Communist officials rushed to the altar, demanding that the Holy Mass be stopped. The priest then asked permission to finish the Mass – as a priest cannot interrupt the Holy Sacrifice.

Newsroom (03/04/2023 11:00 AM Gaudium Press) On last March 23, officials of the communist government of Vietnam, accompanied by security teams, invaded a house where Fr. Francisco Xavier Lê Tiên celebrated Holy Mass with the presence of many faithful, in the parish of Dak Giac (Dak Nong, district of Ngoc Hoi, province of Kon Tum, in Vietnam).

Fr. Tiên explained that he has celebrated weekly Masses for many years in this place, known as ‘Church of St Paul’, because there is no church or chapel in the area, and a parishioner lent this house for the celebration of religious acts. Authorities accused parish priest Fr. Tiên of holding religious services in an unrecognized chapel.

Indeed, religious activities are restricted in the mountainous province of Kon Tum, where many faithful reside, living in poverty and far from parish churches. Most of the churches in the area were destroyed during the Vietnam War (1955-1975). Communist officials rushed to the altar, demanding that the Holy Mass be stopped. The priest then asked permission to finish the Mass – as a priest cannot interrupt the Holy Sacrifice.

Fr. Tien promised that he would meet and talk with them later. However, they did not accept it, and uttering insults, one of them removed the missal from the altar. The priest, seeing the tension in the situation and fearing a fight, did not continue the celebration and ended with the blessing. In a statement, the diocese of Kon Tum strongly condemned what it called a “heinous offense against the sanctity of the Mass.”

The actions of these communist government officials “are deeply distressing and hurt our parish brothers and sisters, as well as all priests and lay people in the diocese and elsewhere.”

Compiled by Donna Smolders with information from Diocese of Kon Tum