In an open, defiant gesture against the regime which has just seemed to be able to plunge the whole country deep into fear after a series of its crackdowns and arrests, tens of thousands of Catholics attended vigils to pray for a non-Catholic defendant. Their courage and their defiance to stand on the side of truth and justice have rocked the hearts of many in Vietnam.
On April 4, 2011 in a speedy trial at the People's Court of Hanoi which only took for 4 hours, prominent rights lawyer Cu Huy Ha Vu has just been sentenced to 7 years in prison following by an additional three years of house arrest. Vu was tried for "spreading propaganda against the state, publishing articles and taking part in interviews with foreign media aimed at 'smearing the authority of the people's government, carrying out psychological war, asking to overthrow the regime and demanding a multiparty system" to which he has always claimed innocent of.
Despite threats from local governments, a series of Masses and Candlelight Vigil were held on weekends at various locations in Hanoi, Nam Dinh and Saigon to pray for the lawyer, a non-Catholic.
On Saturday evening April 2, after celebrating a special Mass with religious and diocesan priests of Hanoi Archdiocese to pray for lawyer Vu, Fr. Matthew Vu Khoi Phung, the Monastery Superior led Vu’s family, none of them are Catholics; and 5000 others marching behind the Holy Cross to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Statue, where they held a Candle Vigils to pray “for the nation, for justice and truth, and in particular for a patriot who would be tried soon”.
In his homily, the Redemptorist Superior delivered a touching message of appreciation as well as sympathy for the legal advocate who had wholeheartedly defended his Catholic clients and now was finding himself victim of the same corrupted unlawful system which was going to try him without a sound probable cause.
Many of those who participated in the Mass and the Candlelight Vigil at Thai Ha parish were non-Catholics; and some had to travel hundreds of kilometres in order to show their support for the event. One woman told Asia News: "I am here today to be in communion with the Hanoi Catholics in praying for a patriot."
100 km away from the Hanoi Monastery, in the parish of Ham Long, Nam Dinh, Fr. Pham Minh Trieu, a diocesan priest, led another huge Candlelight Vigil to pray “for a patriot and for a nation where justice and truth have been trampled and distorted for decades, and for the respect of human rights and dignity.”
Redemptorists in Saigon organised simultaneous vigils with the second vigil in Hanoi which occurred on Sunday, the eve of the controversial trial.
Photos of the Mass and the Candlelight Vigil, the largest gathering of Catholics after the removal of Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet in last April, quickly spread to all corners of the country thanks to the Internet. The prayer service has touched so many. Most of the "underground" websites in Vietnam as well as overseas' have been inundated with comments expressing thanksgivings and praises for the "courageous, generous and defiant gesture" of the Thai Ha parish, and the Redemptorist priests in particular. It is worthy to note that the country has just experienced a series of brutal crackdowns and arrests as part of the preparation for 11th National Congress of Communist Party of Vietnam held during Jan. 12-19.
The Saturday vigil in Hanoi didn't happen without a price. Immediately following the service, police raided the monastery where they conducted an ID check on anyone whom they viewed as "suspicious" in the premise. No one was arrested. But some had their ID recorded in a usual threatening tactics of Vietnamese police.
Hours before the start of the court trial today, police both in uniform and plainclothes arrived in thousands to set up barriers and prevent anyone who attempted to enter the 500 meter zone around the courthouse, despite the claim that this was going to be an open court trial. Thousands of youth stood nearby with banners challenging the legitimate of the trial. They yelled out slogans asking for the immediate halt of the trial and the release of lawyer Vu.
Two foreign News reporters were granted permission to participate at the trial but without interpreters. Even two family members of the defendant who gained passes to participate but could make their way inside the court house. Scores of prospective trial spectators had been arrested and whisked away by the police, many of whom were Catholic bloggers and news reporters, lawyers, or leaders of youth groups.
At least two Catholic activists were arrested this morning as local authorities suspected that they might lead a protest in front of the court house.
On April 4, 2011 in a speedy trial at the People's Court of Hanoi which only took for 4 hours, prominent rights lawyer Cu Huy Ha Vu has just been sentenced to 7 years in prison following by an additional three years of house arrest. Vu was tried for "spreading propaganda against the state, publishing articles and taking part in interviews with foreign media aimed at 'smearing the authority of the people's government, carrying out psychological war, asking to overthrow the regime and demanding a multiparty system" to which he has always claimed innocent of.
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| Candlelight Vigil in Nam Dinh |
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| Candlelight Vigils in Hanoi |
On Saturday evening April 2, after celebrating a special Mass with religious and diocesan priests of Hanoi Archdiocese to pray for lawyer Vu, Fr. Matthew Vu Khoi Phung, the Monastery Superior led Vu’s family, none of them are Catholics; and 5000 others marching behind the Holy Cross to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Statue, where they held a Candle Vigils to pray “for the nation, for justice and truth, and in particular for a patriot who would be tried soon”.
In his homily, the Redemptorist Superior delivered a touching message of appreciation as well as sympathy for the legal advocate who had wholeheartedly defended his Catholic clients and now was finding himself victim of the same corrupted unlawful system which was going to try him without a sound probable cause.
Many of those who participated in the Mass and the Candlelight Vigil at Thai Ha parish were non-Catholics; and some had to travel hundreds of kilometres in order to show their support for the event. One woman told Asia News: "I am here today to be in communion with the Hanoi Catholics in praying for a patriot."
100 km away from the Hanoi Monastery, in the parish of Ham Long, Nam Dinh, Fr. Pham Minh Trieu, a diocesan priest, led another huge Candlelight Vigil to pray “for a patriot and for a nation where justice and truth have been trampled and distorted for decades, and for the respect of human rights and dignity.”
Redemptorists in Saigon organised simultaneous vigils with the second vigil in Hanoi which occurred on Sunday, the eve of the controversial trial.
Photos of the Mass and the Candlelight Vigil, the largest gathering of Catholics after the removal of Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet in last April, quickly spread to all corners of the country thanks to the Internet. The prayer service has touched so many. Most of the "underground" websites in Vietnam as well as overseas' have been inundated with comments expressing thanksgivings and praises for the "courageous, generous and defiant gesture" of the Thai Ha parish, and the Redemptorist priests in particular. It is worthy to note that the country has just experienced a series of brutal crackdowns and arrests as part of the preparation for 11th National Congress of Communist Party of Vietnam held during Jan. 12-19.
The Saturday vigil in Hanoi didn't happen without a price. Immediately following the service, police raided the monastery where they conducted an ID check on anyone whom they viewed as "suspicious" in the premise. No one was arrested. But some had their ID recorded in a usual threatening tactics of Vietnamese police.
Hours before the start of the court trial today, police both in uniform and plainclothes arrived in thousands to set up barriers and prevent anyone who attempted to enter the 500 meter zone around the courthouse, despite the claim that this was going to be an open court trial. Thousands of youth stood nearby with banners challenging the legitimate of the trial. They yelled out slogans asking for the immediate halt of the trial and the release of lawyer Vu.
Two foreign News reporters were granted permission to participate at the trial but without interpreters. Even two family members of the defendant who gained passes to participate but could make their way inside the court house. Scores of prospective trial spectators had been arrested and whisked away by the police, many of whom were Catholic bloggers and news reporters, lawyers, or leaders of youth groups.
At least two Catholic activists were arrested this morning as local authorities suspected that they might lead a protest in front of the court house.