Local authority summoned Redemptorist provincial superior of Vietnam after repeated raids on the monastery’s church.
The preparation for Christmas at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Saigon has been repeatedly interrupted by raids from local officials who have been insisting that Redemptorists who are in charge of the church must remove from their bulletin boards what the authorities had described as “anti-regime" articles, and stop delivering homilies calling for justice.
On Dec. 8, local officials of the third district of Ho Chi Minh city abruptly raided the church, the second largest one in Saigon, interrupting scheduled liturgical celebrations and ongoing Christmas’ preparations. The next day, local officials backed by security police in plain clothes raided the church again taking photos and filming with video cameras in a threatening tactic. Fr. Joseph Dinh Huu Thoai, Chief of the Secretariat of the Redemptorist Province, reported in a letter dated Dec. 13 sent to “all Redemptorists in Vietnam”.
Fr. Joseph Dinh lamented that the harassment did not stop there; on next day, local authorities even summoned Fr. Vincent Pham Trung Thanh, the provincial superior for "working sessions" at their local office.
At the meeting, representatives of state administration for religious affairs and local officials took turn to spell out “unjust accusations against Saigon’s Redemptorists of being ‘preaching anti-government sentiment, instigators of disorder, inciting riots, falsely accusing the government, violating law on social media...’” wrote the Secretariat.
Also at the same "working session" the provincial superior was told that he himself was liable for “homilies of Redemptorists and articles posted on bulletin boards relating to land disputes at the Hanoi nunciature, Thai Ha; waves of persecution at Tam Toa, Con Dau, Dong Chiem... and the government plan to mine bauxite deposits in Vietnam's Central Highlands”. From the government’s point of view, they are “non-religious issues” that priests are not allowed to mention. Any violation would result in charges of conducting anti-government activities.
Fr. Vincent Pham rejected all accusations saying that his orders have always been working for the good of all people, praying and living in service to the Gospel, and calling for the reconciliation among sections in the society, and the respect of justice and truth.
In respond to his refutation, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Le, the chairwoman of the District's People Committee vowed “more raids” on the church in next days.
The Redemptorist Province in Vietnam is the largest order in Asia. Over the past twenty years, the Province has grown in size from 179 professed brothers in 1983 to 278 people today, including 168 priests who live in about 20 houses scattered throughout the country, in North, Central, and South Vietnam. There are also 222 postulants. The growth of vocations represents a great hope for the entire Church in Vietnam.
There has been a general crackdown on dissent in Vietnam ahead of the ruling Communist Party congress which is set for early next year. Prominent lawyers, journalists and activists have been arrested and jailed in recent months, while others remain under government surveillance.
As this article is being written, the Vietnamese Mennonite Church in Saigon is issuing an emergency appeal on the government's violence against their Church leaders and followers when the victims refused to let them destroying the church in second district.
In that context, the wave of harassment against Redemptorists in Vietnam may harbinger for imminent crackdowns.
The preparation for Christmas at the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Saigon has been repeatedly interrupted by raids from local officials who have been insisting that Redemptorists who are in charge of the church must remove from their bulletin boards what the authorities had described as “anti-regime" articles, and stop delivering homilies calling for justice.
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Fr. Joseph Dinh lamented that the harassment did not stop there; on next day, local authorities even summoned Fr. Vincent Pham Trung Thanh, the provincial superior for "working sessions" at their local office.
At the meeting, representatives of state administration for religious affairs and local officials took turn to spell out “unjust accusations against Saigon’s Redemptorists of being ‘preaching anti-government sentiment, instigators of disorder, inciting riots, falsely accusing the government, violating law on social media...’” wrote the Secretariat.
Also at the same "working session" the provincial superior was told that he himself was liable for “homilies of Redemptorists and articles posted on bulletin boards relating to land disputes at the Hanoi nunciature, Thai Ha; waves of persecution at Tam Toa, Con Dau, Dong Chiem... and the government plan to mine bauxite deposits in Vietnam's Central Highlands”. From the government’s point of view, they are “non-religious issues” that priests are not allowed to mention. Any violation would result in charges of conducting anti-government activities.
Fr. Vincent Pham rejected all accusations saying that his orders have always been working for the good of all people, praying and living in service to the Gospel, and calling for the reconciliation among sections in the society, and the respect of justice and truth.
In respond to his refutation, Mrs. Nguyen Thi Le, the chairwoman of the District's People Committee vowed “more raids” on the church in next days.
The Redemptorist Province in Vietnam is the largest order in Asia. Over the past twenty years, the Province has grown in size from 179 professed brothers in 1983 to 278 people today, including 168 priests who live in about 20 houses scattered throughout the country, in North, Central, and South Vietnam. There are also 222 postulants. The growth of vocations represents a great hope for the entire Church in Vietnam.
There has been a general crackdown on dissent in Vietnam ahead of the ruling Communist Party congress which is set for early next year. Prominent lawyers, journalists and activists have been arrested and jailed in recent months, while others remain under government surveillance.
As this article is being written, the Vietnamese Mennonite Church in Saigon is issuing an emergency appeal on the government's violence against their Church leaders and followers when the victims refused to let them destroying the church in second district.
In that context, the wave of harassment against Redemptorists in Vietnam may harbinger for imminent crackdowns.