Hanoi Archbishop must be transferred out of Hanoi, the city government told foreign diplomats.
Chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee met with foreign diplomats on Oct. 15 in order to explain persecutions against the Church recently, and probe their reactions on further potential extreme actions.
Nguyen The Thao told “ambassadors, deputy ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions that the main reason behind the recent land claims at 42 Nha Chung and 178 Nguyen Luong Bang in Hanoi was a poor awareness of the law amongst the Catholic demonstrators,” state-run Vietnam News Agency reported.
Thao accused “a number of priests, led by Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet, took advantage of parishioners’ beliefs and their own low awareness of the law to instigate unrest, intentionally breaking the law and acting contrary to the interests of both the nation and the Church.”
The Saigon Liberated newspaper fabricated that “foreign diplomats thanked Mr. Chairman for the information and highly praised the solution of Hanoi People’s Committee for land disputes with the Church.”
Fr. John Nguyen from Hanoi took the issue. “No one from a civilized society can ‘highly praised’ overt persecutions against peaceful believers. You can be assured that had a diplomat spoken something in favor of this government’s deeds then surely his name would be on all state media no later than the next day.”
“The obvious question is why to implement such a good solution, the Vietnam government had to deploy hundreds of police armed to the teeth, aided by professionally trained dogs; and was prepared to attack anyone who dared to disclose their plot to the outside world, even an American reporter?” he asked.
The daily newspaper continued to report that Thao told foreign diplomats that “Hanoi Archbishop must be transferred out of Hanoi as he has neither reputation nor creditability with the city’s citizen, including Catholic faithful.”
For Fr. Pascal Nguyen Ngoc Tinh, OFM, in Saigon, it’s simply a blatant lie. For Catholics and many non-Catholics, Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet is “an outstanding leader of the Church in Vietnam”.
“What is the real reason underneath this extreme grudging attitude toward the prelate?” he asked.
“In the meeting with Hanoi People’s Committee on Sep. 20, a day after the government had bulldozed the nunciature,” he continued, “the prelate had bold courage to state that religious freedom is a LEGAL RIGHT, not a PRIVILEGE.”
“In my opinion, the very reason that made the communists jump up crazily as if they had electric shocked is that the prelate has the nerve to cry out for rights. When I stand up to demand for my rights, it means my rights have been taken away. They have been deprived from me,” he concluded.
Fr. John Nguyen expressed his grave concerns that Hanoi Archbishop would soon get more and more troubles.
“Thao has been seen as a shining star on Vietnam political theatre,” he explained. “The Politburo has explicitly appreciated his tough attitude and actions against Catholics. Many members of the Party Central Committee had no hesitation to throw their full support behind him. Recently, there have been rumours that he is going to replace the Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung who has been seen as a poor choice for that post. The fact that he had greeted foreign diplomats confirmed these rumours. In Vietnam’s diplomatic protocol, it’s very unusual for a mayor to meet with foreign diplomats.”
Chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee met with foreign diplomats on Oct. 15 in order to explain persecutions against the Church recently, and probe their reactions on further potential extreme actions.
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| Archbishop Joseph Ngo: Religious freedom is a LEGAL RIGHT, not a PRIVILEGE. |
Thao accused “a number of priests, led by Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet, took advantage of parishioners’ beliefs and their own low awareness of the law to instigate unrest, intentionally breaking the law and acting contrary to the interests of both the nation and the Church.”
The Saigon Liberated newspaper fabricated that “foreign diplomats thanked Mr. Chairman for the information and highly praised the solution of Hanoi People’s Committee for land disputes with the Church.”
Fr. John Nguyen from Hanoi took the issue. “No one from a civilized society can ‘highly praised’ overt persecutions against peaceful believers. You can be assured that had a diplomat spoken something in favor of this government’s deeds then surely his name would be on all state media no later than the next day.”
“The obvious question is why to implement such a good solution, the Vietnam government had to deploy hundreds of police armed to the teeth, aided by professionally trained dogs; and was prepared to attack anyone who dared to disclose their plot to the outside world, even an American reporter?” he asked.
The daily newspaper continued to report that Thao told foreign diplomats that “Hanoi Archbishop must be transferred out of Hanoi as he has neither reputation nor creditability with the city’s citizen, including Catholic faithful.”
For Fr. Pascal Nguyen Ngoc Tinh, OFM, in Saigon, it’s simply a blatant lie. For Catholics and many non-Catholics, Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet is “an outstanding leader of the Church in Vietnam”.
“What is the real reason underneath this extreme grudging attitude toward the prelate?” he asked.
“In the meeting with Hanoi People’s Committee on Sep. 20, a day after the government had bulldozed the nunciature,” he continued, “the prelate had bold courage to state that religious freedom is a LEGAL RIGHT, not a PRIVILEGE.”
“In my opinion, the very reason that made the communists jump up crazily as if they had electric shocked is that the prelate has the nerve to cry out for rights. When I stand up to demand for my rights, it means my rights have been taken away. They have been deprived from me,” he concluded.
Fr. John Nguyen expressed his grave concerns that Hanoi Archbishop would soon get more and more troubles.
“Thao has been seen as a shining star on Vietnam political theatre,” he explained. “The Politburo has explicitly appreciated his tough attitude and actions against Catholics. Many members of the Party Central Committee had no hesitation to throw their full support behind him. Recently, there have been rumours that he is going to replace the Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung who has been seen as a poor choice for that post. The fact that he had greeted foreign diplomats confirmed these rumours. In Vietnam’s diplomatic protocol, it’s very unusual for a mayor to meet with foreign diplomats.”