Hanoi Catholics hold vigil, march onto former Church property

Singing hymns, playing musical instruments and accompanied by 100 priests ...demonstrators marched and prayed outside the iron fence of the compound, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News.

HANOI, Vietnam (CNS) - Catholics have maintained a round-the-clock prayer vigil on the grounds of the former apostolic nunciature in Hanoi after about 2,000 Catholics marching for its return forced their way into the compound.

Singing hymns, playing musical instruments and accompanied by 100 priests Jan. 25, demonstrators marched and prayed outside the iron fence of the compound, reported the Asian church news agency UCA News.

At the entrance they placed flowers, incense sticks and candles. The marchers came from the nearby St. Joseph Cathedral after a special morning Mass.

But trouble started when Marie Nguyen Thi Nhi, a Muong ethnic woman in traditional attire, climbed over the fence and walked with a bouquet of flowers toward a replica of Michelangelo's "Pieta" in front of the nunciature building.

Six security personnel and plainclothes police officers intercepted Nhi before she could reach the statue. They struck her and dragged her to the former nunciature building.

At this, some in the crowd sang louder, others shouted at the security officials to release her and some scaled the gate to protect her. Le Quoc Quan, a lawyer who jumped the fence to help the woman, also was caught. He was taken to the building and beaten by 10 security officials, which prompted shouting from the crowd.

Others who had scaled the fence broke down a small gate leading to the building. They argued for an hour with security and police officials before the woman and lawyer were released and taken to the Hanoi archbishop's house nearby for medical care.

The crowd then broke the main entrance gate and pulled down advertisement boards on the fence and the building. The compound soon was filled with people, some of whom erected a 13-foot iron cross in front of the main door of the building and put flowers around it. People also erected tents on the grounds and since then have maintained a round-the-clock prayer vigil.

The local government reportedly sent a letter Jan. 26 to archdiocesan leaders asking them to remove the cross and "Pieta" replica by Jan. 27. However, as of Jan. 29, Catholics were still inside the former nunciature grounds, praying continuously in front of the cross and statue.

Local state-run media reported that people had attacked security officials and destroyed government property, but the Hanoi Archdiocese sent government authorities a message condemning the media accounts as wrong and asking officials to correct the reports.

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Copyright (c) 2007 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops