On the third day of their 11th Plenary Meeting, Catholic Bishops in Vietnam approved the decision to establish The Peace and Justice Commission. It's the first time since the Communist Takeover of the whole country in 1975 that Vietnam has such a commission.
The move has been quickly and warmly welcomed by Vietnamese Catholics as the commission has been born in the wake of widespread frustration of Catholics about social injustice, and attacks of the government on the properties of Church and individuals.
In addition to more than 2250 churches, monasteries, hospitals, universities, schools...that have been confiscated since 1954 and 1975, more Church properties have been seized in the last 3 years leading to numerous protests from North to South Vietnam.
In the latest episode, the government has attempted to seize the whole Catholic village of Con Dau, Da Nang. Facing the resistance and protest of parishioners, police beat to death Nam Nguyen, 43, on July 3 and terrorized others in a threatening tactic. A month later, 40 Catholics who had been hunted by police had no other choice than fleeing to Thailand to take refuge.
The incident has escalated the widespread dissatisfaction of Catholics on the unwillingness of local bishops to adopt a confrontational attitude toward the nation’s government to protect their faithful, and on issues such as abortion and on the government’s seizure of property from the Church.
The Peace and Justice Commission of the Episcopal Conference will work in collaboration with the Bishops and in conjunction with the other social outreach offices of dioceses to support the sacredness of human life and dignity in accordance with the themes of Catholic Social Teaching, a note from the meeting said.
The commission is led by Bishop Paul Nguyen Thai Hop, OP, who has been ordained Bishop of Vinh on Jul. 23 to replace Bishop Paul-Marie Cao Dinh Thuyen.
The move has been quickly and warmly welcomed by Vietnamese Catholics as the commission has been born in the wake of widespread frustration of Catholics about social injustice, and attacks of the government on the properties of Church and individuals.
In addition to more than 2250 churches, monasteries, hospitals, universities, schools...that have been confiscated since 1954 and 1975, more Church properties have been seized in the last 3 years leading to numerous protests from North to South Vietnam.
In the latest episode, the government has attempted to seize the whole Catholic village of Con Dau, Da Nang. Facing the resistance and protest of parishioners, police beat to death Nam Nguyen, 43, on July 3 and terrorized others in a threatening tactic. A month later, 40 Catholics who had been hunted by police had no other choice than fleeing to Thailand to take refuge.
The incident has escalated the widespread dissatisfaction of Catholics on the unwillingness of local bishops to adopt a confrontational attitude toward the nation’s government to protect their faithful, and on issues such as abortion and on the government’s seizure of property from the Church.
The Peace and Justice Commission of the Episcopal Conference will work in collaboration with the Bishops and in conjunction with the other social outreach offices of dioceses to support the sacredness of human life and dignity in accordance with the themes of Catholic Social Teaching, a note from the meeting said.
The commission is led by Bishop Paul Nguyen Thai Hop, OP, who has been ordained Bishop of Vinh on Jul. 23 to replace Bishop Paul-Marie Cao Dinh Thuyen.