The State - News from May 13, 1987
About 100 Vietnamese Catholics, unswayed by a reconciliation between two of their leaders and the bishop of the San Jose diocese, protested the bishop’s choice of a pastor to a mission in Los Altos they have occupied for 10 months. The protesters held signs and chanted “No Father Duong” after Bishop Pierre DuMaine held a news conference with community leaders Tran Cong Thien and Tran An Bai. DuMaine said he would work toward fulfilling the Vietnamese community’s demand to elevate the tiny Our Lady Queen of Martyr’s mission to a “personal parish,” to allow the Vietnamese to worship according to their own customs and language. He also lifted his excommunication of Thien and Bai in exchange for their cooperation. Thien and Bai then accepted DuMaine’s authority to appoint Father Paul Duong as pastor, despite widespread community opposition because Duong opposes the idea of a personal parish.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
