Hanoi's Policy: Eliminate Catholics

The government has violated religious freedom and is preparing to sentence the eight faithful for unjust reasons.

HANOI (AsiaNews) - There is a failure to understand the very idea of religion on the part of Vietnam's political authorities behind the constant attempt to suffocate Catholicism, Protestantism, and also other religions, as now being seen in the trial that on December 5 will be held against eight faithful of the parish of Thai Ha.

If one visits Vietnam, in many parishes one can see the announcements "pray for the Church of Vietnam" or "pray for peace and justice." This is an invocation always present in the prayers of Catholics in this country. Catholics whom the communist government has oppressed in a sophisticated way and on various levels. But on this occasion, the authorities are not respecting the council of Vietnamese bishops. They clearly want to eliminate the Catholics.

The government has violated religious freedom and is preparing to sentence the eight faithful of the parish of Thai Ha for unjust reasons, accusing them of damaging property and disturbing public order. They are trying the eight faithful in order to threaten the other Catholics and the faithful of other religions, and in general their aim is to threaten people who want to fight for justice and religious freedom.

Every Catholic and every parish has been invited to pray for justice, peace, and religious freedom in Vietnam. The faithful this time need the voice of the bishops to express the truth, denouncing that the government has appropriated Church property, but has falsely accused the Catholics.

At the origin of the discrimination of the authorities against believers, and not only Christians, a professor of the National University of Hanoi explains to AsiaNews, "there is a prejudice. The very concept of religion is explained poorly. They do not understand well, so they lead the country badly, bringing many negative consequences like government corruption, poor education, injustice toward farmers trying to work to make a living and feed themselves."

The idea of the Vietnamese communists about religion is that this "is a form of social conscience. Conscience reflects mythology, the illusion of objective reality. Religion is always based on belief, a belief in the transcendent. Religion cannot be examined by reality."

Thus the government has instructed the authorities on all levels to "control the situation of the religions, classify the faithful of the religions in order to reach appropriate solutions to convince people to leave their religion." And the political approach is to oppose, exclude, and discriminate against Catholics in Vietnam.