Catholics in Hanoi got shocked to hear the attack organized by the Communist government against Hanoi Redemptorists and Thai Ha’s parishioners.
Thousands of Catholics have gathered at Thai Ha to put their support behind Redemptorists and parishioners who were suffered an attack organized by local government on Saturday night. Some special services also have been held around the archdiocese to pray for Thai Ha parish.
The shocking news on the attack spread through parishes on Sunday when Catholics gathered at churches to celebrate the Feast of Vietnamese Martyrs. After morning Sunday Masses, a great number of Catholics from St. Joseph Cathedral, Ham Long, and Hang Bot … including far distant parishes of Thach Bich, Canh Hoach, and Bai Xuyen travelled to Thai Ha by all available means. They were extremely upset at the destruction of the Saint Gerardo Chapel.
“It’s an obvious persecution against Catholics by the government,” said a parishioner from Thach Bich. “For years, Redemptorist priests and their faithful have requested for the requisition of their land illegally seized by the state. Having trembled their legal aspiration, the government now openly persecutes them,” she added.
“It was significant that the government stroke Thai Ha parish right on the day Catholics in Vietnam celebrated the Feast of Vietnamese Martyrs,” Fr. Joseph Nguyen reported from Hanoi. “This attack reminds people that since its very first outset, the seed of Faith in Vietnam soil was mixed with the abundant blood of the martyrs from all walks of life, from the courageous missionary clergy as well as the local clergy and the Christian people of Vietnam. The Church in Vietnam today is not better or even worse than in the past,” he warned.
“The Catholic Church in Vietnam as a whole is now the subject of Vietnam government’s persecution by definition,” said a student of Hanoi University. “And this attack is a challenge to the conscience of the world," he believed.
Thousands of Catholics have gathered at Thai Ha to put their support behind Redemptorists and parishioners who were suffered an attack organized by local government on Saturday night. Some special services also have been held around the archdiocese to pray for Thai Ha parish.
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| Thousands of Catholics went to Thai Ha in Sunday morning |
“It’s an obvious persecution against Catholics by the government,” said a parishioner from Thach Bich. “For years, Redemptorist priests and their faithful have requested for the requisition of their land illegally seized by the state. Having trembled their legal aspiration, the government now openly persecutes them,” she added.
“It was significant that the government stroke Thai Ha parish right on the day Catholics in Vietnam celebrated the Feast of Vietnamese Martyrs,” Fr. Joseph Nguyen reported from Hanoi. “This attack reminds people that since its very first outset, the seed of Faith in Vietnam soil was mixed with the abundant blood of the martyrs from all walks of life, from the courageous missionary clergy as well as the local clergy and the Christian people of Vietnam. The Church in Vietnam today is not better or even worse than in the past,” he warned.
“The Catholic Church in Vietnam as a whole is now the subject of Vietnam government’s persecution by definition,” said a student of Hanoi University. “And this attack is a challenge to the conscience of the world," he believed.