"The tradition and the position of our Mennonite Church is to espouse peace, respect freedom and justice, and contribute to the building of a progressive society filled with love, expressing the love and salvation of the Lord Jesus to all people," she stated. "We are assured that God will use his power to deliver his servants."
Le urges people to pray in the spirit of Isaiah 58:6-7, which states: "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter; when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"
And in citing Hebrews 13:3, Le said "Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering."
Meanwhile, sources say the appeal of the one-year sentence of Le Thi Hong Lien, the sole woman among six Mennonite church workers, cannot proceed after she reportedly suffered a mental breakdown because of the treatment she had received in prison.
Lien, a zealous church worker who specialised in teaching the Bible to small children, was reportedly transferred last month to the hospital in Bien Hoa, fifty kilometers north-east of Ho Chi Minh City. According to MWC, the move followed a concerted international appeal to Vietnamese authorities to provide Lien with the care and treatment she needed.
Prior to her transfer, Lien reportedly suffered in prison from severe mental illness for many months.
Kenneth Chan
Ecumenical Press
