The government of Vietnam set a deadline of 5pm Sunday (27th Jan) for Archbishop Joseph Ngô Quang Kiệt to end protests and remove all statues of the Virgin Mary and a 5m high crucifix from the confiscated offices of the Papal Nuncio.

VietCatholic News reports that as the deadline came, hundreds nuns prayed around the cross erected on 25th Jan on the steps of the building. Some 3,000 lay people surrounded them praying, and singing late into the night.

[image: Vietnamese Catholics pray at the Pieta outside the confiscated buildings of the Apostolic Delegation]

The dispute has been escalating for over a month, and on Saturday the government began launching media attacks on Catholics. But these attacks, in a country where the population tends to interpret what state-controlled media spell out in a reverse way, seemed to have inverse effects. Hanoi Catholics suddenly became so popular that people rushed to the site to see with their own eyes those who dared to do such things. Some explicitly showed their admiration and solidarity to protesters in front of security officials.

On the lawn of the building, the congregation kept praying. Large numbers of security police, in uniform and in plain-clothes, were on the site, surrounding the protesters and mingling in their ranks, taking photos and filming with video cameras. The congregation remained focused on their prayers in a gesture of defiance to the ultimatum and the threatening gestures around them.

As the deadline passed, Viet Catholics around the world closely monitored all developments. Some rang the protesters praying on the site. Some attended Candlelight Vigils in Australia, USA, France, Germany...

Two hours, three hours, then four hours... passed by. Thank God. The Vietnam authorities, since accession to the WTO, probably learned how to behave better.

Reported by Jos. Phuong Nguyen, C.Ss.R