VIETNAM Government Moves Cross And Pieta Statue From Former Nunciature Compound
Sept 26, 2008
The government has moved a cross and a statue from the contested former nunciature site in Ha Noi after thousands of southern Catholics gathered to pray there.
BANGKOK (UCAN, 26 September 2008) -- The government has moved a cross and a statue from the contested former nunciature site in Ha Noi after thousands of southern Catholics gathered to pray there.
On the evening of Sept. 25, according to local Church sources, dozens of unknown persons placed the Pieta replica, the iron cross and candles into three boxes and loaded them onto a truck.
The truck then drove out of the compound leaving local Catholics clueless as to the whereabouts of those religious items, they added.
Catholics had placed the cross and the statue of Mary holding Jesus' lifeless body under a big banyan tree in the compound last December, after thousands gathered there to pray for the government to return the building to the Church.
Now, hundreds of policemen, mobile units and plainclothes security officials have erected iron barriers cordoning off the area. Some security officials are also standing guard along the street.
The sources noted that many aggressive-looking strangers and unidentified young people in blue shirts, commonly worn by Communist youth groups, shouted at local Catholics and Religious praying at the barriers.
They forced the Catholics to move back to the nearby archbishop's residence and lock the gate. While the mob threatened to break down the gate, the Catholics continued to stay calm, sing hymns and pray, sources reported.
Cathedral bells tolled slowly until midnight to alert local Catholics to the incident. Many priests and Catholics from parishes in the capital also rushed to the archbishop's residence and prayed for the local Church even though it was raining and cold, the sources added.
Meanwhile, policemen have also erected iron barriers on roads leading to a disputed site near Redemptorist-run Thai Ha church in Ha Noi's Dong Da district. Catholics there have been engaged in a land dispute with the local government over that site and have been prevented from entering the area. Sources told UCA News the government started building a garden at the site on Sept. 25.
Meanwhile, on Sept. 24, about 7,000 Catholics in Ho Chi Minh City attended a candlelit prayer gathering at Redemptorist-run Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church to pray for justice and peace in the country.
They prayed for the Catholics detained in the Thai Ha parish case, Archbishop Joseph Ngo Quang Kiet of Ha Noi, and all priests, Religious and Catholics in the capital. They also prayed for governmental authorities to respect the truth and resolve issues justly.
Father Vincent Pham Trung Thanh, Redemptorist provincial superior, led the special Mass, and 25 priests including archdiocesan clergy, Dominicans and Franciscans concelebrated.
Beforehand, people watched photos of Catholics praying at the former nunciature and the contested land near Thai Ha church, under the observation of hundreds of policemen.
They also listened to Archbishop Kiet's recorded statement at the meeting between Church leaders and government authorities on Sept. 20 after the government started renovating the former nunciature building for use as a library and building a public flower garden in that compound.
Many people told UCA News the gathering helped them understand the land disputes better. They observed Catholics in the capital prayed peacefully and forgave those who attacked or vilified them.
Earlier, Cardinal Jean Baptiste Pham Minh Man of Ho Chi Minh City also attached the full text of Archbishop Kiet's statement to his Sept. 22 letter to all priests, religious and Catholics in his archdiocese.
Cardinal Man, 74, said many people told him local media quoted some of Archbishop Kiet's words from his statement out of context, which puzzled readers.
The cardinal urged Catholics to beseech God to give peace and lead people to the truth. He also asked them to pray for Vietnam's bishops, who have been attending their annual meeting Sept. 22-26 at the Xuan Loc bishop's residence.
Bishops and priests from Bac Ninh, Ban Me Thuot, Hai Phong, Hung Hoa, Lang Son, Thai Binh, Thanh Hoa and Vinh have expressed solidarity and sent letters to Archbishop Kiet.
VIETNAM Government Moves Cross And Pieta Statue From Former Nunciature Compound