THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH OF VIETNAM

　

　

Catholicism the 19th Century

　

By the end of the nineteenth century, the Catholic population in Vietnam was estimated at a million with one-third of whom lived in the North. Vietnamese Catholic congregations, usually created by mass conversions of the poorest peasants in the Dang Ngoai (North Vietnam) beginning in the seventeenth century. They voluntarily founded their own "ho duong" (Christendom) in which the parish priest was the real leader who tool care of the religious life of the community. Until 1939, as a consequence of religious intolerance, the "luong" (non-Catholics) and the "giao" (Catholics) segregated from each other and settled in separate quarters. The Catholics were found no peace to live in the villages inhabited by obstinate "pagans" who performed village ceremonies to honor geniuses and deities and practiced family worship to venerate the dead with different rites and rituals. Little by little large congregations came into existence, and small and large parishes mushroomed throughout the country, regardless of discrimination.

Catholicism grew fast. Large dioceses expanded their boundaries in the immense fields of the old South and North. From 1914 to 1939, the Catholic faithful increased from 870,000 to 1,297,000 followers. The increase in the personnel of the Church was eight percent, from 385 priests in 1900 to 1,158 priests in 1932.

Parallel to the development of parishes, the Church’s prelacy in both regions of the country was established at a rhythmic pace. Hanoi Diocese was founded in 1892, Vinh Long Diocese, in 1899; Saigon Diocese, in 1899; Hue Diocese, in 1900; Quy Nhon Diocese, in 1902; Haiphong Diocese, in 1902; Vinh Diocese, in 1904, and so on. The body of clergy became more and more heterogeneous. Episcopal nominations varied among dignitaries from different nationalities, including Portuguese, Spanish, French, Canadian, and Vietnamese. The nominees were equally indiscriminately chosen among the Vietnamese clergy. Mgsr. Nguyen Ba Tong became the first Vietnamese bishop in 1933. Of importance, various Orders, congregations, little and grand seminaries, and educational and charitable foundations were established. Religious associations developed as the years went by. By the middle of the twentieth century, Roman Catholicism became one of the most prestigious faiths of Vietnam.

　

The Roman Catholic Church under the Viet Minh

Regime

A Typical Case

Typical of the religious life of this period is the case of the Christendom of the commune of Khac Can, Thanh Liem District, Ha Nam Ninh Province. This is small congregation that settled on the left side of the Day River, some 60 kilometers south of Hanoi. In the early days of the Christendom in the second half of the 19th century, the congregation practiced their religious services without a priest. Even though a poor Christendom, it erected a chapel and built it into a cathedral until later. Its members nevertheless served their faith with fervor. They had to travel as many kilometers to attend Sunday masses at a nearest church. Until the first decades of the 20th century, they could only receive the Sunday Mass once a month due to the scarcity of priests. They gathered and prayed .every Sunday Mass when a priest was not available. They dutifully attended Masses and participated in ceremonies and annual events at the churches nearby around the year.

A distant and isolated Christendom in the rural area, Khac Can suffered little political hatred and religious intolerance under the Japanese occupation of Indochina and after the Viet Minh uprisings of August 1945. Political animosity and religious discrimination were felt but not strong during the Resistance War (1946-1954) against the French. Misfortunes, however, befell the poor Christendom during the days of agrarian reform and the following years (1954-1956). The consequences of campaigns of revelation and denunciation of crimes swept away with it all the kindhearted habits, religious practices and activities the Christendom had ever held dear and preserved. Many bovine followers became fierce members of the agricultural commune. New practices of "socialist" and economic productions molded the most fervent followers into new modes of communal life Religious services and practices were considered as superstitious. The centennial cathedral was turned into a shack where the agricultural commune stored its farm implements. Sunday Masses were forbidden, and religious services were banned. For decades under the policy of religious repression that reigned over North Vietnam until the Communist takeover of Hanoi in 1954,, the Christendom ever remained loyal to the Catholic Creeds and were resigned to serve faith in silence. (Trung Tan, Interview with Pham Mai, October 2, 1991).

 

　

Catholicism during the August Uprisings

　

Artful Division of Religions

　

The Viet Minh lured free-floating political leaders to side with them while trying to eliminate the elements among them they considered the enemies from within. Among those people were credulous Catholics. To destroy Catholicism at the base, they even conspired artful practices of propaganda to sow division between the non-Catholics and the Catholics. Executing the order from the General Headquarters of Viet Minh, party cadres initiated campaigns to denigrate the Church, fabricated stories and spread evil rumors about the Catholic Church. Catholic priests were charged with false crimes of treason and the Catholic followers with making troubles to the new regime. They were mostly attributed to as the henchmen of the French, serving as spies for the French Expeditionary Corps. Evil rumors even hissed that the very authors of the crimes were the French bishops. They were French nationals, and thus they worked for the interests of the French. As a consequence, many of these dignitaries were targeted with elimination. Others were abducted to unknown whereabouts. Still, others were arrested with ungrounded reasons, imprisoned, and tortured. Everywhere in the country, the Catholic parishes lived under repression.

　

The Repression

   

Nghe An

   

Repression began during the Japanese occupation of Indochina. In the northernmost provinces of the Center, the persecution was pervasive. The Catholics became the victims of hatred and political discrimination. The sufferings were excruciating, and the material losses were tantamount to extinction. By the time the Japanese surrendered to the Allies (August 15, 1945) and, notably, during the uprising in Hanoi (August 19, 1945), the Catholics faced insurmountable hardship. Student priests and novices were sent home. The priests and missionaries of all Orders, who had been imprisoned in the camps under the Japanese occupation following the "coup d’etat" of March 9, 1945 were either regrouped in the camps or placed under house surveillance. Fr. Delaine Tan, Director of the Grand Seminary at Vinh, died after three days under house surveillance.

The events that ensued after that complicated the situation. Catholic laymen, seminarians, and priests were politically discriminated, regardless of their patriotic fervor and sympathy to the "Revolution." On September 2, 1945 when Ho Chi Minh in the name of the Privy Government proclaimed the independence of Vietnam, Catholic laymen, the seminarians and the clergy at the Grand Seminary in Vinh Diocese, indeed, gathered at the township meeting to welcome the "Revolution" and joyfully celebrated the Day of Independence. Nevertheless, new measures were applied to suppress theism, particularly Catholicism. Religious education was abrogated, and the role of religion in education was denied.

By the implementation of educational programs at the national level, the Ho Chi Minh government issued the Order of December 1945 and introduced among other things atheism into the school curricula. In face of such a catastrophic educational policy, the Catholics in the Nghe (An) - (Ha) Tinh provinces instantly withdrew their support for the Viet Minh. Many anti-atheist organizations were founded to oppose atheism and protest against the atheist Viet Minh authorities. The opposition moved on as years went by. During the later years of the Resistance War, clandestine anti-Viet Minh activities ever rose. Uprisings took place here and there in Nghe An, Ho Chi Minh’ s home province. The opposition lasted for many years but was flattened out, The local Viet Minh authorities never hesitated to lay heavy hand on the opponents. The most resilient revolt happened in the summer of 1952 in Hung Nguyen, Nghe An. During the event, Fr. Vo Viet Hien, a native of Trang Nuc, assumed the role of leadership. The Viet Minh flattened the resurrection without mercy. Many Catholics were killed, and many Catholic priests were arrested and imprisoned.

Thanh Hoa

The situation in Thanh Hoa Province was much more deplorable. The Second World War broke out (1939). The Japanese invaded Indochina (1940). By the "coup d’etat" of March 9, 1945, the Japanese replaced the French to rule the country. They nevertheless allowed the French colonialists to stay and administer the country under their supervision. Discrimination against anything that was French was strong, and, by coincidence, hatred for Catholicism developed. French missionaries were suspected of espionage, to work as spies for the Trench. Foreign priests were regrouped and brought to the concentration camps at Cau Ram, Vinh Township. Catholic laymen, suspected of treason. They were attributed to as the pro-French elements and were either imprisoned or placed under surveillance.

The Japanese politics of hatred against the French added weight to the repression on the Catholic clergy and laymen throughout the diocese. The situation grew worse when the Viet Minh came to power. The anti-Catholic policy of the new regime left disastrous consequences, creating social turmoil and political instability, and thus upsetting the religious life of the Catholics thereafter. Persecution against the Catholics ensued. It became more intolerable in Thanh Hoa than any other dioceses in the country. The Catholics in the uppermost north of the province faced such a fanaticism that they could only bow their heads to utmost violence of the Viet Minh. They were trampled underfoot, immersed in downcast hatred, suspicion, and terrorism for many years. Catholic missionaries were, again, targeted with elimination. They were falsely attributed to as the spies for the French. Catholic followers were accused without ground of being the agents for the French. They were even attributed to as the culprits of genocide crime who intentionally spread poison into the wells in the countryside to kill innocent people. This artful division split the Catholics and non-Catholics, especially among the peasantry.

Terror reigned the diocese. On June 10, 1946, Fr. Can, the pastor at Chan Lao Parish, was killed at Hoi Xuan. The Seminary at Ba Lang (The Trio Villages) was razed to the ground. The Viet Minh troops penetrated and occupied the place and built on it an outpost. On July 1, 1946, Fr. Chu Thao Tien was killed at Phuong Son. Fr. Mai Ba Mhan died of hard labor at the Cam Thuy agricultural camp. The congregation of the Sisters for the Cross was dissolved, and all the novices were forced to return home.

　

Phat Diem Diocese

A Hidden Scheme

In the beginning of the Resistance War (1946), the Ho Chi Minh government sought to woo the religions to ally with it to fight against the French under its leadership. On the eve of the Lunar Year of Dinh Hoi (January 1, 1947), at Phu Da Hamlet, Son Tay Province where the Viet Minh Resistance Government had its seat, Ho Chi Minh wished on the radio the faithful and leaders of all Churches a happy new year. The following days, he and other members of the government, Nguyen Van Tao, Minister for Labor, Nguyen Tan Nhon, Minister for Agriculture, and Cu Huy Can, Vice-minister for Agriculture made a visit tour to Nho Quan District, Ninh Binh Province. The aim was to seek support from the Catholic Bishop Le Huu Tu of Phat Diem Diocese. The dignitary was invited to Nho Quan where the Viet Minh greeted him with great welcome. The bishop was named the Supreme Advisor to the President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam by Ho Chi Minh himself.

In reality, the Viet Minh, for political reason, solaced the religious leader into cooperating with them and got support from the Catholic faithful in the fight against the French. Nevertheless, shortly after that, in the beginning of 1947, Ho Chi Minh and the Communists made "volte face" shortly after that. The Viet Minh searched for and eliminated fervent Catholics. In the Phat Diem Diocese only, they arrested as many as 5,000 people, mostly lay Catholics "for lack of vigilance for the Resistance." Many of them were accused of being "reactionary Catholics." Many were also suspicious of being the members of various national parties. Lay Catholics who were arrested were only the ones who still kept in their houses a French tricolor flag or a royal "long tinh," which flag was officially recognized as the national emblem under the reign of Emperor Bao Dai. Other victims were those who were doubted for having had connection with the national parties. Still, others were those who helped with the Church's religious services such as the head of a congregation or the leader of a Catholic association (Pham Van Pho, 1994: 14)

　

Hanoi Diocese

Throughout the period following the August Uprisings, Hanoi Diocese suffered the most tragic losses. It endured severe hardship under the Japanese supervision during World War II and was targeted with enmity of the Vietnam in the fratricidal fights for power between the Vietnamese Communists and Nationalists during the August Uprisings of 1945. The situation of the embattled Vietnam became increasingly tense with the arrival of the Chinese Koumintang troops in North Vietnam when they came to disarm the Japanese troops stationed from north of 16th Parallel. All through this period of crisis, the Church was imperiled with all sources of animosity coming, first, from the Japanese Fascists then from the atheist Viet Minh. The Catholic clergy and Orders were the target for oppression of the Japanese and the object of repression of the Viet Minh. Catholic missionaries were regarded the allies to the Western Allies by the Japanese, and the collaborators of the French colonialists and the supporters of the national parties by the Viet Minh. Both the Japanese and Viet Minh, the one after the other, treated them with disdain and hatred.

In Thai Ha Parish, where the Remptorists Order was most active, religious services and practices came under surveillance. The Church’ s faithful served their faith with fear for repression. In the adjoining parishes, educational and charitable establishments were forced to shut down. Religious services and activities in chapels and houses for prayers were discouraged. Church organizations were dismantled The Associations for Worship Services, the Association of Catholic Youths, the Association of Catholic Scouts, the Saint Vincent Association, and the Order of Sisters of St. Paul all suffered dissolution.

With the Viet Minh’ s ascent to power, the Catholics were truly at a loss. In the beginning, quite a few Catholic priests and intellectuals in Hanoi had the idea that the Viet Minh were patriotic. On September 23, 1945, a lage group of Catholic priests and followers joined the Viet Minh at Ba Dinh Square to express confidence in the Provisory Government with Ho Chi Minh while innocent foreign missionaries in Hanoi and elsewhere suffered persecution. A large number of them were regrouped and sent to the concentration camps. Many others living in the rural areas had to escape and sought refuge in Hanoi and large cities. Distressfully, Vietnamese pastors in the countryside equally coped with utmost difficulty, discrimination, and persecution.

At the reception party to welcome Ho Chi Min after his return from France, October 23, 1945, the Bishop of Hanoi expressed his anxiety about the fate of Church’ s clergy to Ho Chi Minh. The dignitary asked Ho Chi Minh to help out the French missionaries who were taking refuge in Hanoi from difficulty, to free them from suspicion.. Ho declined, saying that he had to attend to the fate of the bishop first. Persecution began. Calamity befell the Redemptorists Order at Thai Ha Ap (Thai Ha Hamlet), Hanoi. By he end of 1946 when the Indochina War broke out, the Viet Minh arrested and detained all the Order’s priests and seminarians in residence at the Thai Ha seminary. The Thai Ha abbey was pillaged and destroyed. Terrorism intensified. On December 19, 1946, Fr. Xavier Bay, the pastor of Vinh Phuc Parish (Long Bien Bridge area) was abducted and killed at midnight.

　

Thai Binh Diocese

Persecution was pervasive in the most populated province of Thai Binh. Fr. Sedaro Thai was killed on Tra Ly riverbank on February 22, 1946. Fr. Gallego Wan and Fr. Labayan Trung of the Dominican Order presented the case of discrimination against the Catholics to Ho Chi Minh during a presidential audience. Ho promised, with tears in his eyes, to punish the culprits and made every effort to bring security to everyone. Nevertheless, persecution resumed. Foreign missionaries and the priests in the Thai Ninh and Kien Thuy districts had to leave their parishes and sought refuge in Nam Dinh and Hanoi.

Hung Hoa Diocese

　

Adjacent to Hanoi Diocese, the diocesan area of Hung Hoa was also exposed to turmoil and persecution all through the periods of Japanese occupation and the Indochina War. On March 9, 1945, when the Japanese troops overthrew the French colonial rule the situation in Hung Hoa Diocese was prone to chaos. The Japanese troops regrouped and brought all French missionaries to Hanoi where they detained them in separate concentration camps. During the August uprisings (1945), imprisoned Catholic priests and missionaries were released from the camps and came back to their old parishes and missions. They never enjoyed peace thereafter. The Viet Minh, suspicious of their possible relationship with the remnants of the colonial rule, subdued them under tight surveillance. It was not until the Indochina War broke out that these missionaries and priests were relieved from painstaking restrictions. Bishop Maze and the clergy in Hung Hoa Diocese successfully evaded to and sought refuge in Hanoi. Until 1950 when the parishioners in Hung Hoa could organize self-defense groups to protect their cathedrals and the local faithful that the Bishop and the clergy of the diocese could return to the diocese offices again.

　

Catholicism during the Indochina War

During the Indochina War, the Viet Minh secretly carried out measures of attrition .against the Catholics, trying to immerse the Catholic faith in the darkness of oblivion. In 1953, during the first phase of Land Reform (1952-1954), the Viet Minh launched a wave of white terror allegedly aiming to destroy the remnants of colonialism and imperialism and possible sources of opposition. The main target of elimination was nevertheless the Roman Catholic Church. Ardent Catholics were attributed to as the members of the Lien Ton Diet Cong (Anti-Communist Interfaith). Many of them were arrested on ungrounded charges of counterrevolutionary crimes. Terrorism persisted until the Viet Minh takeover of Hanoi following the Geneva Accords of July 20, 1954.

　

The Persecution

In the South

Strict measures against the religions began with the repression on the religions in the later years of the 1940' s. In the beginning of the Indochina War, the Ho Chi Minh government sought to woo the religions to ally with it to fight against the French under its leadership. During the war, having successfully integrated the pro-Viet Minl religious groups into the Communist satellite Lien Viet Front, it about-faced and repressed them outright. The Catholic clergy throughout the country, again, suffered persecution. In the southernmost province of Bac Lieu, Fr. Truoung Buu Diep, the pastor of Tac Sang Parish, Phong Thanh, as a case of evidence, was abducted and executed on March 18, 1946. The priest voluntarily suffered death in exchange for the lives of more than 70 parishioners of Tac Say who had been accused of anti-revolutionary crimes. His grave was later discovered, and his remains were unearthed and reburied in Tac Say Parish.

　

In the Center

　

In the provinces of Central Vietnam, where the Viet Minh were equally fanatic, Catholic priests were targeted with elimination even before the war. On November 30, 1945, on the order of the Council of Resistance of Khanh Hoa Province, the missionaries of the Franciscan Order had to leave their abbey without reason. They had to travel as far as Qui Nhon, Binh Dinh Province where they were separated and placed under surveillance. In Khanh Hoa, religious practices were prohibited. Fervent Catolic followers and priests were arrested and persecuted. Fr. Simon Ton of Khanh Hoa was killed.

In Nha Trang, eight cathedrals were demolished, and many others were razed to the ground. In the Central Highlands, persecution began when the French troops occupied Kontum (1947). The Viet Minh executed the so-called scorched-earth tactics. Under the pretext that the French would use any solid facilities to station their soldiers, they burned down the cathedrals at Pleiku. They charged the Catholic clergy with false charges of treason. Fr. Romanef Phuong of Ban Me Thuot, as a case in evidence, was arrested and sent to the concentration camp in Nha Trang in Spring 1946.

　

In the North

 

　

Phat Diem

Phat Diem, the southernmost diocese in North Vietnam, maintained relative security owing to the reconciliation between Bishop Le Huu Tu and the Viet Minh. After the August uprisings when chaos and violence reigned everywhere in the country and the Viet Minh failed to control the situation, the bishop had the faithful in his diocese to found the Phat Diem Zone of Safety with Ho Chi Minh’s approval. Later, the Viet Minh about-faced and had their troops surrounded the diocese and isolated it from the adjoining areas. The diocese had to challenge the French and the Viet Minh as well. Phat Diem transformed itself into a military stronghold and a haven for members of national parties. Fr. Hoang Quynh was then assigned to the task of leadership of the militia Nghia Dung Quaqn.. Until 1953, the population in the diocese enjoyed relative security. Neither the French troops nor the Viet Minh military forces ventured into the Phat Diem self-administrative zone.

　

Bui Chu

Applying the same approach, Bui Chu Diocese established itself a self-administrative zone. The diocese nevertheless distanced itself from the Viet Minh Government and never reconciled with the Communists. It formed itself self-defense groups to protect its seminaries, cathedrals, diocesan offices, and the faithful. Due to resilient stance against the Communists, it suffered tragic losses subsequent to the Viet Minh occupation of the diocese later. During the period of 1949-1950, Phu Ninh Village of Dai Dong Parish, notably, became the target of elimination of the Viet Minh. The local Communist propaganda spread the rumor that F. Nguyen Duy Ton, the parish pastor, organized the parishioners into groups in arms and instigated an uprising to overthrow the resistance government. At 5:00 A.M. of November 16, 1949, when the morning Mass was over, a battalion of 500 Viet Minh guerrillas suddenly rushed in, surrounded the cathedral, and searched for the pastor. The priest escaped death owing to due intervention of the nationalist troops from Dai Dong that came in rescue in time. Nevertheless, from then on, the faithful of the diocese lived under constant threat in fear for revenge of the Viet Minh. Also, for this reason, the parishioners themselves had to take charge of self-defense to protect themselves.

The security in Bui Chu Diocese deteriorated as the Indochina war drew to an end. In 1952, the battles between the French and the Viet Minh became increasingly violent. With massive military aids from Communist China, the Viet Minh launched all-out attacks on all battlefronts. The French troops suffered great losses and had to fight on the defensive. The nationalist troops equally found themselves at a tight corner. In many areas, they fought in despair. Many of their outposts were wiped out. The Van Dan stronghold in Hai Hau District was under continual attack. The parish offices and the Grand Seminary Thomas at Quan Phuong were in danger of destruction.

The Viet Minh aggressed on and gradually took control of a larger part of Bui Chu Diocese. In 1953, the French-Vietnamese forces launched counterattacks on the Viet Minh and reoccupied many areas in the diocese. Nevertheless, when they withdrew, the Viet Minh guerrillas came back and avenged themselves on those who they thought had connections with the nationalists. Tran Van Dinh , the village head of Quan Phuong Trung, Hai Hau District, was abducted in broad daylight and executed.

Lines of battles of revenge crisscrossed the country, and abductions and killings multiplied. At Ba Trai and Tang Dien, many youths were executed. At Cho Con, a number of unidentified priests and seminarians were abducted to Inter-zone IV and imprisoned at Ly Ba So Camp in Thanh Hoa Province. During June 4-5, 1953, the Viet Minh guerrillas attacked the Little Seminary at Trung Linh Village. and destroyed the diocesan offices and establishments. Four sisters of the Man Coi lost their lives. Sixty seminarians were placed under surveillance. The diocese was under the control of the guerrillas . Fr. Giuse Phan Phuc Huyen, Fr. Gioan Baotixita Vu Ngoc Huan, and Fr. Joseph Bruneau Kinh were abducted to unknown whereabouts.

At the end of June 1953, the Viet Minh guerrillas attacked the nationalist troops at Quan Phuong who were then subdued and surrendered. The guerrillas laid siege at the local seminary. Fr. Hoang Gia Hue was abducted to Inter-zone IV. The old pastor later died at the camp because of poor health on June 30. On October 6, 1953, Dai Do Theng of Giao Thuy Parish fell to the control of Viet Minh guerrillas. Fr. Phan Tuan Duc was abducted to Ly Ba So Camp, Thanh Cam, Thanh Hoa. He died at the camp.

Thai Binh

　

In Thai Binh Diocese, the situation was even worse. During 1946, the local Viet Minh consolidated their newly-established administration with violence, chaos spread. In many parishes, the followers voluntarily armed themselves with coarse weaponry to withstand the Viet Minh. They were nevertheless brutally crushed by the Viet Minh forces that were superior in arms and military tactics., Many priests could not escape the execution. Fr. Giuse Mai Duc Tinh of Phuong Xa was shot dead by a Viet Minh firing squad. Fr. Ho Quang Luat, the pastor of Cao Mai Parish, was abducted, imprisoned, and tortured to death at Ly Ba So Camp, Thanh Hoa. The Catholic monk Tran Thuan Hieu of the Dominican Order at Thuan Nghiep, Nghia Chinh Parish, was beheaded. Many priests and Bible interpreters, among them were Bao Loi at An Vi and Thinh at Phuoc Le and a number of seminarians were put into prison. They were only released when the Geneva Agreements of July 1954 took effect. 

　

Lang Son

　

In the distant diocese of Lang Son, the Catholics endured a true tragedy. Intermittent battles between the French and Japanese troops, then ferocious fights between the French Expeditionary Corps and the Viet Minh guerrillas, and, lastly, bloody clashes between the Viet Minh guerrillas and the Nationalist militia ensued. Chaos took place in the diocesan territory. Beginning in March 1945, the faithful lived in agony. Hunger raged the country. The Japanese troops overthrew the French rule. French missionaries were put under surveillance. Many of these priests sought in vain to evade to other cities in the plains. On August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allies. The Viet Minh came to power. Catholic missionaries became the objects of suspicion of crimes of espionage The Bishop of Lang Son and foreign missionaries were eventually turned out of their abbey and left for Hanoi to seek refuge.

On December 19, 1946, the Indochina War broke out. The French troops from the plains advanced to Lang Son and sized the township and other provinces in the highlands. The Viet Minh carried out the scorched-earth tactics. They destroyed the villages and harvests to slow down the move of the French troops and retreated to the forest, leaving the people behind unprotected. The French troops, in turn, destroyed without hesitation all buildings, cathedrals, pagodas, and earthworks that obstructed their advance. Bombs turned townships and villages into ruins. The Viet Minh propaganda put the blame on Catholic priests and followers for this calamity. They were attributed to as the spies for or collaborators of the French. They were thus the allies to the invaders, aiding and abetting the enemy to reoccupy the country. All through the war, the Viet Minh targeted them with violence and elimination.

　

Cao Bang

At Cao Bang, terrorism spread. Many priests were persecuted or abducted to unknown whereabouts. Fr. Giuse Ngoc of Nam Loat was killed on September 16, 1947. Fr. Phero Thao, the pastor of the Main Cathedral of Cao Bang, was killed on September 17, 1947. Fr. Giuse Ngfyen Van De was killed at Quang Uyen, on October 6.1947 At the end of 1947, Fr. Phero Hao and Fr. Dien of Ta Lung were abducted to unknown whereabouts. Sources affirmed that Fr. Mallet Binh of Quang Uyen was buried alive, having refused to leave the parish. Fr. Brebion Uy, who was then 80-year old, was allowed to stay. Nevertheless, he was found dead, mouth gaped, in his bed several days later.