The Catholic Church in Vietnam has welcomed the decision of the National Assembly to lift the capital punishment for eight crimes, including embezzlement and activities to overthrow the government.
Effective July 1, the amended law eliminates the death penalty for bribery, embezzlement, incitement to war, espionage, destruction of state property, drug smuggling, and the production of counterfeit medicines.
According to Vietnam’s Minister of Public Security, Luong Tam Quang, the reform was passed to address the problematic structure of capital punishment, which he described as often “misaligned with evolving socio-economic conditions and the realities of crime prevention.”
He also revealed that most death sentences for the eight mentioned crimes were not actually carried out.
Prisoners who were already sentenced to death for these crimes will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment.
Father Dominic Ngo Quang Tuyen, a priest in Ho Chi Minh City and secretary of the Commission for Evangelization of the Vietnamese Bishops’ Conference, told Fides News Agency that this reform is a hope-giving move by the government.
“A society of solidarity offers prisoners the opportunity to return and live a dignified life,” he said. “The Church teaches us that human life must be protected and respected because it is a gift from God, from birth to the end.”
He also stressed that anyone who has committed a crime deserves a chance to be rehabilitated and redeemed.
The Vietnamese Church sees this reform as a significant step in boosting their prison ministry, which is one of their pastoral priorities. Their projects focus primarily on the spiritual accompaniment of prisoners, mainly through faith-based dialogues. The Church also provides psychological assistance and aid to the families of prisoners.
Ten crimes will remain punishable by death in Vietnam, including murder, treason, terrorism, and child sexual abuse.
Since 2013, Vietnam has carried out death sentences through lethal injection, replacing the traditional method of execution by firing squad.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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