Vietnamese authorities have demolished another monastery in a move that observers say may signal a new harsh policy on church properties.
The monastery of the Congregation of the Brothers of The Holy Family of Banam (Frères de la Sainte Famille de Banam, FSF) in Long Xuyen, South Vietnam has shared the same fate of the Sisters of St Paul of Chartres' in Vinh Long which was pulled down not long ago, VietCatholic reports.
Last week, "the government of An Giang province has abruptly demolished the two storey building which once housed the priests and religious of the Holy Family Order," a spokesperson for diocese of Long Xuyen said.
The monastery, built in 1971, was still in such good condition that the sudden demolition surprised Catholic officials. To date, local government has not announced its intention for the future use of the land, nor informed the diocese of its decision to tear down the building.
The altar and religious statues were also discarded in a rubbish dump without informing the diocese or the religious order being asked to come and retrieve those items.
Meanwhile, Redemptorist Fr Le Quang Uy, a well known prolife advocate and critic of a government bauxite mining plan in the central highlands was detained at Tan Son Nhat airport on June 6.
Fr Le said his luggage had been searched meticulously and his laptop was confiscated by the airport security and customs agents. The priest was later released with a citation that required him to come to the Office of Cultural Inspection for a follow up meeting.
And in another story, a Catholic teacher has been fired from her job and may face criminal charges for allegedly encouraging her students to access to websites containing "politically sensitive materials."
Miss Nguyen Thi Bich Hanh, 28, has been accused of "taking advantages of her teaching position to disseminate counter revolution thoughts, speaking ill of communist leaders and distorting their images in the heart of children, seriously offending state policy on education, and advertising for anti-communist websites which spread slanders against the government," the People's Public Security Newspaper reported on June 1.
Speaking to Radio Free Asia, Ms Hanh said she did nothing wrong to be fired and she was sacked due in good part to her Catholic background.
The monastery of the Congregation of the Brothers of The Holy Family of Banam (Frères de la Sainte Famille de Banam, FSF) in Long Xuyen, South Vietnam has shared the same fate of the Sisters of St Paul of Chartres' in Vinh Long which was pulled down not long ago, VietCatholic reports.
Last week, "the government of An Giang province has abruptly demolished the two storey building which once housed the priests and religious of the Holy Family Order," a spokesperson for diocese of Long Xuyen said.
The monastery, built in 1971, was still in such good condition that the sudden demolition surprised Catholic officials. To date, local government has not announced its intention for the future use of the land, nor informed the diocese of its decision to tear down the building.
The altar and religious statues were also discarded in a rubbish dump without informing the diocese or the religious order being asked to come and retrieve those items.
Meanwhile, Redemptorist Fr Le Quang Uy, a well known prolife advocate and critic of a government bauxite mining plan in the central highlands was detained at Tan Son Nhat airport on June 6.
Fr Le said his luggage had been searched meticulously and his laptop was confiscated by the airport security and customs agents. The priest was later released with a citation that required him to come to the Office of Cultural Inspection for a follow up meeting.
And in another story, a Catholic teacher has been fired from her job and may face criminal charges for allegedly encouraging her students to access to websites containing "politically sensitive materials."
Miss Nguyen Thi Bich Hanh, 28, has been accused of "taking advantages of her teaching position to disseminate counter revolution thoughts, speaking ill of communist leaders and distorting their images in the heart of children, seriously offending state policy on education, and advertising for anti-communist websites which spread slanders against the government," the People's Public Security Newspaper reported on June 1.
Speaking to Radio Free Asia, Ms Hanh said she did nothing wrong to be fired and she was sacked due in good part to her Catholic background.