Hanoi, Vietnam, Dec 2, 2008 / 04:33 am
In one of the largest protests to be held in Vietnam in decades, more than 5,000 people gathered in a candlelight vigil on Sunday evening at Saigon Redemptorist Monastery to demonstrate support for eight Catholics who will be put on trial under false pretenses.
Government authorities have charged the eight parishioners of Thai Ha Church with “damaging state property and disorderly conduct in public,” while Catholics claim the charges are false.
For more than a year, Catholics have faced off with the Vietnamese government as they seek to reclaim property confiscated by the communists, property which includes a former papal nunciature.
At Sunday’s protests, 160 priests from various religious orders in Saigon and nearby provinces concelebrated Mass to pray for the Church in Vietnam and in particular for the eight faithful scheduled for trial, Father J.B. An Dang reports to CNA.