Stories of tearing down gates worth hundreds of millions of dong and donating land for roads in Catholic parishes.

Working together to build a new rural area.

The road connecting National Highway 1A to Ben Den Parish in Duc Chau commune (comprising the communes of Dien Hong, Dien Ky, Dien Phong, and Dien Van; Ben Den Parish was formerly part of Dien Ky commune) is lined with blooming flowers on both sides. At night, it is brightly illuminated by high-voltage lights, and two rows of flags (one side displaying the national flag, the other the Church flag) create a beautiful landscape and demonstrate the spirit of unity between Catholics and non-Catholics. The roads here have been widened, paved with asphalt and concrete, making travel easy and convenient.

Over the years,Pastoral CouncilIn coordination with the Party Committee and the village's leadership board, they mobilized the people to build many valuable projects such as irrigation canals; rural concrete roads; renovating the cultural house, and building new football and volleyball courts to meet the cultural and sports exchange needs of the people, with a budget of nearly 600 million VND.

To complete the concreting of over 4.5 km of internal village roads, the villagers contributed nearly 2 billion VND and more than 6,200 man-days of labor, donated over 2,000 square meters of land, demolished 9 house gates and 1,800 meters of boundary walls, and cut down over 100 old fruit trees.

Specifically, according to Mr. Nguyen Trung Duc - Chairman of the Pastoral Council of Ben Den Parish, in 2022 there was a project to build an inter-communal road passing through the parish, with a design width of 9m, while the old road was only 5m wide. To create consensus, members of the village committee and the Pastoral Council went to each household to persuade residents to agree to move their fences inward to make way for the road.

Thanks to this, the 1.6 km road through Ben Den Parish was completed early. As a result, the local people donated nearly 2,000 m2 of residential land, over 2,000 m2 of agricultural land, over 1,600 m of fences, and 7 gates of houses. In particular, the families of Mr. Nguyen Van Lieu and Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong voluntarily removed two large gates they had recently built, costing hundreds of millions of dong. At the same time, the parish priest of Ben Den agreed to move his fence back and donate over 100 m2 of land to widen the inter-communal road.

Not only Ben Den Parish, but many other parishes and sub-parishes in the province are also actively responding to the construction movement.new rural areasIn a civilized urban environment, they contribute to building a more prosperous homeland. One example is Hung Thinh Parish in Hung Nguyen commune (comprising the merged communes of Hung Dao, Hung Tay, Thinh My, and Hung Nguyen town in Hung Nguyen district; Hung Thinh Parish was formerly part of Hung Tay commune). The parishioners have actively donated land for rural road construction. Nearly 2,000 square meters of land have been donated, contributing to changing the face of the countryside and beautifying the villages.

In Dong Lam Parish, located in Nhan Hoa commune (comprising the merged communes of Tam Dinh, Cam Son, and Hung Son; Dong Lam Parish was formerly part of Hung Son commune), 2,200 meters of green border trees were planted along inter-village roads, 1.1 billion VND was contributed to the construction of two cultural centers; 300 flagpoles were erected, and a 3 km long flower-lined road was built, costing 600 million VND.

From 2023 to 2024, parishioners contributed nearly 2,000 man-days of labor, constructing 2.3 km of concrete roads, 1 km of asphalt roads, and donating thousands of square meters of land for rural road construction and other new rural infrastructure projects.

A positive development in the parishes.

For over 10 years, Phu Xuan Parish in Quynh Tam commune (comprising the merged communes of Tan Son, Quynh Chau, and Quynh Tam in Quynh Luu district; Phu Xuan Parish was formerly part of Quynh Tam commune) has implemented the "Peaceful Parish" model, which has brought practical benefits to socio-economic development.

The model focuses on the following aspects: crime prevention, combating social evils, educating young people to live healthy lives, promoting community solidarity, and maintaining security and order. The model also skillfully integrates Catholic moral values ​​with the nation's fine cultural traditions, such as mutual support and assistance in times of difficulty. Through this, it helps Catholic parishioners live and work peacefully, maintain security and order, and live a life that is "good in both worldly and spiritual matters."

Mr. Tran Van Quang, Chairman of the Pastoral Council of Phu Xuan Parish, said: “To ensure the model operates effectively, the Parish Pastoral Council and the sub-parishes always focus on guiding parishioners to practice their faith according to the doctrines and canon law, and to strictly abide by the regulations of the law and the model's internal rules. The parishioners proactively detect and report crimes, and do not listen to distorted narratives that sow discord and undermine national unity.”

According to Mr. Quang, the parish has established a security team and 25 self-governing neighborhood groups that regularly patrol to ensure security and order. Before Mass, the parish priest always reminds the congregation, especially the youth, to stay away from social vices and maintain moral values ​​and a healthy lifestyle. As a result, the parish area always ensures security and order, the lives of the people are stable, and the economy is developing.

Many parishes throughout the province have also demonstrated a spirit of solidarity and actively participated in various movements.patriotic emulationCatholic people have demonstrated a spirit of self-reliance and self-improvement, overcoming difficulties and boldly transforming the structure of crops and livestock to suit the climate and soil conditions of each region.

Many households have applied scientific and technological advancements to agricultural production, introducing new high-yield and high-quality plant and animal varieties; building large-scale model fields that yield outstanding income, with an average yield of over 65 quintals/hectare/year.

In addition, Catholic households have also promoted the development of production and business activities in the fields of forestry, fisheries, handicrafts, and commercial services. This movement has made a positive contribution to poverty reduction, while also increasing the percentage of well-off and wealthy households among the Catholic community.

Specifically, the percentage of well-off and wealthy households among the Catholic community increased from 41.2% in 2020 to 52.4% in 2024; meanwhile, the poverty rate decreased from 4.2% to 2.9%. Cultural, artistic, and sports activities are emphasized and gradually developed. The percentage of Catholic households achieving the title of "Culturally Advanced Family" is increasing, from 42,621 households in 2020 (69.8%) to 44,406 households in 2024 (78.2%).

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With the implementation of patriotic emulation movements, the rural landscape in parishes and religious communities is becoming increasingly neat, clean, and beautiful; the material and spiritual lives of Catholic parishioners are gradually improving. The position and role of Catholics in the community are increasingly affirmed. At the Patriotic Emulation Congress honoring good people and good deeds among Catholics in Nghe An province, 19 collectives and individuals received Certificates of Merit from the Provincial People's Committee, and 14 collectives and individuals received Certificates of Merit from the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee.

Mr. Nguyen Van Chinh - Standing Vice Chairman of the Committee for Catholic Solidarity of Nghe An Province