Australian Vietnamese Catholic Community denounces "extreme actions"
The Vietnamese Catholic Community in Australia has denounced the persecution of Catholic faithful in Hanoi and appealed to the Vietnamese government to return seized Church property to its rightful owner.
In a media release, the VCCA reports that several Catholics are still being detained in prison.
The Archbishop of Hanoi, Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet, and numerous leaders of the Redemptorist Congregation in Hanoi have been the subjects of a government campaign of public defamation and extreme legal action has been threatened against them all, the VCCA says.
In response the VCCA has sent thousands of petitions to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference asking for help.
Since December 18 2007, Hanoi Catholics have been organising daily prayer vigils outside the former building of the Nunciature in Hanoi, pleading for return of the building that had been confiscated unlawfully by the Communist regime in 1959.
The parishioners' protests only came to a halt at the Holy See's instruction when the government agreed on February 1 2008 to return the building to the Church.
As understood by both sides, the Vietnamese Communist government was to undertake the steps necessary to return the property. However, it managed to delay returning the property using various bureaucratic manoeuvres, the VCCA says.
But on September 19 the government announced the buildings at the Nunciature would be demolished to make room for a playground. Demolition commenced immediately with the backing of its armed forces.
"This action clearly contradicts the policy of dialogue that the Catholic Church and the Vietnam Communist government have pursued," the VCCA says.
"It insults the legitimate aspirations of the Hanoi Catholic community, ridicules the law, and does not respect the agreement the government had with the Catholic Church in Vietnam. It is also an immoral act and a mocking of society's conscience."
The VCCA also called for the return of Church property in the Thai Ha Redemptorist parish in Hanoi.
The Vietnamese Communist government has not listened to them and repeatedly attempted to silence protestors by using large numbers of police and security forces, militiamen, and even street gang members.
"Australia has a long tradition of being a beacon protector of Religious and Human Rights throughout the world and a beacon whenever humanity is in harm way," the VCCA says.
"We respectfully request that you do everything in your power to ensure that the Hanoi regime desists from all sorts of violent repression of the protestors, and return the confiscated Church property that is at the root of the dispute.
"The Vietnamese Communist government must respect its own laws and international laws that it had signed and pledged to obey. It must immediately take firm and concrete action to prevent further Religious and Human Rights violations against followers of religious groups, recognising their rights to practice their faiths free of harassment and oppression."
SOURCE: Vietnamese Catholic Community in Australia (Media Release, 26/9/08)
http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=9210 Published: September 29, 2008
The Vietnamese Catholic Community in Australia has denounced the persecution of Catholic faithful in Hanoi and appealed to the Vietnamese government to return seized Church property to its rightful owner.
In a media release, the VCCA reports that several Catholics are still being detained in prison.
The Archbishop of Hanoi, Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet, and numerous leaders of the Redemptorist Congregation in Hanoi have been the subjects of a government campaign of public defamation and extreme legal action has been threatened against them all, the VCCA says.
In response the VCCA has sent thousands of petitions to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference asking for help.
Since December 18 2007, Hanoi Catholics have been organising daily prayer vigils outside the former building of the Nunciature in Hanoi, pleading for return of the building that had been confiscated unlawfully by the Communist regime in 1959.
The parishioners' protests only came to a halt at the Holy See's instruction when the government agreed on February 1 2008 to return the building to the Church.
As understood by both sides, the Vietnamese Communist government was to undertake the steps necessary to return the property. However, it managed to delay returning the property using various bureaucratic manoeuvres, the VCCA says.
But on September 19 the government announced the buildings at the Nunciature would be demolished to make room for a playground. Demolition commenced immediately with the backing of its armed forces.
"This action clearly contradicts the policy of dialogue that the Catholic Church and the Vietnam Communist government have pursued," the VCCA says.
"It insults the legitimate aspirations of the Hanoi Catholic community, ridicules the law, and does not respect the agreement the government had with the Catholic Church in Vietnam. It is also an immoral act and a mocking of society's conscience."
The VCCA also called for the return of Church property in the Thai Ha Redemptorist parish in Hanoi.
The Vietnamese Communist government has not listened to them and repeatedly attempted to silence protestors by using large numbers of police and security forces, militiamen, and even street gang members.
"Australia has a long tradition of being a beacon protector of Religious and Human Rights throughout the world and a beacon whenever humanity is in harm way," the VCCA says.
"We respectfully request that you do everything in your power to ensure that the Hanoi regime desists from all sorts of violent repression of the protestors, and return the confiscated Church property that is at the root of the dispute.
"The Vietnamese Communist government must respect its own laws and international laws that it had signed and pledged to obey. It must immediately take firm and concrete action to prevent further Religious and Human Rights violations against followers of religious groups, recognising their rights to practice their faiths free of harassment and oppression."
SOURCE: Vietnamese Catholic Community in Australia (Media Release, 26/9/08)
http://www.cathnews.com/article.aspx?aeid=9210 Published: September 29, 2008