Religious tension mounts again in Vietnam after a series of physical attacks aimed directly at Catholic priests. In the latest episode, on Saturday morning, police beat into coma a priest of the Archdiocese of Hanoi.
At the harbour early Saturday, Apr 14, 2012, police stormed an orphanage at Chuong My in the capital of Hanoi, forced the orphans to leave their house before ransacking religious items, destroying a statue of Our Lady, and destroying the house.
Fr. Joseph Nguyen Van Binh, the pastor of Yen Kieu Parish in the Archdiocese of Hanoi, who ran the orphanage, came to the place with dozens of parishioners to protest. Hundreds of police swooped on protesting parishioners. The priest went into coma after dozens of police officers kicked and beat him with batons. They left him half dead on the ground.
Local parishioners rushed him to a local hospital where doctors transferred him further to the Emergency Department of the Viet Duc Hospital. Police reportedly banned anyone to visit the priest.
As of Sunday evening, Fr. Joseph Nguyen was taken to the Hanoi Archbishopric Office for private treatment.
Fr. Joseph Nguyen had run the Agape Family Orphanage for years at another location before buying the house which has just been demolished on Saturday.
In another incident, on Feb 23, 2012, Fr. Nguyen Quang Hoa of Kontum Diocese was seriously beaten at Turia Yop, Dak Hring on his way home from a funeral Mass of an old ethnic woman. Dak Hring is one of towns in Central Highlands Vietnam where freedom of religion has not been allowed for decades.
A few days before Easter, on Mar 4, 2012, by the Letter No. 269/UBND-NC from the county of Dak Ha, local authorities banned Bishop Michael Hoang Duc Oanh of Kontum Diocese to celebrate Easter Mass in Dak Hring within his jurisdiction.
 |
 |
Fr. Joseph Nguyen Van Binh, the pastor of Yen Kieu Parish in the Archdiocese of Hanoi, who ran the orphanage, came to the place with dozens of parishioners to protest. Hundreds of police swooped on protesting parishioners. The priest went into coma after dozens of police officers kicked and beat him with batons. They left him half dead on the ground.
Local parishioners rushed him to a local hospital where doctors transferred him further to the Emergency Department of the Viet Duc Hospital. Police reportedly banned anyone to visit the priest.
As of Sunday evening, Fr. Joseph Nguyen was taken to the Hanoi Archbishopric Office for private treatment.
Fr. Joseph Nguyen had run the Agape Family Orphanage for years at another location before buying the house which has just been demolished on Saturday.
In another incident, on Feb 23, 2012, Fr. Nguyen Quang Hoa of Kontum Diocese was seriously beaten at Turia Yop, Dak Hring on his way home from a funeral Mass of an old ethnic woman. Dak Hring is one of towns in Central Highlands Vietnam where freedom of religion has not been allowed for decades.
A few days before Easter, on Mar 4, 2012, by the Letter No. 269/UBND-NC from the county of Dak Ha, local authorities banned Bishop Michael Hoang Duc Oanh of Kontum Diocese to celebrate Easter Mass in Dak Hring within his jurisdiction.