, the archdiocese discovered that the person did exist. “Yes, he was a Catholic in my parish”, said Fr. Nguyen Khac Que, the vicar of Thach Bich. But, “he already died a few years ago. I have no idea how a dead person could answer an interview of the paper,” he scathed.
Right in front of Thai Ha monastery, a group of cameramen from Hanoi Television interviewed an elderly person on Sep. 4. He was introduced as a Catholic. But when protestors asked him his Christian name, he did not know and admitted that he was a beggar. “They [the television cameramen] had given me some money to act and speak as instructed,” he disclosed.
On The Voice of Vietnam, the state’s official radio network, Fr. Nguyen Van Khanh, vicar of Gia Nghia in Lam Dong province, was reported to oppose protests in Thai Ha, and to praise the land policy of the government stating that “all the parish’s land problems with the government were solved completely in fairness.” However, when contacted by Church authorities of Dalat diocese, he insisted that no one had interviewed him. Furthermore, he lamented that his parish’s land “was confiscated without any compensation.” The parish was forced to move deep inside the mountainous area of Dak Nut. After all petitions had gone into deaf ears, “we had to buy a new piece of land to build a new church. We strongly disagree with the government on the way it handles land disputes,” Fr Nguyen added.
In a communiqué read at every Sunday Mass, Fr. Anthony Pham Anh Dung, the vice chancellor of the Archdiocese of Hanoi, warned priests and faithful of the archdiocese on tricks of state media “in order to make up fake scenarios to distort and deceit public opinion.”
It listed cases in Can Kiem and Nam Du as particular examples before calling “all priests and faithful to be smart and vigilant could they be contacted by state media.”
“We also not to forget to pray for penmen and other media personnels. May they know how to respect every one, and have the courage to act according to their conscience,” Fr. Anthony suggested requesting the communiqué to be read at every Sunday Mass throughout the archdiocese.
In many dioceses, faithful have gathered around display cases, where the church bulletins are posted, to see the images and articles on the events in Hanoi, of which the highly controlled national media have falsely reported.
People have been warned not to read articles from Catholic News Agencies. However, nowadays, these articles are on high demand. They have been translated into Vietnamese, then printed to post on the church bulletins, or photocopied to send around.