Vietnamese diocese protests 'lawless' government activity, anti-Catholic propaganda
September 09, 2013
The Diocese of Vinh, Vietnam has issued a statement decrying government propaganda attacks on the Catholic community and on Bishop Paul Nguyen Thai Hop.
The diocesan statement protested “false articles and stories, which distort the truth,” after a series of reports in the government-controlled media blaming Catholic activists for a series of violent confrontations with police. The statement said that the clashes—in particular, a bloody assault by police on peaceful demonstrators outside a Redemptorist church—reflected a “lawless” attitude on the part of public officials.
The statement from the Vinh diocese concluded with a lament: “The laws of Vietnam have become an effective means for the authorities to use whenever they want to suppress their own people.”
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Further information:
- Vinh: Church against government media for slandering and manipulating the facts (AsiaNews)
- Vietnamese police in violent crackdown on Catholic demonstrators (CWN, 9/6)
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