As U.S. President Bill Clinton visited with Catholic Archbishop Pham Minh Man to discuss religious freedom issues in this city formally known as Saigon, security police across town broke up a quiet worship service in the home of a Protestant house church leader.
Clinton met with the archbishop Nov. 19 and discussed the difficulties still being experienced by the Catholic Church at the hands of Vietnam’s communist regime.
Earlier the same day, police raided the Sunday worship service of Grace Church, a house church congregation, being held in the home of Rev. Nguyen Ngoc (Henry) Hien.
Authorities confiscated Bibles, threatened those attending the worship service and seized Hien’s identification card. The pastor was told to report to a police station so his activities could be investigated.
Recent incidents and the experiences of many Vietnamese Christians confirm the pastor’s claim.
On Nov. 14, a spokesperson for Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed as “distorted and slanderous” the publication of secret Vietnamese Communist Party documents that expose the government’s harsh policies, plans and practices toward Protestants, according to a Reuters news agency report. (CD)
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