Properties Claims
By Van Nguyen
The Thai Ha
Incident
On the Sunday evening of January 7, 2008, a group of
uniformed security police in coordination with the civil guards and
plain-clothes police agents, for unspecified reason, came to Thai Ha Parish in
the area of Tran Quang Dieu Street, Trung Liet Ward, Dong Da Precinct in Hanoi.
There, the parishioners of Thai Ha were protesting against the Chien Thang
Clothes Manufacturing Company which, having taken advantage of a Saturday
evening of rest, furtively constructed a wall bordering Hoan Cau Street and the
parish. Upset at such a break of the law, a number of priests and followers
gathered and protested against the company’s unlawful act. Immediately on
arrival, the security police and paramilitary groups, without explanation,
routed the protesters, lending hand to the construction workers to go ahead
with their work. The protesters resisted, and the situation grew intense. The construction
was temporarily stopped, and the protesters took a break.
Back to 1954 when the country was partitioned by the
Geneva Accords, most priests of the Order of Redemptorists were evacuated to
the South, and only few priests of the Order stayed. Among them were Fr. Vu
Ngoc Bich, Fr. Denis Paquette, and Fr. Thomas Cote. The two priests of French
nationality, Fr. Denis Paquette and Fr. Thomas Cote, were expelled from the
country in 1959. Fr. Vu Ngoc Bich was
the only priest residing at the parish. The other priests sought refuge
elsewhere. The parcel of land of 51,445m2 of the Order at Thai Ha was part by
part confiscated by the State, and only some 2,700 m2 was left. The State built
on it the Dong Da Hospital, and the remaining was gradually shared by various
State enterprises for use. Over the years, the parish of Thai Ha has repeatedly
requested the State to render to it that piece of land, following the Order
379/TTg, which, among other things, stipulates that worship places are to be
rendered to the original owners unless the objective of the confiscation is
justified. The authorities conceived
that a hospital serves the people’s welfare and the building of one for the
people is legitimate. The purpose for the use of land of the Chien Thang
Clothes Manufacturing Company is nevertheless unjustified, and thus illegitimate.
In addition, this State enterprise commits serious mistakes in the conduct of
business and caused great operating losses Unable to regulate, in 2007, it sold
its whole business to Phuoc Dien Company in Saigon, and part of the remaining
land was sold to a senior State official. The purpose is unclear, and the act
is illegal. The State argued that the act is legal as the land of the Order had
been offered to the State by Fr. Vu Ngoc Bich. The argument was categorically
refuted by old-age Catholics of the parish who reiterated that if such is the
case, the State should show legal documents.
On August 11, the Monastery of the Order of
Redemptorists in Hanoi sent to its Provincial Supervision a report on the
dispute. It recounts such facts as Dong Da Textile Company had voluntarily sold
the land of the Order at Thai Ha to Chien Thang Clothes Manufacturing Company and
it had sent a petition to the State, and it came to no result. There is hidden
scheme behind the dispute. The report is essentially aimed to present the
actual situation at Thai Ha Parish in response to the false propaganda
improvised against the Order at Thai Ha. The State mass media, by the journal
Hanoi Moi (New Hanoi), in particular, divulged untrue news about the dispute, even
causing damage to the prestige of the Catholic Church of Vietnam. This
State-owned journal defamed Church of Vietnam and Thai Ha Parish with
fabrications and ungrounded charges. In response, the parish kept silent. Parishioners resumed gathering within the
Order’s quarters to pray in peace for justice in their hope that the property
would be given back to the Order. As
usual, their aspiration was not heard.
The administration tightened control on the
parishioners’ activities. Regardless of threats, the lay parish executive board
and parishioners of Thai Ha decidedly organized regular parties of mass prayers
for justice. In a letter of July to the
Archdiocese of Hanoi, the Reverend Vu Khoi Phung, the pastor of Thai Ha Parish,
expressed the faithful‘ s anxiety over
the situation and asked the Church to take more concrete and fearless
action to protect the faithful facing social injustice. They are now living in
a society where the power of money controls and justice is put aside. Still,
the parish has met with severe difficulties. The parish needs to have
orientation from the superior leader of the Church to overcome them.
On August 27, the authorities of Dong Da Precinct preceded
with the arrest a number of parishioners of Thai Ha. The official journal Nhan Dan carried the news that the
parishioners would be prosecuted to stand trials before court on charges of
causing public disorder on Nguyen Luong Bang Street. At the news, a hundred of
parishioners of Thai Ha flocked to the precinct police station and requested
the release of the arrested. On August 28, 4 parishioners were arrested when
they were participating in a sit-in demonstration on the sidewalk. A moment
later, the security with electric rods rushed in, suppressed the crowd, and
arrested seven other parishioners. Still, a number of others were shoved into
police vehicles.
In a press conference on August 29, General Nguyen
Duc Nhanh, Director of Hanoi Security Police Service, rejected the allegations
that the security police had used electric rods to suppress the demonstrators.
The General further elaborated that investigation on the incident would be conducted.
Six witnesses among whom were two priests nevertheless objected to the
General’s declaration in their interview with AFP. The authorities condemned
with allegations the priests and parishioners of Thai Ha. It is a squabble over
land property of Thai Ha Parish with the Clothes Manufacturing Company. Thai Ha
Parish was responsible for troublesome gatherings. The People’s Council of
Hanoi, to some higher extent, leveled charges against the priests and
parishioners for gathering parties of prayers illegally at 176 Nguyen Luong
Bang Street and attempting to destroy Chien Thang Clothes Manufacturing
Company. Vu Hong Khanh, Vice-chairman of Hanoi People’s Council, contended that
there was a hidden scheme conspired by someone that pulled the string behind
the scene.
On August 31, the parishioners complained that tear
gas was sprayed on them at the disputed land when they were on their way home
after attending a party of prayers. The spot was near Chien Thang Clothes
Manufacturing Company. It was pitched dark. Electricity was cut. A group of 7-8
agents of security police were on guard in a room. Wrapped in tear gas, the
parishioners were suffocated and had to rush out of the place. A large group of
women and children vomited and fainted. The Reverend Nguyen Ngoc Nam Phong, who
was accidentally a witness at the place, helped reestablish order and asked the
security police to intervene and drew up minutes. A sea-saw discussion dragged
on. It was not until midnight that a record of minutes was completed. It was
signed by the representative of the parish, on one side, and the representative
of the security police, on the other.
The suppression of the demonstrators and the
spraying of tear gas on the parishioners heated up the dispute over land
between the Hanoi authorities and Thai Ha Parish. The administration maintained
that the action of the parishioners was unlawful, and it would prosecute the troublemakers
and bring them to stand trial before the justice court. The official mass
media, reflecting the Hanoi authority’s viewpoints, negated all arguments of
Thai Ha Parish, saying that their presentations were all fabrications. The Archbishop of Hanoi Ngo Quang Kiet, in
his interview with RFA on September 4, asserted that he found nothing unlawful
as far as gathering parties for prayers were concerned. There were no such
things as “public insecurity, and neither was there “destruction.” He was in union with the parish of Thai Ha in
prayers. He called on the parishioners to pray in peace. In an interview with AFP on September 6, he
declared that there had been no progress in the dialogue between the
archdiocese and the administration. The Archbishop of Hanoi affirmed that the
parties for prayers at Thai Ha Parish were entirely voluntary. They were not organized
by the Hanoi Archdiocese. He also assured that Thai Ha Parish is the legal
owner of the disputed land.
Hundreds of Thai Ha parishioners continued their
usual parties for prayers, regardless of tight control. The official journal
Hanoi Moi (New Hanoi), on September 7, carried a report on what it called the
insecurity at Thai Ha Parish. General Nguyen Van Huong, Vice-minister of Security
Police Ministry, said that the presence of priests at the disputed land where
the parishioners gathered for prayers was illegal; it was an act of
instigation. The heat over the dispute
grew increasingly pervasive. There was no sign of concession from both sides.
The Bishop of Thai Binh Nguyen Van Sang, in his writing entitled “Those Who Use
Sword Shall Be Killed by it,” advised the State not to use violence to repress the
parties of prayers of Thai Ha parishioners. He call was seen as a response of
the Catholic community as a whole to the news reports on the official journal
Cong An (Security Police) with hints and threats. The State would not only proceed
arrest and detention of parishioners but also the priests that were the participants
in the parties of prayers.
The
Archbishop of Hanoi Ngo Quang Kiet, in his interview with AFP, urged on the
administration to listen to the aspirations of the parishioners and brought in
a peaceful solution through dialogue instead of violence and repression. In
response, the authorities charged him with issuing contention, inciting dissent
among the clergy and followers. Coupled with harsh measures against the
parishioners, the administration published various documents and papers with
the signature of the late priest Vu Ngoc Bich attesting the transfer of the ownership
of the land under dispute to the State. Notwithstanding, the Reverend Vu Khoi
Phung, the Pastor of Thai Ha Parish, reiterated that the documents and papers
only “contain elements that are dubious and obscure, and, the details “are
inconsistent.” The priest further contended that the parish still “has legal
documents.”
On September 9, the parishioners of Thai Ha, again,
gathered for prayers at the disputed land, regardless of police harsh measures.
The Archbishop Ngo Quang Kiet declared with a tone of reconciliation that the
administration should reconsider a solution to the dispute. He insisted,
however, that disagreement would ever remain so long as State intervention continued,
and the lack of determination to settle dispute persisted. Thai Ha Parish, for its part, contended that,
in the past years, the State had first used 14,000 m2 of its land professedly
for State interests but, later on, intentionally sold it to business
enterprises. It is an act of distrust.
On September 11, the authorities decided to
prosecute 4 parishioners of Thai Ha, namely, Than Thanh Hai, Nguyen Thi Viet
(female), Nguyen Dac Hung, and Nguyen Thi Nhi (female). The investigation organ
issued order to track down Ngo Thi Dung (female). At Thai Ha Parish, parties
for prayers were conducted as usual. Plain-clothes agents mixed in parishioners
spying on the attitude and acts of the followers. The parishioners readily
faced risk. Some even said that if they
were arrested, they would sacrifice themselves and be ready die as martyrs. The
official mass media leveled charges against the parishioners of Thai Ha,
accusing them of law-breaking. In response to these allegations, Mgrs. Pham
Trung Tinh, the Provincial Superior of the Order of Redemptorists, Vietnam,
said in an interview with RFA, that the parties of prayers of Thai Ha parishioners.
is to him, a common practice of people who have faith in God. They are unjustly
treated. They rely on Him and pray to be given back justice. This is Christian
expression over social evil. The Church has all documents and evidences as far
as land titles are concerned. By all accounts, that piece of land on dispute has
never belonged to the state. The Order and the congregation of Thai Ha is the
legitimate owner.
On September 17, the People’s Council of Hanoi and the
representatives of Thai Ha Parish met at the City Hall. Both parties exchanged
views and charges against each other. Thai Ha Parish was blamed for violations
of the laws, blocking public circulation, causing public disorder, and
breaching the laws and regulations on land and construction. The authorities
insisted that the parties of prayers of the parish be stopped. The parish, on
the opposite side, refuted all allegations against the Church with arguments
based on current State laws and regulations. The disputed land at Thai Ha is in
no way subjected to the management of the State according to the State Circular
73 of July 7, 1962, for example. Neither
has it breached the policy on house reconstruction ever since 1960.
On September 21, the security police dissolved with violence
the party of prayers for justice of Thai Ha parishioners. Bad elements stormed
the parish and destroyed the statute of Lady Madonna and the Genraldo Temple
close to Thai Ha Cathedral in the presence of the security police on duty. The Monastery
of the Redemptorists Order was surrounded.
Circulation in the area was forbidden. Patrol police was posited in all
entrances to the parish. The days that followed, the police tightened control
day and night. Gangs of thugs gathered and called the Superior’s name and cried
out threats to kill him. They even broke down the gate of the Geraldo Temple. The
official mass media denied all charges. There were only people who came to ask
the parish to untie tents and bring worship articles in the disputed land back to
the cathedral. The official journal Hanoi Moi assigned this a reaction of the
people. It came about as a result of non-cooperation from the parish.
On September 23, the People’s Council of Dong Da Precinct
informed the Parish of plans of construction and the creation of a park on the
land under dispute. The parish priests maintained that the proceedings would
not be in conformity with the law since the dispute was not settled, and a
solution through dialogue was under way. The authorities nevertheless insisted
that their task was only to inform the parish of the decision of the city
People's Council. On September 25, the local administration asked the parish to
remove the statute of Lady Madonna from the site. The parish, however, refused
to comply with the order as this holy site belongs to the Church. Moreover, the
matter was still under claim. The authorities, again, insisted that it only
executed the superior’s decision. It had the statute put in another place. It
then proceeded with the construction plan. On September 30, the Archdiocese quarters,
Thai Ha Parish, and the Old Vatican Mission site were all put under watch.
Regardless of tight control, the parishioners of Thai Ha continued to pray at
the parish cathedral. The security proceeded with arrests. Three parishioners
were detained, and one was subject to investigation.
The quarrel over the ownership of the disputed land
turned sour. The administration applied pressure on the priests of the parish.
The Reverend Vu Khoi Phung, the pastor of Thai Ha Parish, had foreseen difficulties
lying ahead in the coming days. He was,
in fact, "invited to work with"
the authorities of Dong Da
Precinct. The priest was asked to explain the reason for which he had signed on
the petition to the State to claim ownership of the disputed land. On October
2, in reply to the petition of the parish, the administration sent a letter to
the parish. However, the authorities gave no explanation for the unlawful confiscation
of the land. Unable to plead their cause
beside the local authorities, the priests sent a petition to the State General
Inspection Organ. As always, no answer was given.
On October 8, the administration prosecuted 8
parishioners of Thai Ha on charges of causing “public disorder and destroying public
property." Four of them, Nguyen Thi Nhi (female), Ngo Thi Dung (female),
Le Qung Kiet, and Nguyen Dac Hung, were put under detention. The rest, Tran
Thanh Hai, Pham Tri Nang, Le Thi Hoi (female), and Nguyen Thi Viet (female)
were released on further investigation. Nguyen Thi Viet, a resident at Dong Da
Precinct, said in an interview with RFA that she was forbidden to leave her
residence. She was prosecuted on charge of “causing public disorder,” that is,
to join in the breaking of the wall built on the land of the Church. She was
released, first, because she was obedient when being escorted to the security
police, and, second, her family always carried out the State’s order and
policy. The wall was built on the land of the Church. She and other
parishioners only wanted to win it back to the Church. She was interrogated on
who was the trouble maker.
On October 12, the People’s Council of Hanoi sent a
letter to the Episcopal Conference of Vietnam and the Provincial Superior of
the Order of Redemptorists of Vietnam, asking them to send a number of priests
out of Thai Ha Parish. The Council specifically requested the two highest ecclesiastical
organs to “judge, educate, and transfer” the priests at Thai Ha Cathedral and
the pastor of the parish Vu Khoi Phung to other locations, thus creating
favorable conditions to ameliorate the relations between the administration and
the Church. Mgrs. Pharn Trung Thanh, Provincial Superior of the Order of
Redemptorists of Vietnam said in an interview with RFA that the priests at Thai
Ha Cathedral committed no violations whatsoever of the religious laws and
rules. There was then no reason to send them out of Hanoi.
On December 8, the Hanoi administration brought 8
parishioners of Thai Ha to stand trial before court. The trial was conducted
behind closed doors. Only one member of each family was permitted to attend the
trial. In attendance were mostly low-level cadres and non-believers. Like in a
session of crime denunciation, the defense lawyer was barred from pleading for
the accused amid shouts of State cadres and supporters. All through the trial,
some two thousand people with placards to demand justice and the truth for the
accused gathered in the quarters opposite the court.
All the accused were sentenced to house arrest and terms
of reeducation. The trial aroused deep concerns about the religious life
nationwide. Pastor Le Thi Phu Dung of the Mennonite Church in Saigon expressed
doubrs about justice. “As people claim the land that is theirs, the
administration should reconsider what they had done. If the claimants are
right, the land should be returned to them; otherwise, they will naturally be
upset.” An Tu Hien of Hoa Hao Buddhism
in Dong Thap Province raised the issue of land dispossession of the State and
argued that “the claim on religious land unlawfully dispossessed by the State
is justifiable. The accused are innocent. They are oppressed.” The Venerable
Thich Van Dinh of the Unified Buddhist Church contended that “the State has unlawfully
confiscated the properties of the religions after 1975. Their claim on their
properties ownership is legitimate. The laws in Vietnam are unclear. The
victim's claim is choked. He is arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned.”
On December 12, eight defendants that were sentenced
to house arrest and reeducation by the precinct court of Dong Da, Hanoi, all
appealed to the Court of Appeals of Hanoi. They asserted that they committed no
acts against the laws, and the penalties imposed on them are unjust. In
addition to this contention, two of the condemned, Ngo Thi Dung (female) and
Nguyen Thi Viet (female), announced that they would bring a lawsuit against the
official journal Hanoi Moi and the State Hanoi Television for carrying false
truth. In their reports on the trial before court of December 28, the two mass
media organs of the State cited as proof that “the accused bowed their heads to
avow their crimes.” The victims viewed this
“an offense against honor.” In reality,
all eight defendants acknowledged at the trial that “they “broke the wall built
on the land of the Church that Chien Thang Company has appropriated to itself
for unlawful use for many years. Their action is appropriate. They only claim
back the right to ownership of the land of the parish.”
The lawsuit lagged behind time. The parishioners
awaited and received no notice from the Court of Appeals. Meanwhile, Le Tran
Luat, the main defense lawyer of the case faced troubles at Ho Chi Minh City
and home city Ninh Thuan. The local Tax Collecting Offices complicated the
situation on tax matters, although he had no problem with tax evasion. He was
convoked to the office and had to give explanations on his accumulated profit
taxes extending back to six previous years. The interrogations delayed his journey
to Hanoi to plead for his clients.
The trial
took place at the Court of Appeals at Ha Dong on March 27, 2009, a hundred of
people including the justices, cadres from the police, the defendants, their
close relatives, and four priests. There were also representatives of foreign
diplomatic corps and reporters. Outside, thousands of parishioners of Thai Ha
Parish bearing leaves of cicada or carrying placards with drawings of Madonna
the Justice gathered on the open ground 100 meters from the court. They expressed
discontent over the conduct of justice of the State. The police blocked all
entrances to the court. Ten military trucks stood in line across the street.
Barriers were raised.
The trial lasted 5 hours. The main defense lawyer Le
Tran Luat was barred from traveling to Hanoi by the Ho Chi Minh City security
police, although he was given approval to be the defense lawyer for the case by
the tribunal of Hanoi. After
deliberation, the Court of Appeals proclaimed it upheld the sentences given by
the court of first instance. The accused were given 12 t0 15 months of
imprisonment in suspension and terms of reeducation without detention. The
accused Thai Thanh Hai, apart, was given warnings. The defendants reportedly felt
indignant at the verdict as it was not only unjust but also untrue. The
justices showed embarrassment while on arraignment. Public opinion maintained
that they did not fully grasp the developments of the incident. They barred the
defense lawyers from pleading the case, stopping them every time they debated
the accused’s case and the legality of the piece of land under dispute. There
was no fairness in the debate. One can say the justices play at the same time the
role of the player and that of the arbiter!
Until 2011, there was no solution to the land
dispute between the administration of Hanoi and Thai Ha Parish. The
Redemptorits Order had repeatedly demanded the civil authorities to return to
it the piece of land at 178 Nguyen Luong Bang Street, Hanoi, which the State
had borrowed from it but had not returned to it, and had given it to Chien
Thang Company for unlawful use, instead. The dispute led to the arrest of 7
followers whom the State charged with committing crimes to destroy property and
cause public disorder.
In October 2011, the authorities preceded another
land eviction. The dispute over land, again, flared up. The State gave the Dong Da Hospital
permission to build a water station to treat waste from the hospital. This
health facility was built on the land of Thai Ha Parish. Back in 1959, the
district of Dong Da unlawfully occupied the main residential area of Thai Ha
Parish under the pretext that this State enterprise only borrowed from it this
piece of land. The Catholic priest Nguyen Van Phuong had repeatedly sent
petitions to the People’s Council of Hanoi presenting the case, the State still
proceeded the eviction.
At 12:45 p.m. of November 3, a group of about 100
people, among whom were hooligans of the underworld, broke into the front yard
of the parish cathedral, insulted the priests through the loudspeakers, and
fastened a fight upon the priests, religious, and parishioners. They broke with
hammers the gate-doors. The parish sent the alarm, sounding the bell and beating
the drum. Parishioners from everywhere in the city rushed to the parish in
rescue. The group of intruders withdrew. The Archbishop of Hanoi Nguyen Van
Nhon, in a letter sent to the administration in Hanoi on November 4, 2011,
affirmed the rights to ownership of Thai Ha Parish on that parcel of land of
61,000 m2. He equally clarified his discontent over the hostility at Thai Ha
Cathedral.
On November 3, some three hundred drunken thugs
stormed Thai Ha, causing disorder. They destroyed with large hammers the
church-gate, assaulted with threats the parishioners, and insulted the pastor
and priests. Among evil-doers were seen
people with movie cameras. The Reverend Luu Ngoc Quynh was assaulted in the
churchyard when he tried to make contact with them. The Hanoi press, however,
viewed this act of enthusiasm of the “Revolution.” Following the intrusion,
a number of parishioners, among whom was Nguyen Huu Vinh, a parish’s
representative, were convoked "to work with" the security organ at
the police headquarters. The representative was interrogated on his articles on
the internet relating to the recent incident at Thai Ha Parish
On November 10, the authorities of Dong Da Hospital
and the priests of Thai Ha met to find a solution. Nevertheless, the security
police, on November 16, deployed a task force, laid siege on Thai Ha, and cared
out the land eviction, expelling from home the residents at the parish’s
premises. At 11:00 P.M., police of all types, civil guards, and thugs from
various street wards suddenly overwhelmed the parish. Some went inside the
hospital and intimidated people. Facing violence, the parish quickly alerted
everyone the urgency of the situation. In a moment, about 300-400 local
parishioners came out, gathered, and lay aground in the churchyard. No
regrettable incident happened. The security forces withdrew. The parish sent
petitions to competent authorities to protest against the unlawful action of
the security police right after the incident.
In mid-November, security police and workers moved
in to work on a sewage reservoir and part of the parish ground while negotiations
between the authorities and Thai Ha parishioners were under way. The local
authorities mobilized a large group of people from nearby communes to provide
protection for the construction workers at the site. Church officials were
informed of the move. The parishioners were suspicious of the authorities'
scheme. They congregated and held vigil prayers at the Redemptorish church in
protest against the vile intention.
On November 18, the parishioners of Thai Ha and those
from other parishes in Hanoi congregated in front of the Headquarters of the
People’s Council of Hanoi to petition for their legal rights to property ownership.
Gatherings also took place in the adjoining streets. Parishioners were barred from
entering the municipal headquarters. However, as many as 150 parishioners congregated
with resilience at the Ly Thai to Statue. The group firmly marched in peace around
the Lake of Returned Sword with signs calling on authorities to return land
belonging to the Church. Police monitored the situation but did not intervene.
After the march, the protesters joined the parishioners that had arrived at the
Hanoi People's Council Headquarters to hand in a petition requesting the return
of the Church its land. Their request came to no solution, however.
On December 2, priests and parishioners of Thai Ha, with
banners and slogans marched in protest around the Returned Sword Lake. The protesters, again, demanded the
administration to give answer to their request on their rights to ownership of
property. The Hanoi administration appeared indifferent to the problem in
question. It apparently decided not to return the Church the premises of the
Order of Redemptorists at Thai Ha, which it had borrowed from it under the
pretext that it had used them for public interests. The protest was flattened
out. The pastor, priests, and parishioners of the parish were crowded into buses
and taken away.
At 8:30 P.M.
of December 2, priests, and parishioners of Thai Ha, Ham Long, and other
parishes around Hanoi gathered at the Sword-returned Lake to forward a petition
to the Hanoi People’s Council to claim back the land of which Thai Ha Parish
has the rights to ownership. Around an hour and a half an hour after that, the
security police stormed in, encircled the crowd, and arrested the petitioners.
Scuttle and beating ensued. The Catholic priests Nguyen Van Phuong and Luong
Van Long, the religious Vu Van Bang, and 30 laymen were arrested and brought in
a bus to the Loc Ha Center of Rehabilitation of Personality. The dispute over
land between the administration of Hanoi and the parish of Thai Ha lagged on
without a solution.
On October 16, 2014, a large number of parishioners
held a protest outside of the local People's Council Office demanding the
administration of the Capital to halt the filling of the 18,200 m2 lake which
they said belongs to their parish. Security guards were sent in to disperse the
group, having torn their banners. Acceding to Fr. Nguyen Ngoc Nam Phong of Thai
Ha, the aim of the protest is practical.
Thai Ha is a large parish in which an increasing number of people sought
to settle. The parish ever wishes the administration to return to it the entirety
of 15-acre plot under its ownership beginning in 1928. The parish is in serious
need of land for religious and educational purposes. Children had no place for
Bible classes and religious activities. The refusal to render the land to the
Church was in line with the "State policy." It
failed to destroy a religion from the inside; it dismantles it from the
outside. This policy complicates land dispute. So long as the religious policy
does not change, nothing can be resolved.
