Vietnam: Police raid Catholic home church during Mass

Image: CSW

Source: CSW

A Catholic home church was raided by Vietnamese police during Mass at around 8.30pm on 11 August in Thái Nguyên province, northern Vietnam.

A group of approximately 20 Catholics, including children, was celebrating Mass at the home of a parishioner in Bình Khang vilage, Đại Từ commune, when the electricity to the house was abruptly cut off without prior warning. Police officers and local authorities then entered the house and demanded that everyone stop the service.

According to a report by Radio Free Asia, an exchange between the priest conducting the service and a local official was recorded in a Facebook Live video posted on the priest's account. In the video, a voice - apparently belonging to a local official - can be heard demanding that the priest stop filming. The priest refused, responding: "I am filming my fellow Catholics."

At 10.30pm, the priest reported on his Facebook account that police had "forcibly brought three people to the local police station," including the leader of the local Catholic community, the owner of the house where the Mass was held, and another man from the group. "We could not stop them," the priest said.

He was prevented from accessing the location where his parishioners were being detained and interviewed by local authorities.

It is unclear why local authorities disrupted the service. In one video posted on the priest's Facebook account, a local official's voice can be heard questioning people about their place of origin. However, other voices, allegedly identified as those of local Catholics, can be heard claiming they are local residents. Local authorities in Vietnam often refuse to authorise religious activities on the grounds that the participants do not belong to their jurisdiction.

The official Facebook account of the Bac Ninh Diocese, which oversees the area where the incident occurred, reposted the video, which garnered 60,000 views within two hours and was shared by hundreds of people.

Catholicism in northern Vietnam dates back to European missionaries in the 17th century. It gained popularity during the French colonial period and many churches were built during this time. It has faced suppression under communist rule after the1954 partition of North and South Vietnam. Catholicism has been portrayed by the ruling communist party as a Western reactionary force. Despite this, Catholicism persists, with notable churches and a significant number of followers, particularly in provinces like Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh. The overwhelming majority of Catholic churches are registered with the State.

This crackdown is taking place in the wider context of a radical administrative restructuring in Vietnam. After the most recent annual party congress in April of 2025, Vietnam's provinces are being reduced by half from 63 to 34 and one level of government is being removed altogether. Previously, Vietnam was governed on three levels; administrative (federal), provinces (state/county) and district (local). The restructuring eliminates district government while slashing the number of provinces and independently-administered cities.There are concerns about the impact on provinces like Thái Nguyên that have a historic presence of religious minority communities witha generally good working relationship with local authorities on the district level who understand the practices, and know the clergy and historical significance of local religious communities .

CSW's Founder President Mervyn Thomas said: "CSW is deeply concerned that Vietnam Communist Party General Secretary To Lam's aggressive consolidation of power is removing a whole manner of freedoms from Vietnamese people across the country, and that this will have an impact of their right to freedom of religion or belief. This raid is a potential canary in the coal mine and a sign of how this new consolidated and centralised government could oppress and control religious minorities from Hanoi while removing any local mechanism for legal recourse. We continue to call on the government of Vietnam to ensure full enjoyment of the right to FoRB for all citizens in law and in practice, revising regulations and legislation pertaining to religion to ensure they align with the international standards articulated in Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and to ensure consistency in application through all levels of government."

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Christian Solidarity Worldwide: www.csw.org.uk