The Repression

Having failed to create  a self-directed Vietnamese Catholic Church of the Chinese type in March 1979, the Communist administration sought to repress the Church by violence. On the one hand,  it intimidated the clergy and confiscate the Church’s facilities. However, facing  flexible but resolute defense of the Church, it had to manipulate the  Communist-created Union of Catholics to replace the Union of Catholic Patriots, exerting pressure on the Church.  On the other hand, it used diverse measures, both political and administrative, to maneuver tricks against the Church. To defend its legitimacy as a religious institution, on April 4, 1990, the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam published a letter of recommendation requesting the Communist administration to create favorable conditions for religious activities, to respect the rights to religious worship, to allow the Church to reopen seminaries, and  attend to the service of the poor. The requests cane to no response.

     The Role of the Committee of Union of Catholics

The Committee of Union of Catholics, an organization operating in the orbit of the Party-satellite  Fatherland Front, actually played the role of a watchdog of the Party and State  to  control the Roman Catholic Church of Vietnam at all levels of the Church’s hierarchy. It was even vested with authority to designate members to work beside the clergy the local parishes. This organization, like its predecessor, was the successor to the Committee for Solidarity of Patriotic Catholics. Since the term “patriotic” sounds “too Communist.” it is then stripped off. Structurally, It  operated under the direction  of  the “Gang of Four,” (Huynh Cong) Minh, (Truong Ba) Can, (Phan Khac)Tu, (Vuong Dinh) Bich. People do not know, however, how close they were to the Party’s leadership, but had great influence on State-affiliated work teams at the parishes. Oftentimes, they tended to exert their influence on local priests and prestigious members in the hierarchy of the Church. Nevertheless, their pressure fluctuated with various circumstances. For instance, during the years of 1985-1986,  the Archbishop Nguyen Kim Dien of Hue Diocese, Central Vietnam, was constantly harassed by the local civil authorities. He was finally arrested, interrogated, and detained for 120 days at the Binh-Tri-Thien police headquarters. Released, he was immediately placed under house arrest. The Reverend Tran Van Quy of the Hue diocese was coincidentally arrested and interrogated about the archbishop’s activities from 1980 to 1986. A delegate from the Committee of Union of Catholics in Saigon came to Hue with an intent  to complicate the matter. Nevertheless, the Most Reverend Nguyen Kim Dien  categorically ruled out every artful argument of the delegate in the interests of the Roman Catholic Church of Vietnam. Facing complexities of the situation, the work of the Committee was, however highly appreciated by the Party and State. At the close of the assembly of the Episcopal Conference that took place in Hanoi from October 6-11,1997, the chief of the State Office of Religious Affairs Le Quang Vinh, on his own initiatives, spoke highly of the merits of the Committee and evaluated the role it played alongside the bishops and the contributions that this organ had paid to the Roman Catholic Church of Vietnam.

      

The Bishops, on their part, pointed out that,  in the context of the politics of “doi moi” (renovation), it was suitable to let the laity only to participate in  the operation of this political organization and take charge of responsibilities as the representatives of the laity in it. Traditionally, they added, in diverse branches, the responsibilities in the direction of the Church's religious activities resided with personalities with merits.  They evidently had acquired merits or possessed honorific titles. Moreover, responsibilities should be given to specialized people. A priest must serve first his pastoral duties.   

Resentment against the presence of priests in the Committee of Union of Catholics wais strong. This organization, in the eyes of the Catholic laity, was a political watchdog of the Communist Party. The Episcopal Conference  reaffirmed the statement by the late Archbishop of Saigon Diocese Nguyen Van Bin when he had delegated the general vicar of Saigon Cathedral Huynh Cong Minh to the meeting with the Committee of Union of Catholics on November 11, 1993 with this message: “Nowadays, the situation has changed. Our country has engaged in the process of complete renovation. The economic, social, and political situation is on the path of normalization. That is why the archbishop desires that the activities of the Committee of Union of Catholics should also be normalized. Our laity brothers must assume their role. The priest should come back to his duty, that is, he should be accorded the credentials to perform his ministry services, which responsibilities lay people cannot assume.”

Pham Ngoc  Hai, a devout Catholic of Vuon Soai Parish, Saigon, recounted the circumstances in which religious practices were  conducted in the Saigon archdiocese: "The Catholics are now free to some extent to observe  their religious practices and  activities. They are allowed to perform religious practices and activities, but all these performances are  restricted to the worship place. They are mainly Holy Masses. Bible studies for converts, teenagers, and the youth. They are conducted within the church. only Al celebrations for the All Saints' Day, Christmas Eve, or reception parties are all under the writ of authorization. Outdoors activities and services of the “Legio,” the Catholic Youth Association and the Sacred Heart of the Holy Mother are strictly prohibited to operate. Even the practice of charity is forbidden. While the 1984 Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam recognizes the right to freedom of religion, the State places the Church under its control with all forms of regulations, restrictions, and authorization. Worse still, pious Catholics are publicly derided. Bishop Nguyen Van Sang of Thai Binh Diocese (North Vietnam) reported at the International Caritas Conference in Rome, May 29, 1991: "Anyone who practices charity and performs religious creeds is criticized as being backward and benighted." (Trung Tan, VHRW 3 (November 2001)

   

Prior to “renovation” when the religious policy for the South had not come into force, the authorities’ measures of control varied from one region to another. In some parishes such as the Vuon Soai Parish in Saigon where the State priest Phan Khac Tu was in charge of the ministry, those priests returning from reeducation camps were allowed to celebrate Sunday Masses because of lack of priests. Seminaries were closed. Seminarians had to return home. Pious youths were barred from entering the priesthood, Dignitaries in certain dioceses sought to fill the gap by forming priests in hiding. Upon completion of this type of religious education,  if they were lucky, they had to perform their sacerdotal duties secretly. They were subject to self-isolation as police raids were continually performed against them (Trung Tan, VHRW 3 (November 1991). 

   

Demands for Religious Freedom

During October  12-19, 1992, twenty-six bishops representing twenty-one dioceses attended the Fifth Congress of Catholic Bishops held in Hanoi. Again, they issued a letter of opinions demanding the Communist Party to lift the restrictions on religious activities, to terminate prohibition against Catholic converts to serve their faith, to restore the Church’s right to religious propagation, and to return to it the right to property ownership. Also, in the motion to Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet on October 26, 1992,  the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam demanded the rights to freedom of religious activities of the Catholics in various dioceses. As regards the legitimacy of the Church, the Episcopal Conference stressed that "being the superior organ that is responsible for the Catholic communities inside the country, the Conference needs to have proper conditions and adequate means to render its services corresponding to its role as the representatives of the faithful of the Roman Catholic Church of Vietnam. Therefore,  "the Church has the right to free assembly, to assemble wherever it is deemed necessary and convenient. The Catholic Bishops equally have the right to free movement to perform their sacerdotal duties in their dioceses.  The  restrictions on the formation of priests have to be lifted. Of most importance, the  State is requested to return to Church the cathedrals, monasteries, seminaries, abbeys and real estates properties that are managed and occupied or  unsuitably used by the State."

The Persecution

   Arrests and Imprisonment

For nearly two decades after the reunification of the country, the Roman Catholic Church of Vietnam still suffered tragic persecution due to profession of faith of  the clergy and faithful.  The Communist rule continued to ruthlessly persecute numerous Catholic dignitaries, priests, and believers. The history of Vietnam under “renovation” recorded  such cases of religious persecution as follows:      

   

In the North, the Catholic  community of the ethnic minority H’mong was targeted with persecution. Recognized among the preachers who were arrested and detained were:  1. Sung Khai Pha in Ha Giang Province was repeatedly arrested in 1992, “for spreading illegal religious propaganda,” 2. Vang Seo Sang in Ha Giang Province was repeatedly arrested in 1992, “for illegal religious propaganda”  and 3. Ly Van Dinh was repeatedly arrested in 1992, for” spreading illegal religious propaganda.”

In the South, fervent and prestigious personalities and  priests were the victims of persecution. Recognized among them were Ngo Van An, Doan Thanh Liem, the journalist Nguyen Ngoc Lan, and the Reverend Chan Tin.

 In the open letter of August 15, 1989, Ngo Van An demanded the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam to manifest strong will of independence from the State  as regards the creation of the Committee of Union of Catholics. Ngo Van An was subject to interrogation by the police in December 1990. He was arrested on February 25, 1991. He was sentenced without trial to three years of forced labor and detained at Phan Dang Luu Prison, Saigon.  

The lawyer Doan Thanh Liem was arrested without charge in 1990. The lawyer was a signatory to a letter of protest to the Catholic Archbishop Nguyen Van Binh denouncing the artful scheme of the Communist-sponsored Committee of Union of Religions and accusing the Vietnamese Communist authorities in Hue of their violations of freedom of religion, and, specifically for their detention of the Catholic Vice-archbishop Nguyen Van Thuan. On May 14, 1992, the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City imposed on the lawyer  a 12-year imprisonment. The official daily Saigon Giai Phong (Saigon Liberated), reported the Court's accusations against him such as maintaining relations with U .S. high ranking officials as well as the old officials of the Republic of Vietnam, printing and diffusing anti-socialist documents and calling for the abolition of the monopoly of power of the Vietnamese Communist Party, the dissolution of the Communist-created National Assembly, and the promotion of a regime of political plurality.  He was also attributed to as a reactionary for drafting a project for a new  constitution for Vietnam. In reality, the lawyer had served as a legal counselor for Michael David Morrow.

Sources close to the lawyer said that Doan Thanh Liem was a graduate from Georgetown University in Washington D. C. On May 14, 1992, the Ho Chi Minh City Court sentenced the lawyer to 12 years in prison. His trial aroused deep concerns among celebrities and political circles in the United States. A group of 125 politicians and celebrities signed a letter of protest to Party Secretary-general Do Muoi requesting him to release the lawyer forthwith and unconditionally. Recognized among those who signed the letter were Senator Jesse Helms, Jane Fonda, David Dellinger, David Berrigan, and Tom Hayden. Nevertheless, the protest came to no result.

On May 12, 1993, the Ho Chi Minh City police released the Catholic priest Chan Tin and the journalist Nguyen Ngoc Lan from arbitrary detention. The Reverend Chan Tin, a Redemptorist, and Nguyen Ngoc Lan, a Catholic intellectual, were always under police guard. They were the principal inspiring authors of the open letter of August 15, 1989 in which they demanded the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam to manifest more independence vis-à-vis the State and to define the assumed role of the Committee of Union of Catholics.

The journalist Nguyen Ngoc Lan, who had  been under house surveillance, was charged with secretly sending abroad a two-volume diary whose contents, according to the Communist rule, denigrated the political regime. On May 16, 1990, the police broke into and searched his home at Tan Phuoc  but found no evidence. The journalist was nevertheless placed under constant administrative detention at his home and was prohibited to leave the quarters where he was living. He had to report himself to the police headquarters every week. At every interrogation, during the time under permanent detention he refused  to answer any questions and held firmly to hiss political  standpoint.    

Along with the articles severe criticisms on the State's acts of religious repression and persecution, the Reverend Chan Tin preached in a series of sermons during the Lenten in 1990, arousing the State’s interference in the internal affairs of the Church, and thus committing violations on religious freedom.    

The priest, who had also been placed under administrative detention., was charged with acts of subversion. against the regime. He was arrested while he was residing at the Redemptorists Cathedral on Ky Dong Street, Saigon. The Reverend Chan Tin was designated a new residence at a small church in the district of Duyen Hai, 70 kilometers east of Saigon. Five days later, he was prohibited from celebrating Masses and  his preaching was terminated. On June 22, 1989, after an interrogation by the police, he was put under house arrest for three days. The priest's movement was restricted within the village of Can Thanh. He was prohibited from performing his priesthood. His citizenship was withdrawn, and he had to report himself to the police every fifteen days. The authorities also interdicted his relations with other fellow priests at the Redemptorists Order on Ky Dong Street, Saigon. The police showed vigilant zeal in the search for and confiscation of the priest’ s records of preaching. A priest of a diocese in the Central Highlands who obtained one of these records was arrested and sentenced without a trial to three years under administrative detention. International organizations, such as the CIDSE was not allowed to go to and visit the priest at the  place of detention.