Vietnamese Catholics have met with defeat in their efforts to secure the return of church properties that have been confiscated by the government. Nguyen Thanh Xuan, the government's deputy chief of religious affairs, has announced that the state "has no intention of returning any property or goods to the Catholic Church or any other religious organization."

That announcement squelched hopes that Catholic activists had cherished for an eventual return of many properties that have become the focus of public protests.

Father Joseph Nguyen of Hanoi commented that the government's refusal to entertain pleas reflects a policy of "ongoing injustice of confiscation, persecution, oppression, and exclusion” aimed against the Catholic Church.