Local authority summoned the Redemptorist Provincial Superior of Vietnam after repeat raids on the monastery’'s church.

The preparation for Christmas at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Saigon has been interrupted with repeat raids of local officials who have been insisting that Redemptorists who are in charge of the church must remove from their bulletin board allegedly anti-regime articles, and stop delivering homilies calling for justice.

In a letter dated Dec. 13 sent to all Redemptorists, Fr. Joseph Dinh Huu Thoai, Chief of the Secretariat of the Redemptorist Province of Vietnam, reported that on two successive days of Dec. 8 and 9, local officials had raided the church, the second largest one in Saigon. The next day, local government of the third district of Ho Chi Minh city summoned Fr. Vincent Pham Trung Thanh, the provincial superior.

At the meeting, representatives of state administration for religious affairs and local officials took turn to spell out "unjust accusations against Saigon's Redemptorists of being 'instigators of disorder''," wrote Fr. Joseph Dinh.

They charged that the provincial superior himself was liable for "homilies of Redemptorists and articles posted on bulletin board relating to land disputes at Hanoi nunciature, Thai Ha; waves of persecution at Tam Toa, Con Dau, Dong Chiem... and the government plan to mine bauxite deposits in Vietnam's Central Highlands". From the government's point of view, they are "non-religious issues" that priests are not allowed to mention without being charged with conducting anti-government activities.

Fr.Vincent Pham rejected all accusations saying that his orders have worked for the good of the people, praying and living in service to the Gospel, and calling for the reconciliation among sections in the society, and the respect of justice and truth.

In response to his refutation, the chairwoman of the district promised "more raids" on the church in next days.

The Redemptorist Province in Vietnam is the largest in Asia. Over the past twenty years, the Province has grown: in 1983, there were 179 professed brothers, while today there are 278, including 168 priests who live in about 20 houses scattered throughout the country, in North, Central, and South Vietnam. There are also 222 postulants. The growth of vocations represents a great hope for the entire Church in Vietnam.

There has been a general crackdown on dissent in Vietnam ahead of the ruling Communist Party congress early next year. Prominent lawyers, journalists and activists have been arrested and jailed in recent months, while others remain under government surveillance. In that context, the wave of harassments against Redemptorists in Vietnam may be a harbinger for imminent crackdowns