For the second time in recent weeks, Vietnamese government officials have hastily announced the development of a "public park" on land confiscated from Church ownership. First a park was created on the grounds of the apostolic nunciature-- which the regime had promised in February would be returned to Church ownership. Now the same fate has been announced at the site of Redemptorist monastery in Hanoi.
Meanwhile more clerics and parishioners have been summoned in an investigation by police, who have charged the Hanoi Redemptorists with using their influence to incite the faithful in a confrontation with the government.
A Vietnamese prelate who was the target of denunciations and threats by the state-controlled media has been installed as the head of a diocese, ending a period of uncertainty as to whether the government would allow him to take office.
Bishop Cosme Hoang Van Dat was installed on October 7 as Bishop of Bac Ninh, ending a vacancy of more than two years in that role. His predecessor in Bac Ninh, Bishop Joseph Marie Nguyen, died in September 2006.
Early in September, after he had been named to the Bac Ninh post, the future bishop joined in demonstrations at a Redemptorist monastery in Hanoi, incurring the wrath of the Communist regime. Supporters feared that the government-- which has often barred the appointment of new bishops in the past-- might not allow his installation. In a related development, the New York-based group Human Righst Watch urged the Vietnamese government to end the harassment, threats, and restrictions on the movement of the Archbishop of Hanoi, Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet, who has publicly defended the rights of the Catholic protesters and visited the families of arrested parishioners. The group said that the regime should release Catholics who have been jailed for their participation in protests over disputed property, and should return the properties that have been seized from Church ownership.
Meanwhile more clerics and parishioners have been summoned in an investigation by police, who have charged the Hanoi Redemptorists with using their influence to incite the faithful in a confrontation with the government.
A Vietnamese prelate who was the target of denunciations and threats by the state-controlled media has been installed as the head of a diocese, ending a period of uncertainty as to whether the government would allow him to take office.
Bishop Cosme Hoang Van Dat was installed on October 7 as Bishop of Bac Ninh, ending a vacancy of more than two years in that role. His predecessor in Bac Ninh, Bishop Joseph Marie Nguyen, died in September 2006.
Early in September, after he had been named to the Bac Ninh post, the future bishop joined in demonstrations at a Redemptorist monastery in Hanoi, incurring the wrath of the Communist regime. Supporters feared that the government-- which has often barred the appointment of new bishops in the past-- might not allow his installation. In a related development, the New York-based group Human Righst Watch urged the Vietnamese government to end the harassment, threats, and restrictions on the movement of the Archbishop of Hanoi, Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet, who has publicly defended the rights of the Catholic protesters and visited the families of arrested parishioners. The group said that the regime should release Catholics who have been jailed for their participation in protests over disputed property, and should return the properties that have been seized from Church ownership.