Vietnam: Priest killed while hearing confessions

Father Joseph Tran Ngoc Thanh

Source: Fides

A Vietnamese Dominican priest, Father Joseph Tran Ngoc Thanh, was killed on Saturday, while listening to confessions and celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the diocese of Kon Tum. He was 41 years old. The attack took place shortly before the Vigil Mass on Saturday evening.

Fr Joseph was in the confessional when he was attacked with a knife by a mentally unstable man. Another Dominican religious who rushed to the scene, was wounded when he tried to stop the attacker. Fr Joseph was given first aid but was so severely injured he died at 11.30pm local time that night.

Police arrested the attacker, who has been described as "mentally ill". The local community is deeply shocked by the unexpected murder of the priest, just as they were preparing for the Lunar New Year celebrations, which Vietnam celebrates on February 1st.

Messages of mourning and grief have been expressed by the Dominican Province of Vietnam and the parish community of Dak Mót, 40 km north of Kon Tum, where Fr Joseph lived and worked. He had recently taken up his duties as a priest in charge of the pastoral care of a "little flock" of Catholics.

Bishop Aloisio Nguyen Hung Vi, who leads the Diocese of Kon Tum, celebrated a Requiem Mass yesterday, Sunday, 30 January, and expressed his condolences to the parish community of Dak Mót and the Dominican Province of Vietnam.

The Bishop said: "We know that the will of God is mysterious, we cannot fully understand the ways of the Lord. We can only place our brother in the hands of the Lord. Father Joseph travels in eternity and, no matter what happened, no one can separate him, or us, from the love of God. When he was hit, Father Joseph stood in the place of Christ, dispensing his forgiveness. Dying at that moment, 'in persona Christi', must be a grace. In this pain, we also see the beauty and the nobility of the priest".

Fr Joseph Thanh's body was taken to St Martin's Chapel in Bien Hoa town, Dong Nai province, for the farewell rite, which took place today, January 31. The body of the priest was buried among other Dominican friars in the province cemetery, located in Bien Hoa.

Father Joseph Thanh was born on August 10, 1981 in Saigon. He made his religious profession in the Order of Preachers on August 13, 2010. He was ordained a priest on August 4, 2018.

Kon Tum, the capital of Kon Tum Province, is located in the interior of the Central Highlands region of Vietnam, near the borders of Laos and Cambodia.