Pray for the Catholics of Viet Nam

Half a million Vietnamese Catholics march through the streets against police violence

An Dang - Peaceful marches in the provinces of Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh. The demonstrators protest against arrests and police violence against Catholics last week, who were attacked by security forces at the ruins of Tam Toa church

http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=15894&size=A

It seems like atheistic Communist oppression is alive and well in Viet Nam. See my previous blog about coercive birth control measures and the war on baby girls, Hanoi style:

http://stjoesworkshop.blogspot.com/2009/07/slow-genocide-in-vietnam.html

Viet Nam has the fourth largest Catholic population in Asia, after thePhillipines, India, and China. It has a long history of martyrdom: In Eastern Cochin China (the southernmost part of Viet Nam) the martyrs included 15 priests (7 native), 60 catechists, 270 nuns, 24,000 Christians (out of 41, 234); all the charitable institutions and ecclesiastical buildings of the mission—including the episcopal curia, churches, presbyteries, 2 seminaries, a printing establishment, 17 orphanages, 10 convents, and 225 chapels — were destroyed. In Southern Cochin China 10 native priests and 8585 Christians were massacred in the Quang Tri Province alone—the two remaining provinces supplied hundreds of martyrs; two-thirds of the churches, presbyteries, etc. of the mission were pillaged and burned. In the Mission of Southern Tong-king, 163 churches were burned; 4799 Catholics were executed, while 1181 died of hunger and misery. These figures apply only to the year 1885. In 1883-1884 eight French missionaries, one native priest, 63 catechists and 400 Christians were massacred in Western Tong-king, while 10,000 Catholics only saved themselves by flight. The carnage extended even to the remote forests of Laos, where seven missionaries, several native priests, and thousands of Catholics were killed.

All Vietnamese Catholics who had died for their faith from 1533 to the present day were canonized in 1988 by John Paul II as, collectively, the Vietnamese Martyrs.

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=4951

-----UPDATE:

Vietnamese Police Maul 2 Priests, 500,000 Protest Anti-Catholic Violence

http://www.ewtn.com/vnews/getstory.asp?number=96833