HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (UCAN) -- Thousands of people gathered at a church here to pray for justice and charity, and for the government to return property it took from the Church.

About 4,000 people attended the candlelit prayer service and Mass that 26 Redemptorist and two Dominican priests led on Jan. 11 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Ho Chi Minh City, 1,710 kilometers south of Ha Noi.

They prayed for the government to return a 14,000-square-meter plot of land adjacent to the Redemptorist-run Thai Ha parish church in Ha Noi. A state-run garment company has occupied the plot since the government "borrowed" it in 1959.

Company officials started building houses on the land last year, but stopped after Catholics protested. Just a few days into 2008, however, the homebuilding resumed, and so did the protests.

Catholics have been gathering to pray outside the disputed site since Jan. 6. On that same day, hundreds of public security officers and government workers came to protect the plot in reaction to the renewed protest.

Before the Jan. 11 events began, participants were briefed on the plot's history. They watched photos of parishioners including children praying outside the plot's barbed-wire fence, with public security officers nearby.

The people applauded enthusiastically when they saw pictures of elderly people sleeping on the ground in shelters amid winter temperatures that hit 10 degrees Celsius. Photos of Catholics praying in Ha Noi outside the confiscated former apostolic nunciature next to the archbishop's residence there also were displayed on a large screen.

Father Matthieu Vu Khoi Phung, 68, told the people such gatherings in the capital show people "thirst for spiritual values and justice," and he asked them to pray for people who treat one another unkindly and do not respect one another because they lack spiritual values. He urged the people to pray that Church properties be returned for Church use.

The Redemptorist priest maintained that if Church properties served the common good, local Catholics would not gather to pray for their return. Conversely, great injustice is done when powerful people gain control of public property, he continued.

Father Phung pointed to people losing hope for justice as another societal ill. Although the country is "not at war, it is violent and under coercion," he said.

Father Thomas Pham Huy Lam, 75, the parish pastor, urged participants to pray that government leaders be wise and brave enough to do justice.

After Mass, people held flickering candles in their hand, reciting prayers and singing hymns including the "Peace Prayer" of Saint Francis of Assisi as they walked to the grotto of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in the church compound.

"I joined to pray in peace for the Church properties to be returned, "Pierre Do Huu Loi, a wheelchair user, told UCA News.

"We condemn social injustice in a friendly and cooperative way. And we also pray for people who treat us unfairly," added Pierre Le Quang Linh, 32.

Another participant, Le Ngoc Ho Diep, told UCA News: "I am not a Catholic, but I attended because I am concerned about justice." Diep said all parishes nationwide should hold such special prayers and Masses so the government would resolve the issue properly.

Nguyen Thai Dan Thanh, one of several Buddhist nuns at the service, told UCA News she learned of the ceremony at the Catholic bookstore in the church's compound. Thanh, who came from Bao Loc, 190 kilometers from the city, prayed government authorities would work for justice and the common good.

"I will tell my Catholic parents about the event, and urge them to pray for Catholics' rights," she added.

Some Catholics from Thai Ha told UCA News they are determined. They said Redemptorists rightfully bought the land and still have ownership papers.

People have been gathering after daily Mass to pray outside the barbed wire fence, on which they hang statues of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, crosses and flowers. Many young and elderly people stay in tents all day and night to prevent company officials from building houses.

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish has scheduled a justice and peace prayer service for Ha Noi archdiocese and Thai Ha parish for Jan. 23, according to its website.

END

(Accompanying photos available at here)