Hanoi, Vietnam, Nov 3, 2009 / 02:19 am
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.