French prelate, Mgr Jean-Marie-Henri Legrez, takes part in prayer vigil on Sunday. Under the command of Hanoi police chief hundreds of police officers were deployed in the area; some filmed the faithful. Security forces became nervous when a procession to the former nunciature suddenly came into being.
Hanoi (AsiaNews) – A foreign bishop visited the area in Hanoi’s Thai Ha parish whose ownership is claimed by local Catholics. The announcement that Mgr Jean-Marie-Henri Legrez, bishop of Saint-Claude (France), was the first non-Vietnamese prelate to come to the disputed property was received by a great round of applause from the faithful who were taking part in the daily prayer vigil on Sunday night.
Bishop Legrez’s presence helped reassure many protestors who had been taken aback by the heavy police operation with hundreds of officers in and around Thai Ha.
“I don’t think they [police] dare to attack us in front of a foreigner, especially a bishop,” a student told AsiaNews. “I feel safe and [can] concentrate better on my prayers,” she added.
In fact since early morning police had been deployed around the capital blocking thousands of faithful who were moving to Thai Ha from around the city and surrounding provinces.
In what was an obvious act of intimidation Major-General Nguyen Duc Nhanh, director of the Hanoi Police Agency, and many high ranking police officials were at the disputed site to direct police units involved in filming protesters.
Police had gone on high alert on Saturday when a demonstration suddenly took place in front of the former Nunciature compound.
The episode began on Saturday morning when 32 sisters of the Adorers of the Holy Cross congregation in Hanoi had taken their solemn, perpetual profession of vows at Hanoi’s St Joseph Cathedral.
After the Mass, priests led the faithful in a procession from the cathedral to the former nunciature where they had held daily protests until February 1 when the government promised to return the compound to the Church, something which it has not yet done.
Hanoi (AsiaNews) – A foreign bishop visited the area in Hanoi’s Thai Ha parish whose ownership is claimed by local Catholics. The announcement that Mgr Jean-Marie-Henri Legrez, bishop of Saint-Claude (France), was the first non-Vietnamese prelate to come to the disputed property was received by a great round of applause from the faithful who were taking part in the daily prayer vigil on Sunday night. Bishop Legrez’s presence helped reassure many protestors who had been taken aback by the heavy police operation with hundreds of officers in and around Thai Ha.
“I don’t think they [police] dare to attack us in front of a foreigner, especially a bishop,” a student told AsiaNews. “I feel safe and [can] concentrate better on my prayers,” she added.
In fact since early morning police had been deployed around the capital blocking thousands of faithful who were moving to Thai Ha from around the city and surrounding provinces.
In what was an obvious act of intimidation Major-General Nguyen Duc Nhanh, director of the Hanoi Police Agency, and many high ranking police officials were at the disputed site to direct police units involved in filming protesters.
Police had gone on high alert on Saturday when a demonstration suddenly took place in front of the former Nunciature compound.
The episode began on Saturday morning when 32 sisters of the Adorers of the Holy Cross congregation in Hanoi had taken their solemn, perpetual profession of vows at Hanoi’s St Joseph Cathedral.
After the Mass, priests led the faithful in a procession from the cathedral to the former nunciature where they had held daily protests until February 1 when the government promised to return the compound to the Church, something which it has not yet done.