The Voice of the Martyrs Canada :: Chapel attacked in Hanoi :: Providing Information and Support for Persecuted Christians

Persecution News - Vietnam

Church building destroyed, believers attacked
(December 24, 2008)

Chapel attacked in Hanoi
(November 19, 2008)

Authorities destroy historic Christian building
(October 01, 2008)

Vietnam Profile

Total Area:
329,560 sq. km

Population:
86,116,559 (July 2008 est.)

Ethnicity:
Kinh (Viet) 86.2%, Tay 1.9%, Thai 1.7%, Muong 1.5%, Khome 1.4%, Hoa 1.1%, Nun 1.1%, Hmong 1%, others 4.1% (1999)

Language:
Vietnamese (official), English, some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian)

Religion:
Buddhist 9.3%, Catholic 6.7%, Hoa Hao 1.5%, Cao Dai 1.1%, Protestant 0.5%, Muslim 0.1%, none 80.8% (1999)

Government Type:
Communist State

Capital:
Hanoi

Population Below Poverty Line:
14.8% (2007 est.)

Country Reports

Chapel attacked in Hanoi

November 19, 2008

^{Catholics gather in prayer around the Thai Ha parish
Photo from}^AsiaNews

A group of communist party activists attacked the St. Gerardo chapel on the property of the Thai Ha parish in Hanoi on the evening of November 15. At approximately 10:00 p.m., hundreds of activists arrived at the monastery and asked for an urgent meeting with some of the believers. They began shouting, throwing stones at the building and trying to provoke the believers. Local Christians were quickly alerted to the attack by fellow believers and within an hour, a large group of Christians were on the scene. The attackers were eventually intimidated by the growing number of believers present and fled before they could cause serious damage to the premises. Local Christians suspect the attack is related to their ongoing battle for restitution of parish land seized by authorities.

Pray that these Christians will be encouraged to continue meeting together for worship despite opposition (Hebrews 10:23-25). Pray that the passion of God's people in Vietnam will be a light that draws others to Christ.

To learn more about how Christians are persecuted in Vietnam, click here.