Is it safe to be an openly-practicing Roman Catholic in Vietnam today?

Many of the priests in my area are Vietnamese and tell stories of escaping the country from the oppressive government. They did this years ago, but is the state of religious tolerance still so bad?

they are in a fools paradise. VN is very open now

yes and iv been there and seen many chapels of catholic. but for me everywhere selected country that invaded by catholics for starting of Christianity.

It is easier, although there may be some parts of Vietnam where the oppression still exists. sometimes these things take time to change

From Wikipedia: "By the information of Catholic Hierarchy Catalog, there are 5,658,000 Catholics in Vietnam, representing 6.87% of the total population. There are 26 dioceses (including three archdioceses) with 2228 parishes and 2668 priests." Years ago certainly there was repression. With the world-wide collapse of Communism however there is a resurgence of religion. Vietnam want to do business with the whole world, and therefore can not be viewed as a repressive government.

I know a Lutheran pastor here in the states who went back to visit relatives. He said you have to be careful not to preach there or you can be arrested.

Here is a link to a list of articles on our persecuted brothers and sisters in Vietnam:

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/related/rep.-smith-urges-president-obama-to-help-persecuted-catholics-in-vietnam/

Peace be with you

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