The monastery of the Congregation of the Brothers of The Holy Family of Banam (Frères de la Sainte Famille de Banam, FSF) in Long Xuyen, South Vietnam has shared the same fate of the Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres’ in Vinh Long which was pulled down not long ago.Last week, “all of a sudden, on June 4, the government of An Giang province has demolished the two-story building once housed the priests and religious of the Holy Family Order”, reported the spokesperson for diocese of Long Xuyen.
The monastery, built in 1971, is still in so good condition that the sudden demolition has surprised Catholic officials.
To date, local government has neither announced its intention for the future use of the land, nor informed the diocese on its decision to tear down the building.
Also, the altar and religious statues were all discarded in a rubbish dump but neither the diocese nor the Order has been informed officially to come and retrieve those items.
Vietnamese Catholics have met with defeat and frustration in their efforts to secure the return of church properties that have been confiscated by the government.
On May 21, Nguyen Thanh Xuan, the government's deputy chief of religious affairs, announced that the state "has no intention of returning any property or goods to the Catholic Church or any other religious organization."
The situation in the monastery of the Holy Family Order in Long Xuyen in the light of Xuan's statement has brought about growing concerns that Vietnam government has applied a new, harsh policy on Church’s properties in which there would be no more dialogue, and it would behave as if the State is the true owner with full authority on Church’ assets.
The Congregation of the Brothers of The Holy Family of Banam was founded by Bishop Valentin Herrgott, the then Vicar Apostolic of Phnom-Penh, Cambodia in 1931. In 1970, after a coup against Norodom Sihanouk, due to security reasons, the Order moved to the diocese of Long Xuyen, Vietnam.
In 1984, as what had happened to Sisters of St. Paul of Chartres’ in Vinh Long, all brothers of the congregation were arrested and charged with “anti-revolutionary activities”, and their monastery was seized.
They had been jailed for years without a trial.
The congregation has repeatedly requested for the requisition of its monastery protesting the unjust detention of its members.
All have gone into deaf ears.
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Source (VCN)
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