The defenseless Church in Vietnam has met with another defeat in the battle to protect its properties: a Redemptorist monastery has been torn down to give place to a state-owned multi-story hotel. On the other hand, the call from 37 U.S. senators to immediately and unconditionally free Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly has also been rejected.
The Redemptorist Monastery in Nha Trang, a coastal province in central of Vietnam, was torn down on Tuesday July 7 to build Hai Yen Hotel, the Redemptorist Province of Vietnam reported.
The beautiful Nha Trang monastery was the eighth Redemptorist monastery being established in Vietnam, following the ones in Hue, Hanoi, Saigon Nam Dinh, Dalat, Vung Tau, and Fyan. This monastery had been the dream of all, including the religious and secular leaders, as well as parishioners, and even non Catholic residents in the area.
Its history can be traced back to the beginning of the 1930's, when Fr. Louis-Philippe Lévesque, the then Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré's provincial superior, was making his tour of inspection in the area from Aug 8 - Nov 27, 1934. During his tour, the Holy See's ambassador had made a suggestion of establishing a monastery in Nha Trang. His suggestion, however, was not followed through due to unexpectedly difficult circumstances brought by the Second World War.
After the war was ended in 1945, during the period 1949-1950, Bishop Marcel Piquet of Quy Nhon diocese had repeatedly brought up the suggestion, but facing enormous difficulties as the war had just ended, the Provincial Superior finally decided to put the plan on the back burner indefinitely.
After the communist takeover of the North in 1954, as Catholic population in the South grew up quickly, on July 5, 1957, Nha Trang had been separated from Quy Nhon diocese to become a brand new diocese. Bishop Marcel Piquet, dubbed "a dear friend of the Redemptorists" had been assigned to be the Vicar Apostolic of the newborn diocese. During the same year, the bishop once again had asked the Redemptorists to help build a monastery in his diocese. This time his request had been warmly welcome by the Redemptorist Provincial, since it coincided with the plan to dissociate the seminary from the Dalat Institute, and to build a pastoral center, with the intention to renovate the Provincial missionary activities as transportation into or from Nha Trang would be more convenient than Dalat.
The monastery was inaugurated two years later and had been continually expanded during the next ten years. The last renovation, completed in 1967, made the monastery the largest religious building in the area.
On Dec. 15, 1978, while preparing for Christmas celebration, the Redemptorists of Nha Trang was forced to desert their monastery by local authorities.
Since then, the Redemptorist Province of Vietnam has repeatedly appealed for the requisition of their monastery, all to no avail.
Vietnam authorities appear to become more ruthless on Church property issues, in contrary to their previous compromising language not long ago. On 21 May, Nguyen Thanh Xuan, the government's deputy chief of religious affairs, made it clear that the state “has no intention of returning any property or goods to the Catholic Church or any other religious organization.”
On June 11, 2009, the nuns from the Order of Cross Lovers in Thu Thiem - a suburb of Ho Chi Minh city, formerly known as Saigon- had been asked by the 2nd district government to come to a meeting in which they were informed about the governmental decision to "move" them out of the only home they have been living in for almost 170 years.
Two month later, on Aug. 4, the Congregation of the Brothers of The Holy Family of Banam (Frères de la Sainte Famille de Banam) and the diocese of Long Xuyen were not even asked or informed. The monastery of the Order was suddenly demolished. It shared the same fate of monastery of the Sisters of St Paul of Chartres in Vinh Long, a Mekong Delta province, which was torn down a few months earlier.
In another development, on Thursday July 9, Vietnam government rejected a call from 37 U.S. senators to immediately and unconditionally free Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly saying that his imprisonment justified putting Hanoi on a U.S. religious freedom blacklist.
"Consideration on releasing Nguyen Van Ly will be given in line with Vietnamese law," Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung told a regular briefing in Hanoi.
The 37 senators, led by Democrat Barbara Boxer and Republican Sam Brownback, had urged President Nguyen Minh Triet to free the 62-year-old cleric, calling his trial "seriously flawed".
But Dung denied the accusation, saying: "The trial of Nguyen Van Ly was public and his rights at the court were protected in accordance with Vietnamese law."
The Redemptorist Monastery in Nha Trang, a coastal province in central of Vietnam, was torn down on Tuesday July 7 to build Hai Yen Hotel, the Redemptorist Province of Vietnam reported.The beautiful Nha Trang monastery was the eighth Redemptorist monastery being established in Vietnam, following the ones in Hue, Hanoi, Saigon Nam Dinh, Dalat, Vung Tau, and Fyan. This monastery had been the dream of all, including the religious and secular leaders, as well as parishioners, and even non Catholic residents in the area.
Its history can be traced back to the beginning of the 1930's, when Fr. Louis-Philippe Lévesque, the then Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré's provincial superior, was making his tour of inspection in the area from Aug 8 - Nov 27, 1934. During his tour, the Holy See's ambassador had made a suggestion of establishing a monastery in Nha Trang. His suggestion, however, was not followed through due to unexpectedly difficult circumstances brought by the Second World War.
After the war was ended in 1945, during the period 1949-1950, Bishop Marcel Piquet of Quy Nhon diocese had repeatedly brought up the suggestion, but facing enormous difficulties as the war had just ended, the Provincial Superior finally decided to put the plan on the back burner indefinitely.
After the communist takeover of the North in 1954, as Catholic population in the South grew up quickly, on July 5, 1957, Nha Trang had been separated from Quy Nhon diocese to become a brand new diocese. Bishop Marcel Piquet, dubbed "a dear friend of the Redemptorists" had been assigned to be the Vicar Apostolic of the newborn diocese. During the same year, the bishop once again had asked the Redemptorists to help build a monastery in his diocese. This time his request had been warmly welcome by the Redemptorist Provincial, since it coincided with the plan to dissociate the seminary from the Dalat Institute, and to build a pastoral center, with the intention to renovate the Provincial missionary activities as transportation into or from Nha Trang would be more convenient than Dalat.
The monastery was inaugurated two years later and had been continually expanded during the next ten years. The last renovation, completed in 1967, made the monastery the largest religious building in the area.
On Dec. 15, 1978, while preparing for Christmas celebration, the Redemptorists of Nha Trang was forced to desert their monastery by local authorities.
Since then, the Redemptorist Province of Vietnam has repeatedly appealed for the requisition of their monastery, all to no avail.
Vietnam authorities appear to become more ruthless on Church property issues, in contrary to their previous compromising language not long ago. On 21 May, Nguyen Thanh Xuan, the government's deputy chief of religious affairs, made it clear that the state “has no intention of returning any property or goods to the Catholic Church or any other religious organization.”
On June 11, 2009, the nuns from the Order of Cross Lovers in Thu Thiem - a suburb of Ho Chi Minh city, formerly known as Saigon- had been asked by the 2nd district government to come to a meeting in which they were informed about the governmental decision to "move" them out of the only home they have been living in for almost 170 years.
Two month later, on Aug. 4, the Congregation of the Brothers of The Holy Family of Banam (Frères de la Sainte Famille de Banam) and the diocese of Long Xuyen were not even asked or informed. The monastery of the Order was suddenly demolished. It shared the same fate of monastery of the Sisters of St Paul of Chartres in Vinh Long, a Mekong Delta province, which was torn down a few months earlier.
In another development, on Thursday July 9, Vietnam government rejected a call from 37 U.S. senators to immediately and unconditionally free Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly saying that his imprisonment justified putting Hanoi on a U.S. religious freedom blacklist.
"Consideration on releasing Nguyen Van Ly will be given in line with Vietnamese law," Foreign Ministry spokesman Le Dung told a regular briefing in Hanoi.
The 37 senators, led by Democrat Barbara Boxer and Republican Sam Brownback, had urged President Nguyen Minh Triet to free the 62-year-old cleric, calling his trial "seriously flawed".
But Dung denied the accusation, saying: "The trial of Nguyen Van Ly was public and his rights at the court were protected in accordance with Vietnamese law."