Today the Church remembers St. Andrew Dung Lac and the Vietnamese Martyrs. The following comes from American Catholic:
St. Andrew was one of 117 martyrs who met death in Vietnam between 1820 and 1862. Members of this group were beatified on four different occasions between 1900 and 1951. Now all have been canonized by Pope John Paul II.
Christianity came to Vietnam (then three separate kingdoms) through the Portuguese. Jesuits opened the first permanent mission at Da Nang in 1615. They ministered to Japanese Catholics who had been driven from Japan.
The king of one of the kingdoms banned all foreign missionaries and tried to make all Vietnamese apostatize by trampling on a crucifix. Like the priest-holes in Ireland during English persecution, many hiding places were offered in homes of the faithful.
Severe persecutions were again launched three times in the 19th century. During the six decades after 1820, between 100,000 and 300,000 Catholics were killed or subjected to great hardship. Foreign missionaries martyred in the first wave included priests of the Paris Mission Society, and Spanish Dominican priests and tertiaries.
Persecution broke out again in 1847 when the emperor suspected foreign missionaries and Vietnamese Christians of sympathizing with the rebellion of one of his sons.
The last of the martyrs were 17 laypersons, one of them a 9-year-old, executed in 1862. That year a treaty with France guaranteed religious freedom to Catholics, but it did not stop all persecution.
By 1954 there were over a million and a half Catholics—about seven percent of the population—in the north. Buddhists represented about 60 percent. Persistent persecution forced some 670,000 Catholics to abandon lands, homes and possessions and flee to the south. In 1964, there were still 833,000 Catholics in the north, but many were in prison. In the south, Catholics were enjoying the first decade of religious freedom in centuries, their numbers swelled by refugees.
During the Vietnamese war, Catholics again suffered in the north, and again moved to the south in great numbers. Now the whole country is under Communist rule.
Today we remember the Martyrs of Vietnam. The following comes from the Patron Saints Index:
Between the arrival of the first Portuguese missionary in 1533, through the Dominicans and then the Jesuit missions of the 17th century, the politically inspired persecutions of the 19th century, and the Communist-led terrors of the twentieth, there have been many thousands of Catholics and other Christians murdered for their faith in Vietnam. Some were priests, some nuns or brothers, some lay people; some were foreign missionaries, but most were native Vietnamese killed by their own government and countrymen.
Record keeping being what it was, and because the government did not care to keep track of the people it murdered, we have no information on the vast bulk of the victims. In 1988, Pope John Paul II recognized over a hundred of them, including some whose Causes we do have, and in commemoration of those we do not. They are collectively known as the Martyrs of Vietnam (or Tonkin or Annam or the other older names of that country).
(Romereports.com) The life of late Cardinal, Francis Xavier Van Thuan was unique, and perhaps even saintly. From being imprisoned for over a decade to becoming one of the main prelates of his native Vietnam.
WALDERY HILGEMAN Van Thuan Cause for Canonization “Saints stand out from the rest, not because they were perfect but because they made it a point, despite the challenges, to follow Christ closely. It's about living one's Christian vocation at a heroic level.” The first stage of his canonization process, known as the Diocesan Process, has come to a close. It involved thousands of pages that include testimonies, his own writings and accounts on his life and how he carried out his faith.
LUISA MELO Cardinal Van Thuan Canonization “The presence of Cardinal Van Thuan is alive. He may not be here physically, but spiritually he is. I feel it.” He served as a Cardinal and as the President of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Justice and Peace. But, perhaps the period that stands out the most, are the 13 years he spent behind bars, nine of them in solitary confinement. The communist regime, arrested him in 1975, when he was ordained a Bishop. He was never tried or sentenced. Even so, he always encouraged people, to leave the past behind.
CARD. François-Xavier VAN THUAN September 2002“As I said the other day, the future is much more exciting than the past.” During that time, the government actually had to replace the prison guards, because one by one, they too became Catholic. His signature cross, he wore even after being released, was made with the help of the guards.
WALDERY HILGEMAN Van Thuan Cause for Canonization “The prison guards helped him out. They gave him some electrical wire. He cut out the plastic covering and made a chain out of it. He placed his handmade cross on that chain and wore it around his neck.” Those who knew him best, say he was always cheerful. Even in the last days of his life, he would crack jokes, laugh and mimmick those around him. He would often say that if he wasn't a priest, he would have been a comedian.
LUISA MELO Cardinal Van Thuan Canonization “He would imitate John Paul II, Cardinal Sodano, and all of us, really. Each one of us. He was very good at it. He combined his simple spirit with his great sense of humor.” Cardinal Van Thuan died on September 16th, 2002. His canonization process began in 2007, on the fifth anniversary of his death.
A Vietnamese refugee who came to Australia in a refugee boat has been appointed a Catholic Bishop in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen was 18 years old when he, and his family, fled communism in 1980. The Apostolic Nunciature in Australia advised Archbishop Denis Hart yesterday that Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Fr Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv as Auxiliary Bishop in the Archdiocese of Melbourne. Welcoming the appointment, Archbishop Denis Hart said today: "The appointment of Bishop Vincent as auxiliary in Melbourne is a historic one. He escaped from Vietnam by boat as a young man, came to Melbourne, joined the Conventual Franciscans, and has already given distinguished service as a pastor in Springvale, as a leader in his order and has made a generous and gifted contribution to the Church.” “We welcome him warmly as he returns from Rome, and look forward to his ordination as Titular bishop of Tula in St Patrick's Cathedral on Thursday 23 June at 7.30pm. He is in our prayers at this important moment." After the fall of Saigon, three brothers settled in Holland, a sister is still in Vietnam and his parents and a brother and a sister are in Melbourne. In 1983, Bishop Nguyen became a Conventual Franciscan friar and studied for the priesthood in Melbourne. After his priestly ordination on 30 December 1989, he was sent to Rome for further studies and was awarded a licentiate in Christology and Spirituality from the Pontifical Faculty of St Bonaventure. He served as a parish priest for 4 years in Kellyville NSW and for 7 years in Springvale. He was elected superior of the Order of Friars Minor Conventuals in Australia in 2005. Since 2008, he has been in Rome serving as Assistant General, responsible for the Asia-Oceania section of order. The Bishop returns to Melbourne from Rome at the end of May.
Doctors said Joseph Nguyen was dead. His heart rate was dropping beyond recovery, and all brain activity was gone. But while they wrote his death certificate, Joseph's parents were asking an old family friend for help: a Vietnamese cardinal who is being considered for beatification.
Joseph Nguyen has since re-enrolled in seminary. He's seen his own death certificate, now stamped “VOID.” He has only two memories of the 32-day coma, which he says felt otherwise like a “great night's sleep.”
During the weeks that he hovered between life and death in 2009, Joseph says he had two encounters with Cardinal Francois-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan.
The revered Vietnamese Cardinal died in 2002. In 2007 he received a prominent mention in Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical “Spe Salvi,” where the Holy Father cited his exemplary Christian witness during his 13 years as a political prisoner. His cause for beatification began in 2007 as well. In October 2010, the Vatican began its own inquiry into his possible sainthood.
Long before anyone thought to declare him a saint, the future cardinal was simply a priest– often celebrating private Masses in the homes of some Vietnamese faithful. Although Joseph Nguyen never met Cardinal Van Thuan during his earthly life, his father's family knew “Father Van Thuan” quite well. They thought of the priest “almost like a family member.”
That family bond deepened when Cardinal Van Thuan became Archbishop of Saigon, and subsequently a prisoner of the Communist regime.
In 1975, Joseph Nguyen's parents immigrated from Southeast Asia to the United States, where their son was later born. Joseph knew about Cardinal Van Thuan's heroic life, and appreciated his message of peace and hope. But the young seminarian never imagined he would be describing details of his own life, and near-death, to investigators for the cardinal's canonization.
It began in August 2009, during Joseph's third year in the seminary. He was assigned to hospital work, visiting and counseling the sick, as well as bringing the Eucharist to Catholic patients. Early in the fall, he caught what he thought was only a common seasonal flu. When the illness worsened, he asked for leave from the seminary to recover at home.
“I remember October 1st,” he recounted to CNA. “I had no idea why I was gasping for air.” His father drove him to the hospital, where he checked himself in. But Joseph has no memory of that event, or the emergency tracheotomy he received after losing the ability to breathe.
Later, he would hear about the day he was pronounced dead, while his parents kept hope alive and prayed fervently for Cardinal Van Thuan's intercession. He would also hear about how, on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, while still comatose, he began violently pulling the tubes from his body, stopping only when his father placed a rosary in his hand.
He'd also learn about the second time his body seemed to be shutting down. That time, no one declared his death. They'd already seen one seemingly impossible recovery.
When Joseph awoke, after 32 days, he knew nothing about any of this. A doctor explained he had fallen ill not only with a seasonal flu, but also the H1N1 “Swine Flu,” and severe pneumonia. Friends and family later told him the details of his month in the coma.
But when he could speak again, Joseph had his own story to tell.
“During my coma, there are only two things I remember,” he said. “The only two things I remember are two visions of Cardinal Van Thuan … He appeared to me twice.”
Joseph said he not only saw, but actually met and spoke with Cardinal Van Thuan, during two vivid incidents he described as a “separation of soul and body.” Although he said he couldn't reveal the details of the ecounters, he did say that he suspected that they occurred while his doctors were observing his loss of brain activity and decline in vital signs.
“Soon after the second visit” with the cardinal, he said, “I woke up from the coma.” He had “no idea what had happened,” or why he had “all these tubes and wires” coming out of his body, particularly the tube in his neck that kept him from speaking.
Doctors thought it would be months or years before he could speak, walk, or study. But within days he was talking and breathing normally, racing his nurses around the rehabilitation room.
He also received an entirely unexpected phone call from Cardinal Van Thuan's sister in Canada, who ended up giving him one of her brother's rosaries.
Joseph returned to the seminary at the beginning of the following semester– a far cry from the two years his doctors had advised him to wait.
As others learned about Cardinal Van Thuan's possible involvement in Joseph's healing, he ended up providing information to officials working on the cardinal's cause for beatification in Rome. Apart from that contribution, though, the young seminarian just wants to move forward toward the goal of ordination. When he returned to the seminary, Joseph was assigned once again to hospital duties.
While he was reticent about some potentially miraculous aspects of his healing, Joseph spoke enthusiastically about his current hospital work. He said his coma and recovery experience have allowed him to give hope and comfort to patients.
Those patients don't need to know about his mysterious meetings with a possible saint, or his breathtaking return from death. What matters more is to see the scar on his throat, and know he understands. “It's very fulfilling to be able to walk into a room and say ... 'You don't have to feel this alone, because I've been there' – physically, there, in that hospital bed.”
Joseph recalled that his experiences in the coma instilled “the virtue of hope” in his heart, giving him a message he hopes to share with those in desperate circumstances. “That's Cardinal Van Thuan in my life,” the future priest reflected.
Please pray for this man and for his mission to save the lives of babies. The following comes from theCatholic Key:
What it says. And he makes $180 a month. He also rescues the bodies of aborted children from clinics and buries them in a cemetery he's built. There are 9,000 children buried there. And he’s Catholic.
The man raises the children as his own, but will return them to the mothers if they want them back. There is much amazing about this story, but what struck me is that the news report is entirely respectful.
When I googled this man, I found that his story made the rounds in 2008. I didn’t see it – apologies if you did. Much more can be found out about him in this 2008 report. Now watch this amazing video.
The cause for the canonization of Cardinal François-Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan was officially opened in Rome this week. The cardinal, who suffered for years in Vietnamese prisons without trial, was exiled from his homeland and is remembered for never losing hope.
The diocesan phase of Cardinal Van Thuan's canonization cause was inaugurated on Oct. 22 at Rome's Lateran Palace. Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar of Rome, was on hand. So too was Cardinal Peter Kodwa Turkson, head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace which Cardinal Van Thuan once led.
Cardinal Vallini remembered the Vietnamese prelate as a "witness of hope."
Fr. Van Thuan was highly respected in his homeland. He worked in a number of roles including prison and hospital chaplain, seminary professor and rector before becoming the Bishop of Nha Trang, Vietnam in 1967. Through his direct involvement, in his eight years as bishop there the seminaries in the diocese more than tripled their enrollment.
Elected by Pope Paul VI as the coadjutor Archbishop of Saigon in 1975, he was subsequently jailed for "having plotted with the Vatican and the imperialists against the communist revolution." He spent a total of 13 years imprisoned in North Vietnamese jails without ever receiving a trial. He was in solitary confinement for nine of them.
During this time, his hope was buoyed through the Eucharistic celebration, through which he transformed his cells into veritable chapels. Using breadcrumbs and wine, smuggled in under the guise of stomach medicine, he consecrated the bread and wine in the palm of his hand into the Body and Blood of Christ. He was also able to fashion a pectoral cross out of wood that hung from his neck by a chain made of bits of wire.
His imprisonment, John Paul II recalled in the year 2000, serves to "reinforce in us the consoling certainty that when everything around us and maybe within us falls apart, Christ remains our unfailing support."
Archbishop Van Thuan was released in 1988, but after making a trip to Rome in 1991 he was not allowed to return home. He continued to work to build up the Vietnamese Church from Eternal City and in 1994 he entered the Roman Curia under appointment by John Paul II as the vice president of the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace. In 1998, he was named the council's president. He was created cardinal in Feb. 2001 and died in Sept. 2002.
Little more than eight years after his death, on Oct. 22 celebrations for Servant of God Van Thuan's cause for canonization were opened with a suffrage Mass celebrated by Cardinal Turkson. Following the Eucharistic celebration was the third edition of the Van Thuan Awards and the official opening of the cause. An artistic show inspired by the late-cardinal called "Witness of Hope" was performed later that evening.
This month the diocesan process will begin for the beatification of Servant of God Cardinal François Xavier Nguyen van Thuân (1928-2002).
The solemn opening of the diocesan investigation on the life, virtues and reputation for sanctity of the cardinal will take place Oct. 22, three years after the announcement of the launching of the cause of beatification.
The Vietnamese cardinal served as vice-president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace in 1994, and was its president from 1998 to 2002.
Before that, the prelate had been detained for 13 years in a Communist re-education camp in Vietnam. In 1988 he was liberated and forced into exile. Pope John Paul II welcomed him to Vatican City and entrusted him with responsibilities in the Roman Curia.
The opening ceremony for the diocesan investigation will take place at midday in the Conciliation Hall of the Lateran Palace in Rome.
The session will be presided over by Cardinal Agostino Vallini, the Pope's vicar for the Diocese of Rome, and Cardinal Peter Turkson, current president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
A communiqué from the pontifical council stated that it is organizing a series of events to remember the figure of the cardinal and highlight his reputation for sanctity, in cooperation with the St. Matthew Foundation in Memory of Cardinal Van Thuân and the Cardinal François Xavier Nguyen Van Thuân Foundation of the United States.
Also on Oct. 22, Cardinal Turkson will preside over a Eucharistic celebration in memory of the Servant of God in the Roman church of Santa Maria della Scala, of which he was the titular bishop. Attending the ceremony will be members of the dicastery, cardinals, bishops, relatives, friends and others who had the opportunity to know the cardinal during his life.
Awards
Moreover, the third edition of the Van Thuân Prizes, sponsored by the St. Matthew Foundation of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, will take place in the Pontifical Lateran University.
This year, the small statuette of St. Matthew, symbol of the award, will be given to Juan Somavía, director general of the International Labor Organization.
The "Van Thuân Prize -- Solidarity and Development" recognizes institutions, associations and entities that carry out humanitarian and work projects in developing countries to defend human rights through the promotion and diffusion of evangelical principles, following the directives of the social doctrine of the Church.
This recognition will be given this year to Archbishop Giuseppe Molinari of L'Aquila, Italy; to Brazilian Father Marcelo Rossi; to the St. Camille Foundation for its work in Burundi; and to communities of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul in Haiti.
The day will end with a concert dedicated to Cardinal Van Thuân in the Roman Basilica of St. Anthony.
We need to continue to pray for the Church in Vietnam. The following comes from the VietCatholic site:
In a strong-worded statement dated Jan. 20, Hanoi Archdiocese condemns the escalating violence against Catholics at Dong Chiem by the local government reporting that a group of priests and religious, on their way to visit the parish, have been attacked causing a Redemptorist Brother bloodily injured.
“After the attack against Mr. Nguyen Huu Vinh on Jan. 11, another similar incident has just occurred. On Jan. 20, police brutally beat Redemptorist Br. Anthony Nguyen Van Tang to lose consciousness,” the Press Release of the archdiocese reported.
Redemptorist Br. Anthony Nguyen Van Tang after being attacked The statement signed by Fr. John Le Trong Cung, Vice-chancellor of Hanoi Archdiocese, explained that a group of priests and religious of Hanoi Deanery had wanted to visit the parish after the leak out of news of escalating violence against parishioners and priests of Dong Chiem which, as of Jan. 20, “was completely besieged as police at checkpoints prohibited any outsiders to get in.”
The archdiocesan delegation “was stopped by police force at Xay Bridge, 500m away from Dong Chiem where the attack occurred.”
In an urgent report sent to Vietnam Redemptorist Provincial Superior Fr. Peter Nguyen Van Khai, spokesperson of Hanoi Redemptorist wrote: “At the police checkpoint at Xay Bridge, four of five police men attacked Redemptorist Br. Anthony Nguyen Van Tang and a lay man.”
“The lay man was slightly injured, but Br. Anthony Nguyen suffered serious injuries on the head, lips and eyes,” added Fr. Peter Nguyen.
“The victim was savagely assaulted until he became unconscious. The shirt of the lay man, and the one of a motorbike driver, who helped to transport him to a nearby parish, were soaked with the Redemptorist's blood,” the priest continued noting that locals recognized that attackers were “police from inner city of Hanoi”.
The statement of Hanoi Archdiocese went on expressing its great concern on the violent situation at Dong Chiem.
“Hundreds of anti-riot police, militiamen, and plain-clothes police are deployed in the area to blockade and close all gateways to and from the parish.”
Moreover, “Fr. Nguyen Van Huu, pastor of the Dong Chiem, and his assistant priest, Fr. Nguyen Van Lien have been repeatedly summoned and interrogated by police”, and “parishioners have been subjected for beatings and massive arrests.”
Listing the names of 16 detainees, the statement of the archdiocese briefly described how they had been arrested. Some were arrested on the way to the local market. Some were seized at home and their relatives who protested their detention were brutally beaten.
The statement observed that it was the beatings and massive arrests of parishioners that turned the peaceful life of this poor farming hamlet of Dong Chiem upside down. Also, parishioners have suffered a ruthless wave of mental persecution with messages on public loud speakers pouring threatening language all day long.
Facing the wake of outright persecutions, the archdiocese has asked all Catholics to “fervently pray for priests and parishioners of Dong Chiem, especially for those who have been jailed and attacked, in this time of difficulty; and for human rights are soon to be respected”.
Parishes are requested to sing the Peace prayer of St. Francis of Assisi at the end of each and every Mass until and only when the persecution against them stops and justice for all is restored.
We have to continue to pray for the Church in Vietnam. The following comes from the VietCatholic News:
Blowing up the crucifix in the cemetery of Dong Chiem Parish with explosives is one of severe forms of sacrilege. It insults the Catholic faith”, heeded a statement of the Archdiocese of Hanoi.
“The mount has always been in the ownership of the parish since its establishment more than a hundred years ago,” said Fr. John Le Trong Cung, Vice Chancellor of Hanoi Archbishopric in a statement released on Jan. 7, a day after Vietnam police attack at Dong Chiem Parish.
Adding more evidence to the ownership of the parish on the mount, the archdiocese stated: "Since the Great Famine that occurred in northern Vietnam from October 1944 to May 1945, during which 2 million people were starved to death, the mount has served as a parish cemetery. Besides, up till now, the parish has even been renting part of the mount out to farmers for cultivation.
"However, it's worth noting that Vietnam government has repeatedly denied the Church's ownership on any land citing the Communist land policy in which "all land belongs to the people and the State is acting as manager on behalf of the people"
“At around two o’clock in the morning of Jan. 6, a great mass of estimated 600 to 1000 police, security forces, and militiamen equipped with weapons, batons, tear gas, and police dogs besieged parishes of Nghĩa Ải, Tụy Hiền, Đồng Chiêm to isolate the area and prevent any rescue effort from neighboring parishes to pour in. They then started destroying the crucifix.” reported the statement.
“Facing such an extreme act of sacrilege, parishioners of Dong Chiem begged the police to stop destroying their crucifix. But in response they were shot at close range with tear gas canisters. Among a dozen brutally beaten, two of them were seriously injured and hospitalized,” Fr. John Le said, condemning the brutal acts of police. These two victims were reportedly transported by police after the attack to a clinic in the town of Te Tieu where they had received no medical attention until later in the day when the priests and parishioners found and brought them to Viet Duc hospital for medical treatment.
“We are now coping with severe grief and shock, for what happened to the crucifix was an act of sacrilege to the Christ, our Lord. It was really sacrilege. To desecrate the crucifix is to insult the most sacred symbol of the Christian faith and of the Church. To brutally assault the unarmed, innocent civilians is a savage and inhumane act as human dignity is severely hurt. This gross conduct should be condemned!” lamented the statement.
The archdiocese reported further that “Immediately following the fateful afternoon of Jan 6, after their retreat, leaders of deaneries, and all priests throughout the archdiocese had rushed to Dong Chiem to offer their sympathy and well wishes to the pastors and parishioners. They consoled the victims and con-celebrated Mass, praying for the injured and for Dong Chiem parish as a whole.”
On behalf of Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet, Fr. John Le urged priests, religious, and lay people of the archdiocese to pray more fervently in this time of difficulty. He passionately wrote: “In communion within our Church, I ask for fervent prayers from all priests, religious, seminarians, and all faithful, for Dong Chiem parish to be steadfast in bearing our Christ's cross. Let us pray for our country to become just, democratic, and civilized, where sacred values are respected and human rights protected.”
Road of Hope: The Spiritual Journey of Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan is an original Salt and Light documentary exploring the man and his message. This powerful film traces the history of Thuan from his privileged upbringing in a powerful political family to decades of war, betrayal and suffering — all experiences which helped form his singular conviction that "Love Conquers All."
Featuring interviews with those who knew him best, never before seen family videos, and rare archival footage of Thuan sharing his most revealing insights, Road of Hope offers an unprecedented glimpse into the life of a modern day martyr and saint.
Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan was a political prisoner of the Communist regime in Vietnam for thirteen years, nine of which he spent in solitary confinement. His remarkable faith sustained him during those long years when he would celebrate mass in secret with three drops of wine in the palm of his hand and the host smuggled inside a flashlight by his faithful. His spiritual writings, penned on the back of old calendars, have spread throughout the world inspiring millions.
Pope John Paul II on the Cardinal:
"A witness of the cross in the long years of imprisonment in Vietnam, he has frequently recounted the realities and episodes from his sufferings in prison, thus reinforcing us in the consoling certainty that when everything crumbles around us, and perhaps even within us, Christ remains our unfailing support."
We need to continue to pray for the faithful in Vietnam and for all those who suffer for their belief in God and the Church. Let's pray in a special way for Bui Thanh Hieu and for his needs at this time.
A blogger protesting how the Vietnamese government distorted Benedict XVI's address to bishops of the nation has been arrested.
Bui Thanh Hieu, a catechumen blogger defending the Church in Vietnam, was arrested last Thursday, VietCatholic News reported. It claimed others face the same risk of arrest for their "swift reactions against the distortion of Pope Benedict XVI's speech to Vietnamese bishops on their [June 27] ad limina visit."
On Aug. 24, Vietnam Net, a state media outlet, published an article titled "A Good Catholic Is a Good Citizen," citing Benedict XVI in such a way that it gave the idea that the Pope himself had "insulted the Church in Vietnam" for "spiritual corruption," Father Joseph Nguyen of Hanoi told AsiaNews.
"It has cast shadows of sadness among Catholics," he lamented. "We all know that His Holiness Benedict XVI did not mean that."
The government article goes on to allege that the Holy Father knows of a group of Catholics trying to "overthrow the government."
The next day, the article was re-published by other newspapers with calls for the arrest of priests of Thai Ha and Vinh. That region has been the site of conflict between the Church and the government over the confiscation of Church property.
"The manipulation of Pope Benedict XVI's address has created a lot of frustration among Catholics in Vietnam, who, through the blogs, have begun to voice their opinions, criticizing the media under state control," AsiaNews affirmed. It added that the blogs have published the original text of the papal address.
The Bishop's office of Vinh is demanding that the government in Vietnam stop harassing the Catholic Church and bring back law and order for the people. The following comes from the VietCatholic site:
In the statement released on July 31, Catholics in Vinh Diocese denounced “the ongoing distortion of truth, the defamation of religion, and the promotion of hatred between Catholics and non-Catholics by means of state media to spread negative image of Catholic victims, accusing them of “reacting outrageously by the news of assaults against their priests.". It's only one of the tactics the state media has been successfully applying to discredit and to smear the good image of Vinh faithful.
“Fr. Peter Nguyen The Binh, who had escaped death after being beaten savagely by a group of pro-government thugs, told visitors from parishes [of the diocese of Vinh] how he had been brutally attacked by the gang under indifferent eyes of police officers in uniform. Outrage has spread quickly among Catholics throughout the diocese,” the statement said.
To avoid further tensions and the risk that the situation may spin out of control, the diocese of Vinh urges the local government of Dong Hoi city to be self-constraint and behave within the boundary of the laws. Also, the diocese of Vinh demands the return of the properties of the Church and individual Catholics. “It helps to ease the tensions,” the statement suggested.
Also, Fr. Anthony Pham Dinh Phung, the chief secretary of Vinh Diocese accused police in Dong Hoi of the confiscation of money of those (Catholics) in custody without any inventory reports. “Their money and other properties must be returned to them,” he added.
On Friday, the Nhan Dan newspaper - the mouthpiece of the communist Party - published statements in which it stated that arrested Catholics "have confessed their sins and begged to be pardoned”.
However, having been released some of them quickly fled the city accusing police of Dong Hoi of beating them cruelly during the incident at Tam Toa on July 20, and on the way to a police station where they were coerced to sign statements against their will.
Fr. Anthony Pham Dinh Phung, speaking on behalf of the diocese, demanded the immediate release of other Catholics who are still behind bars. “The Church had tried its best to calm down its faithful,” he said. "However, the government must take responsibility should the persecution keep going,” he warned.
Catholic sources in Dong Hoi have revealed that local government has instigated the hatred against Catholics among non-Catholics who are living nearby the church of Tam Toa by lying to them that the Church has demanded not only the ground of the Church but also all land lots of land around, including those on which they built their houses. Such negative rumors surely created a bad image for those Catholics who have suffered enough at the hands of those government officials whom they should turn to for help and protection, not to be careful of and to be fearful of.
Please pray for the Church in Vietnam as things seem to be deteriorating. Please pray especially for Fr. Peter Nguyen who is critical condition after being beaten by plain-clothes police and a government paid mob. The following comes from CNA:
Two priests were hospitalized in the central Vietnamese coastal city of Dong Hoi after being beaten brutally by plain-clothed police and a gang employed by the local government. One of the priests, who is now comatose, was thrown from the second floor of the hospital where he was visiting the first victim.
On Sunday, Fr. Paul Nguyen Dinh Phu, parish priest of Du Loc, was attacked by a group of plain-clothed police and thugs when he was travelling to Tam Toa parish to concelebrate morning Mass with five other priests of Trooc Deanery.
At 7 a.m. that morning, 170 priests and 420 women religious led hundreds of thousands of Catholics from the Diocese of Vinh and neighboring dioceses in peaceful protests throughout Vinh's 19 deaneries. The protesters were demanding justice for victims assaulted by police on July 20 as they were trying to rebuild their place of worship at Tam Toa parish. Seven of the Catholics arrested by the police on July 20 remain in custody.
On their way to protest at Tam Toa with the Trooc Deanery on Sunday, three Catholic women were beaten by a group of men. Fr. Paul Nguyen reported that he tried to intervene to rescue the women.
“Before I could open my mouth, they left the women and turned on me as they recognized me as a Catholic priest,” he said. “They kicked me brutally.”
“There were at least 30 police in full uniform standing nearby,” the priest added, but “they looked indifferently at the attack.”
The gang kicked Fr. Paul Nguyen in his ribs, in his face, and on his head until a group of Catholics managed to rescue him and take him to a nearby hospital.
The gang returned to the hospital with more people and more weapons. They have since surrounded the hospital, Fr. An Dang says.
The Bishop of Vinh’s office made an urgent complaint to the People’s Committee of Quang Binh and asked Fr. Peter Nguyen The Binh, pastor of the close by parish Ha Loi, to accompany Tran Cong Thuat, Deputy Governor of Quangh Bin, to visit the injured priest.
Fr. An Dang tells CNA that during the visit to the hospital, Thuat secretly withdrew. When he left, the gang jumped on Fr. Peter Nguyen and cruelly beat him before throwing him from the second floor of the hospital.
Fr. Peter Nguyen is presently in critical condition in a coma and is not responsive.
Here is the latest from the situation in Vietnam. The Catholic faithful continue to be harassed by thugs and by police for simply wearing Catholic religious symbols. We need to pray for the faithful in Vietnam during these days. Here is the story from VietCatholic.net:
A Catholic from Dong Hoi was arrested yesterday by police and groups of thugs – in the service of law enforcement - shouted death threats against the faithful. The city of Dong Hoi is located about 500 km south of Hanoi and the Local Government (found in Quang Binh) has declared there are "no Catholics" in the area, even if there are at least three thousand faithful.
Fr. Vo Thanh Tam, secretary of the College of Priests of Vinh Diocese (to which Dong Hoi belongs) confirmed that several Catholics were arrested a few days ago and that yesterday “Mr. Nguyen Cong Ly was arrested. His house is frequently used by the faithful for liturgical services”. In fact there are no churches in the area, the only one being Tam Toa, which is in ruins and which the government wants to use as a "memorial" to the war against the United States. Other sources say that the area is being used to build a tourist village (see AsiaNews 21/07/09 - Beatings and arrests of priests and faithful in the historic church of Tam Toa).
According to witnesses, the police and groups of thugs are roaming the streets and attacking those who visibly wear Catholic religious symbols.
In recent weeks a group of faithful tried to repair the ruins of Tam Toa, but were stopped by police, brutally beaten and arrested. To demand their release impressive demonstrations were held by Catholics in the diocese of Vinh, in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), in Hanoi and other cities.
Immediately after the episode in Tam Toa, hundreds of Catholic families fled Dong Hoi to find refuge in Ha Tinh and Nghe An (also in the diocese of Vinh).
Meanwhile more than 600 state media began a campaign of disinformation against the Catholics of Tam Toa, demanding they be charged and inciting hatred toward Catholics.
The story continues to unfold in Vietnam. We need to pray for the Church there in a special way these days. There were peaceful marches in the streets with a half million Catholics taking to the streets! The demonstrators protest against the arrests and police violence against Catholics last week, who were attacked by security forces at the ruins of the Tam Toa church. The following comes from the AsiaNews:
Half a million Catholics in Vietnam took to the streets of their cities to protest against police violence and the attack on hundreds of faithful July 20, at the ruins of Tam Toa church (see AsiaNews 21/07 / 09 - beatings and arrests of priests and faithful in the historic church of Tam Toa).
The diocese of Vinh, 300 km south of Hanoi, and other neighbouring diocese organized 19 parades in as many deaneries, demanding the immediate release of the faithful, beaten and arrested by security forces at Tam Toa. About 170 priests and 420 religious led the peaceful protests that took place simultaneously in yesterday morning, at various locations in the provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh.
Organizers report some clashes between police and groups of demonstrators, in areas of the country where police had ordered people not to take part in the procession. Despite these threats, the faithful marched on, creating an event that some people are calling the greatest to ever take place in the country for religious reasons. The Tam Toa episode and these Sunday parades have rekindled tensions between the government and the Vietnamese Christian community regarding the issue of Church property confiscated by Hanoi. Nhan Dan, the newspaper of the Communist Party, launched a slander campaign against Catholics after the events of Tam Toa accusing the faithful, who had erected a cross and an altar there, of "counter-revolutionary activities, disturbance of public order and violence against public officers in service”. The bishop of the diocese of Vinh, where the ruins of the church at the centre of the debate are found, has begin a tug of war with local officials in Quang Binh, who have jurisdiction on the case, accusing them of hiding the truth and breaking the law.
In a letter sent to local government, the Diocese of Vinh calls for the release of Catholics arrested in Tam Toa, medical care for the wounded beaten by police and the return of the cross and liturgical furnishings brought by the faithful to the ruins of the church and confiscated by police after the clashes. The silent protest marches organized yesterday reiterated the demands of the diocese of Vinh to the authorities. And the community of Vietnamese Catholics around the world have expressed their support for the event by observing a minute silence during Sunday masses.
I posted a bit on this earlier in the week. Here is more on the ongoing drama that is unfolding in Vietnam for the Catholic faithful. The following comes from UCANews.com:
Over 100 policemen and security officials attacked Catholics from a parish in central Vietnam as they were erecting a temporary structure for worship.
In a message posted on Vinh diocese's website, diocesan secretary Father Antoine Pham Dinh Phung said that "more than 20 local Catholics were hit severely, pushed into military vehicles and detained" in the incident.
Photo from Vinh diocese’s website showing police with batons at the Tam Toa parish compound on July 20
The priest said that on July 20 morning, 150 Catholics from Tam Toa parish were setting up a temporary worship structure in their church compound when they were prevented from doing so by the officials.
He urged "all local Catholics to pray for Tam Toa parishioners," especially those who have been hurt and detained in the incident.
Father Pierre Le Thanh Hong, who provides pastoral activities to the parish, said many people resisted and were hit.
He said the officials pulled down a wooden cross and even attacked women who tried to prevent them from carrying it away. They also carried away iron sheets and other building materials as well as two generators, he added.
Father Hong, who is pastor of Sen Bang parish, said many Catholics' cameras were also confiscated.
The parish is in Dong Hoi city, capital of Quang Binh province.
According to local Church records, Tam Toa church was damaged during the Vietnam War (1959-1975). Only its bell tower and walls are presently standing.
Local Catholics have been attending Mass held in the open in the church compound or at their homes since the end of the war. The parish also has not had any resident priest from 1964 to 2006, until Father Hong was assigned to serve the area, which now has about 1,000 parishioners.
In 1997, the government declared the place a historical site without the approval of the local Church. Declaring a place a historical site implies that it is public property. The church was damaged by American bombing in 1968.
However, parishioners insist that the property belongs to the Church.
Father Hong said that he has also sent a report on the incident to Bishop Paul Marie Cao Dinh Thuyen of Vinh, 82, who has been abroad since June 19.
In a July 21 letter to the People's Committee of Quang Binh province, Father Phung said the local Church strongly opposes and condemns the violent police action, the arrests and confiscation of Church belongings. He also urged the provincial authorities to immediately release those detained, saying the injured people have to be given medical care.
He also asked for Church belongings to be returned.
"If our requirements are not fulfilled, the provincial government has to be held completely accountable to the law," he stated.
Redemptorist Father Vincent Pham Trung Thanh, provincial superior of the Redemptorists, also sent a message to diocesan officials and Catholics. He asked local authorities to provide a list of the injured and ensure they receive medical care.
Father Thanh said Redemptorist-run parishes will hold gatherings and pray for the injured and detained.
Photo from Vinh diocese’s website showing Catholics erecting a temporary structure in the Tam Toa parish church prior to the police action
Vicar General Father Francis Xavier Vo Thanh Tam has asked Catholics in the diocese to express their solidarity with Tam Toa parishioners by praying for the injured and supporting them materially and spiritually.
On July 21, 50 Catholics from Hanoi visited the scene of the incident.
Earlier reports on the diocesan website said that Bishop Thuyen has had discussions with provincial authorities regarding Church property. However the details of the discussions are not known.
Father Hong said he and local Catholics wanted to erect the temporary structure for their urgent religious needs. They also plan to build a new church on the foundations of the old one.
This was the first time such a structure had been built in the Church compound.
In January, Bishop Thuyen decided to establish one parish and re-establish five sub parishes whose buildings were in ruins.
The Church in Vietnam have had their difficulties of late. Recently we heard of the problems of those trying to live their Catholic faith and suffering for violation of the 2 child policy. Now we hear of those who were brutally beaten for simply erecting a cross and altar at the site of a bombed out church building. We need to pray for the Catholic Church in Vietnam as they continue to suffer for their fidelity!
On Monday morning Vietnamese police in the Diocese of Vinh brutally beat hundreds of Catholics who were erecting a cross and building an altar on the ground of a church that collapsed during the Vietnam War. Dozens of Catholics were arrested in the clash.
The incident took place at 9 a.m. at the church of Tam Toa. Rumors are circulating that the government is planning to convert the church into a tourist resort, Fr. J.B. An Dang tells CNA.
Hundreds of Catholics were attacked by police, as described by Tam Toa pastor Fr. Le Thanh Hong:
“The police, who far outnumbered parishioners of Tam Toa and neighboring parishes, had fired teargas canisters at the crowd before kicking and beating them brutally with stun guns, and batons. Numerous priests and lay people were wounded.
“Some were made to sit on the ground, where again they were beaten by a youth gang employed by police, while dozens were thrown into police trucks,” he added. “At the moment their whereabouts remain unknown.”
Tam Toa is an historic parish for Vietnamese Catholics and can trace its origins back to 1631, when the Church first appeared in the country. According to Fr. An Dang, the parish quickly grew during the 1600s and was the largest parish in its region, with 1,200 Catholics. It once had an orphanage and a school operated by the Sisters of the Lovers of the Holy Cross.
In 1886 a group of anti-Western men calling themselves Van Than attacked the parish, killing 52 parishioners in what the attackers believed was retaliation against the French presence in the country.
The most recent church of Tam Toa opened in 1887 to meet the spiritual needs of the faithful. Considered to be one of the most beautiful churches in Vietnam, with Portuguese architecture and a large bell, it was largely destroyed in 1968 by U.S. Air Force bombing during the Vietnam War.
Only the church entrance and the bell tower still stand today. Parishioners had wanted to rebuild their church but were too impoverished.
Mass had been regularly celebrated on the grounds of the bombed church until March 1996. At that time the People’s Committee of Quang Binh confiscated the church, deeming it a “War Memorial Site” which must be preserved and protected “for future generations to remember American war crimes.”
The Archdiocese of Hue had protested the action without result. In May 2006 the parish was transferred to the Diocese of Vinh, whose bishop Paul Maria Cao has repeatedly asked for the return of the church.
On February 2, 2009 Bishop Cao and 14 priests of the diocese concelebrated Mass at the property. Thousands of Catholics attended to support the diocese’s efforts to reclaim the church.
Tam Toa is a home parish for more than a thousand parishioners, Fr. An Dang reports. However, their efforts to rebuild the church have been stalled by government interference.
The video below is a reminder of the struggle of the past year:
Finally, you can look at this video yourself and discern what you think. The halo around Our Lady seems to be glowing! Perhaps Our Lady is trying to encourage this suffering Church! Tell me what you think:
We need to continue to pray for the Church in Vietnam as pressure stays on them as they seek to stay faithful. The following comes from the CNA:
Catholic villagers in Vietnam say they are trying to follow Church teaching on contraception in the face of high fines levied against them under the country’s two-child policy. They pay the fines as a way of showing their fidelity to Catholic teaching.
Since a 1994 nationwide “family planning” program, Vietnamese have been required to have no more than two children per family. Those with two children are told to use artificial contraceptives or undergo vasectomies free of charge.
Families with more than two children must pay rice to the government as a fine, UCA News reports.
While many Catholics say they have done their best to remain faithful to Catholic teaching, some have had to resort to contraceptives because they could not afford the significant fines.
Villagers in Thua Thien-Hue province spoke to UCA News about the government's punishment.
Catherine Pham Thi Thanh, 44, said that since 1996 she has been fined a total of 3,800 kilograms of rice for having six children, who now range from two to 15 years of age. Her family makes an annual profit of only 700 kilograms of rice by producing rice alcohol and raising pigs.
She told UCA News she was fined 300 kilograms for her third child, 600 for her fourth, 900 for her fifth and 2,000 for the sixth.
In 2007, she decided to use an intrauterine contraceptive device to save her family from a 3,800 kilogram fine in the event she had a seventh child. In 2005, village authorities had confiscated the possessions of a family who could not afford to pay such fines.
Anna Pham Thi The, 50, has seven daughters ages two through 29. She also produces rice alcohol and raises pigs. She said she is willing to be fined for having more children because her husband wants a son.
Father Joseph Nguyen Van Chanh, parish priest in Huong Toan village, said 90 percent of his 1,200 parishioners have paid their fines as a way to be faithful to Church teaching. He told UCA News that Catholics are taught family planning methods during marriage preparation courses.
The two-family policy was in the news recently throughout the country when the Vietnamese prime minister chided an executive director of Vietnam Airlines for having a third child.
Vietnam’s population is close to 86 million and increases by 1.12 million annually.
Welcome to the Blog! I am a Catholic Priest and was ordained to the priesthood on August 26, 2000. I hope this site is a place of interest for you where you will find ideas and information on the Catholic faith and the Church.
Today the Church remembers St. Andrew Dung Lac and the Vietnamese Martyrs. The following comes from American Catholic:
