Hanoi, Dec. 18, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Despite strong pressure from the Vietnamese government, Church leaders have rejected a call for the transfer of several Redemptorist priests out of Hanoi. Instead the Redemptorist provincial in Vietnam has urged government officials to exercise restraint and has asked for open dialogue to resolve disputes about the confiscation of Church property.
Father Vincent Nguyen Trung Thanh said that he would not comply with a demand by the Hanoi People's Committee for the removal of priests accused by the Communist Party leadership of "smearing the system of justice in Vietnam." The Redemptorist provincial said that he had no grounds for action against the priests, because they had "not done anything against current Church law." On the contrary, Father Nguyen said, the accused priests have performed well in difficult circumstances. "They have stood on the side of the poor and those who have suffered injustice," he said.
When Redemptorists in Hanoi protested the trial of Catholic activists who had been engaged in protests outside their monastery, they did not malign the court, the provincial said. "They simply told the truth."
Father Nguyen told Radio Free Asia that he did not think Church-state relations could be improved by submitting to the government officials' demand. He said that the strains between the Church and the Vietnamese government could only be resolved by sincere dialogue.
From Hanoi another Redemportist priest, Father John Nguyen warned that government hostility toward the Church is likely to increase. “The Church needs to prepare for more persecutions," he said. "As Christmas draws near, we are still at Golgotha on the Good Friday.”
Father Vincent Nguyen Trung Thanh said that he would not comply with a demand by the Hanoi People's Committee for the removal of priests accused by the Communist Party leadership of "smearing the system of justice in Vietnam." The Redemptorist provincial said that he had no grounds for action against the priests, because they had "not done anything against current Church law." On the contrary, Father Nguyen said, the accused priests have performed well in difficult circumstances. "They have stood on the side of the poor and those who have suffered injustice," he said.
When Redemptorists in Hanoi protested the trial of Catholic activists who had been engaged in protests outside their monastery, they did not malign the court, the provincial said. "They simply told the truth."
Father Nguyen told Radio Free Asia that he did not think Church-state relations could be improved by submitting to the government officials' demand. He said that the strains between the Church and the Vietnamese government could only be resolved by sincere dialogue.
From Hanoi another Redemportist priest, Father John Nguyen warned that government hostility toward the Church is likely to increase. “The Church needs to prepare for more persecutions," he said. "As Christmas draws near, we are still at Golgotha on the Good Friday.”