Redemptorist superior general Father Michael Brehl has sought prayers of Christians across the world for persecuted Catholics and his confreres in Vietnam.

“We hope the Vietnamese government conducts an investigation into the incidents at Dong Chiem parish of Hanoi and that they act with justice,” the priest said Church news agency Fides.

Last week, 36-year-old Redemptorist Brother Anthony Nguyen Van Tang was brutally beaten by police near the parish. He was left unconscious in a pool of blood.

Father Brehl said Catholics across the world are “very concerned” about Brother Anthony.

The details on the destruction of the crucifix in the parish of Dong Chiem, in the Archdiocese of Hanoi, have been widely reported by media, he said.

Local authorities have continued to terrorize Catholics since security officials destroyed a cement cross on top of Nui Tho, or Worship Mountain, at Dong Chiem parish on Jan. 6, Asian Church news agency UCA News reported.

Ha Noi archdiocese says local authorities had isolated Dong Chiem parish, blocking roads and refusing admittance to outsiders last week.

Redemptorist Father Dinh Huu Thoai, provincial of Redemptorist inVietnam, has appealed local government authorities to stop security officials’ violent attacks on Catholics, UCA News said.

Father Thoai also asked the government to release detainees, stop isolating local Catholics from other people, and respect religious freedom and symbols of Catholics’ faith.

Father Brehl is the first Canadian to be elected Superior General of the Redemptorists, who were founded by St. Alphonsus Ligouri in 1732. Born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1955, he professed his vows as a Redemptorist on Aug. 15, 1976 and was ordained priest on March 15, 1980.

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