The Sisters of Saint Paul
in Hanoi are frustrated and without any hope as they wait for the Hanoi
government to demolish their home and property any moment now.
The
same frustration is shared by the diocese that has continuously called
for justice for the sisters.
Meanwhile today, the AsiaNews website -
which yesterday denounced this latest violence against the Church - has
been blocked.
The home of the Sisters of Saint Paul in downtown Hanoi,
was confiscated almost in its entirety by the Communist government in
1954. A small portion was restored to the nuns in time allowing them to
open a dispensary for the poor, a residence for orphaned children and
provide a shelter for young girls in difficulty.
Now the government wants to demolish the entire complex
to erect a four story hospital: at least this is the official version
explaining their actions.
However, to date many Church properties which -
according to Vietnamese law - should return to their rightful owners,
have been seized and made out as private property to members of the
party, becoming a source of lucrative gains due to the housing
construction boom.
Each year the sisters have petitioned the government to
get the property back, but have never received a response. "No one –
says one nun - can promise us justice because everyone is afraid of
retaliation and revenge."
The auxiliary bishop of Hanoi, Mgr. Lawrence Chu Van
Minh, has often defended the right of the sisters to get the property
back. But nothing happened.
Yesterday the AsiaNews website reported this latest government abuse (see 17/05/2011 Hanoi Sisters of Saint Paul home to be demolished).
Perhaps because of this, today, the AsiaNews
site is blocked in the country and the Vietnamese can no longer read
the news reports.
Until now, the only country that has sought to block AsiaNews is China.
This
censorship is often futile, thanks to proxy server it is always
possible to overcome the government's filter and download the news.