Vietnamese bishop condemns government take over of monastery

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The Monastery of the Congregation of St. Paul of Chartres being demolished

Hanoi, Vietnam, Nov 3, 2009 / 04:19 am (CNA).- A Vietnamese bishop has strongly condemned the initiation of a “sorrowful” project to convert a monastery in the Diocese of Vinh Long into a public square.

Bishop Thomas Nguyen Van Tan of Vinh Long, in an Oct. 28 letter to the priests, religious and laity of his diocese, said that the local government had aggressively started the project despite the ongoing protest of the diocese and the Congregation of St. Paul of Chartres, the monastery’s former occupants.

The bishop said that local authorities had not informed him of the decision, which he learned from reading the newspaper, Fr. J.B. An Dang tells CNA.

The action is “so embittering” for Catholics, the bishop continued.

“It’s so sorrowful to see a place for worshiping God, for praying to Him, for spiritual training, and for providing charity services being converted into a place for entertainment.”

He added that he also felt disgust at seeing the Catholic cemetery of the diocese illegally seized and demolished for a public park.

Bishop Thomas Nguyen said the incident is part of the ongoing injustice his diocese has suffered since the “disastrous day” of Sept. 7, 1977. On that date the local authorities used the armed forces to blockade and raid the cathedral, the major seminary and the Holy Cross College of Vinh Long. Authorities arrested all the leaders of the institutions, including Bishop Nguyen Van Tan himself.

The bishop reported that all leading clergy had to leave the institutions.

“Few were imprisoned. Others were transferred to other places,” he said, charging that local authorities had falsely denounced them of “training youth to be an anti-revolution force to oppose the liberation of the country.”

The Vietnamese government reportedly told religious leaders that it would grant land-use rights if they asked, but the bishop thought this was impossible as long as the government considered the religious to be criminals.

Bishop Thomas Nguyen asked the faithful to pray more intensely for holy souls and for the end of the injustices that the diocese has suffered.

Comments: 14

Subscriber comments:

Published by: Edwin Tran
UK 11/06/2009 02:36 AM EST

Dear Lord Jesus, I am praying you to bring them understanding the world of evilness surround them. Let them see what I see. Truthfulness can be hurt and am hoping these people learnt the truth.

Published by: Nguyen Thi Xuan
Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh, Viet Nam 11/05/2009 05:05 PM EST

Mr. Edwin Tran, may our God Lord Jesus Christ love you and bless you. We will pray for you sincerely and we will pray for your family to be free and to be more educated. We will pray for you to open your heart to see the love of Our Father in heaven. Amen.

Published by: Vincent Ciarrevella
Italia 11/05/2009 04:52 PM EST

Mr. Edwin Tran, Vatican is a Sovereign country completely independent from Italy. Why do they have to pay the mafia? Who educated you with such information? I read quite a bit about the founder of the Viet-Minh party. If uncle Ho Chi Minh were still alive today, he would be crying to see how your government destroying the buildings for the Vietnamese people to worship, regardless they are Buddhists or Catholics. If you are really living in U.K., you should know by now that we DO NOT and we WILL NOT believe or endorse the idea that government should have the power to control the religions. Period. Your government is truly barbaric to oppress your own people like that.

Published by: Hung M Nguyen
Falls Chruch, Virginia 11/05/2009 04:23 PM EST

Mr. Tran in U.K. Majority of the Vietnamese oversea were once refugees from the communist VN. By the way, the communist Vietnamese government confiscated their houses when they were still living there, at least in it was my case. They want to worship freely and they believe in freedom of religion and freedom of speech. If you believe in the communist government in VN, you should go back to VN instead of persecuting your own people from oversea. Did you know that Saint Paul did the same in Syria as you do today? Mr. Ray Mon, Edwin Tran is an undercover agent of the communist Vietnamese government. We welcome him to debate.

Published by: Edwin Tran
UK 11/05/2009 03:18 PM EST

Country like Switzerland priests to be imported from Africa because there is none young priest entered the service of God. The figure is much similar in the UK, and if any, number is much too small compare with countries from the third world. The rest of Euro will soon be importing priests from the around the globe and particular in from poorer nations. No one explained why is so? Many be they know the answer, but not explaining it? Vietnam is very much a spiritual country, high birth rate and the principle was to have one member of a family out of ten children serve God can be advantages compared with family has no connection with the church during the French rule of Vietnam in the last century. This tradition carries on and a lot of misunderstanding what is a priest and god. Many considered it as having a son of God in the tree family. In anyone read the Roman history would understand the word ‘barbaric or barbarian’. The Roman Empire has considered anyone not within the Empire was automatic Barbarian. The Germania was once the Barbarian to the Roman Empire. Barbarian here I quoted as teach outside the Church bible.

Published by: Edwin Tran
UK 11/05/2009 02:33 PM EST

The Vietnamese Catholics community knew that they have something like near 200++ Vietnamese Priests origin in Vatican and their words are pretty powerful and taken onboard. Therefore the Vietnamese Catholics communities overseas were well respected, but I do not think this is a good way for the majority of the house of God used their power. All country should treat the same even if Vatican has 1000 Vietnamese and just 1 North Korean priest. Funny, I got people what am I doing in the UK? What are you doing in the US and involving with Vietnam internal affairs?

Published by: Ray Mon
Seatttle 11/05/2009 12:42 PM EST

The Vietnamese goverment presecutes Buddhists also, especially Khmer Krom indeginious community of the Mekong Delta region. Also, they just attacked and closed down Master Thich Nhat Hahn's monoastery near Hue. What must happen, will occur.

Published by: Tran Viet Hung 007
UK 11/05/2009 08:38 AM EST

Even the house of god in Vatican where the Pope live and works, rent have to pay monthly to the Italian Mafia and why they claimed land in a country as far as Vietnam. That Linh T. Tran was very faithfully to the Catholics, but not all that bright!

Published by: Edwin Tran
UK 11/05/2009 08:33 AM EST

Vatican is paying rent for the very building today where you worship Lord Jesus Christ and is silly for the Catholics Church claims the land are their?

Published by: Le Bui
Fort Worth TX 11/05/2009 08:00 AM EST

Edwin Tran, 1. The justice is an universal common sense.Everyone has the right to complain his or her government when they believe they are oppressed or discriminated. You are living in United Kingdom(?)where there is no discrimination against you , so you have nothing to complain. Let the people in Vietnam to express their distress. 2. Not only the catholics but hundreds of the bloggers,poets,writers,lawyers,doctors , buddhists etc...were imprisoned because of their complaints against the communist government. 3. The Church never tell its members to break the State law.The church's teaching is:"the justice for all people".Hundreds of people'property were confiscated.Some of them were tranformed to school,hospital or city park, but most of them were built hotels,shopping centers,golf courses owned by government officials or run by their associates. 4. The Vietnamese people have been harassed,intimidated,terrorizered and robbed by the tyranny for decades. They have the right to express their distress and call the world for help.

Published by: Francis Xavier T
Washington, D.C. 11/04/2009 04:41 PM EST

Edwin Tran, it seems that you are complaining about your own Vietnamese. I have few questions for you. If you love your communist government so much, why are you doing in UK? Why we Catholics should consider your opinion that our laws are only secondary? How the Vietnamese Catholics are barbaric? Do the Europeans and the Americans protest in public? Hmmm...you must be one of those counterintelligent spy against your own people. I have news for you, truly. The more you are against Christ, the better chance you will be converted to be a Christian. Lord Jesus died on the Cross, which was a form of Roman punishment. Where is Vatican today? I believe that is what people call Rome. Who wrote most of the books in the New Testament? I believe that it was written by a guy, who relentlessly persecuted the Christians at that times, whose name is called Saint Paul. If you don't believe me, please go ahead and continue your mission to persecute your own Vietnamese Christians. You will find love, agape, and I will be waiting right here to hear your conversion.

Published by: Linh T. Tran
Washington, D.C. 11/04/2009 04:16 PM EST

Mr. Tran, I am not sure that Tran is your real last name, nor I know you are really a Catholic. If you are a real Vietnamese and try to represent the view of your communist state country, then you should move back to VN instead of accusing the Vietnamese Catholics falsely. First of all, the Catholics in VN have not broken any laws in the eyes of any civilized Western nation. Secondly, Christians has never considered the laws in the Holy Scripture to be barbaric. In fact, we teach and obey the Ten Commandment and the laws that Lord Jesus has taught us--Love God above all and love your neighbor. Further, debating politic in public square is a sign of civilization. Obedience of the unreasonable demands is the behavior of animal, not man. Every Catholic in Viet-Nam deserves the right of religious freedom and no government should dictate how they should worship. If you think you can speak a few words in English, hide in UK, and accuse your own kind to be barbaric, you are no more than a traitor of your own kind. BTW, you have forgotten to change your last name.

Published by: Edwin Tran
UK 11/04/2009 02:07 AM EST

I think the Vietnamese Catholics in Vietnam made too many complaints for almost everything. I am not quite sure how much welcome would be if all the Vietnamese Catholics immigrated to Rome and live there with the Vatican. For some reason the church teaches the Catholics community in Vietnam not to respect the State laws, but accepted only the word of the church and these were the reason why certain unrest started and the Human Rights Group took up these problems threatened Vietnam by asked the US government to have Vietnam on the list of CPC. Vatican should teach the Vietnamese Catholics that their laws are only second primarily important to the nation they are living in instead causing the hassle. Is there a country in European or a Catholics nation based on the Church laws? Only the Islam does and the Christian has considered barbaric and they teach the Vietnamese Catholics to be that barbaric. Why? The so called Human Rights Group is not a group belongs to the international, but purely a Christian Churches Group head office in Rome and other major office in the US and their missions to represent for Human kind? Wait a min, who asked for help them? If even if they do, they should considered other religions so that the world have a better understanding for what is Human Rights!

Published by: Alvaro C
Chile 11/03/2009 07:16 PM EST

Where are the so-called Human Rights organizations, the United Nations and all those other noisy people that are supposed to defend freedom? They are silent, defending the tryany of communism.

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