ASIA/VIETNAM - Catholics in Hanoi demand the return of a land that belongs to the Church

Friday, 31 October 2014

Hanoi (Agenzia Fides) - The Vietnamese Catholic community of Thai Ha, entrusted to the pastoral care of the Redemptorists, publicly protested in recent days demanding the return of land that they believe belongs to the parish. As reported in a note by "Redemtorist International" sent to Agenzia Fides, the authorities have undertaken work to fill a lake present on that land. According to the priests, Redemptorists religious and lay faithful, the decision of the authorities to drain the lake is a violation of the rights of the Church. The protesters, who carried banners and chanted slogans, were dispersed by the police.
On October 16, the community of Thai Ha had forwarded the request to the government to stop the work and to settle the dispute, but received no reply. The parish of Thai Ha say the Redemptorists, owned six acres of land in Dong Da district, since 1928, as shown by official documents. Later the property was requisitioned by the communist authorities. Today, given the large influx of the faithful (15 thousand every Sunday) and new pastoral needs, the local Church calls for the immediate return of the plot. The procedure to have it back started in 1996. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 31/10/2014)


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