Nghe An parishioners expose the corruption of priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc

(Baonghean.vn) - With our conscience and responsibility as Christians, we cannot help but speak out so that everyone can recognize the true character of priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc.

» Priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc incites parishioners

Dear brothers and sisters in the Catholic community, we really do not want to say this, but with our conscience and responsibility as Christians, we cannot help but say it so that everyone can recognize the true character of Father Nguyen Dinh Thuc, whom the Catholic community of Nghe An once revered as a respectable shepherd. However, when witnessing the actions of Father Thuc from when he was in charge of the Quan Lang parish (Tuong Son, Anh Son) until now as the parish priest of Song Ngoc (Quynh Ngoc, Quynh Luu), please consider whether Father Thuc is still worthy of respect.

Nguyen Dinh Thuc took advantage of preaching in church to distort the truth, oppose the government, and incite people. - Photo cut from video clip

In carrying out the responsibilities of the Church, when receiving the priesthood, has anyone done as Father Thuc did? In living the faith today, we think that every priest is trying to meet the pastoral requirements set for him with the solutions at hand, even though we know that those solutions are not the best. However, because we priests all share the responsibility of leading the Vietnamese Church, and the Vietnamese Church must be a missionary Church. Because of that, we think that, in his pastoral work, Father Nguyen Dinh Thuc should choose ways of serving that both strengthen the Gospel spirit of the faithful and have the ability to attract the sympathy of many non-Catholic compatriots.

The priest's service must become a sign of missionary significance, meaning that non-Catholics, when seeing that sign, can read the good meaning of the Church. The sign of a missionary is a sign sent to non-Catholic compatriots, rather than to Catholics. Therefore, Father Thuc needs to consider whether those addresses recognize the meaning of God's sign? Do they recognize in those signs the meaning of their faith and love for God? The answer here is certainly no, how could a priest do things that are not his duty such as: performing the Church's rituals in places lacking solemnity, at the beginning of the street, in the market corner, inciting people with spears, swords to oppose the government, causing deep animosity in the community of people, including both Catholics and non-Catholics.

Some people, following Nguyen Dinh Thuc's incitement, used bricks and stones to attack law enforcement officers and vandalized property in Dien Hong (Dien Chau) on February 14, 2017.

The consequences of Father Thuc's actions are truly immeasurable. Those who followed him to Con Cuong to cause trouble in 2012 have now suffered permanent injuries and traumatic brain injuries due to the chaos and animosity of the crowd trampling over each other. But the greatest loss is that the parishioners have lost faith in a priest, many have lost faith and abandoned their religion. That is not enough, now Father Thuc has done something shocking, inciting and leading a group of Catholics to file a complaint so that the priest can carry out his own agenda.

I still remember when he was first ordained, Father Thuc was thin and thin, with a scholarly appearance, and the clothes he was wearing were not worth much, not to mention the old motorbike he used to ride as the deputy parish priest of Quan Lang. Yet, the "religious" life of a priest after only a few years had changed dramatically, luxury cars, North - South, foreign cars were a daily occurrence. This type of liturgy was very beneficial for priests, but Catholics lost faith in God. We believe that seeing us destroyed like this, God would not be happy. From the above image, we thought of God's words: "I desire mercy, not sacrifice."

Nguyen Dinh Thuc's car hung a banner to participate in the protest on February 14, 2017.

Jesus lived a life of great kindness. Throughout his life, he was an example of kindness. His teachings focused on kindness. The model he set for the formation of his apostles was a kind person, the Good Shepherd, who came not to be served, but to serve. However, the way Father Thuc served the Catholics in the places he was and is in charge of was filled with hatred and compassion, suspicion and lies...

Catholics are also aware that in Christ, mercy is not a general kindness, but a love that is scientifically materialized through virtues, especially "a sense of responsibility, solidarity; a spirit of organization, a spirit of renunciation..."; Entrusted by God the Father with the responsibility of redeeming humanity, He fulfilled that responsibility with all His obedient love for God the Father and sacrificial love for humanity. The gesture of the shepherd who goes out of his way to find the lost sheep, even if it is only one lost sheep, out of a total of 100, is enough to show the sense of responsibility of the merciful Savior.

In return, Father Thuc led his flock to file a complaint. After carrying out his intention to film and take pictures and post them online to call for support from reactionary organizations in exile abroad, he then abandoned his flock. When the authorities intervened to disperse them, he used his piety to dazzle the people by forcing them to pray, as if he were very holy.

Let's try reading the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 24, from verse 12 to verse 36, and we will see how priest Thuc, who is considered a shepherd, has degraded by keeping the secondary things and abandoning the primary things: "... You recite long prayers, but devour widows' properties... You pay a tenth of the herbs, but ignore the most important law of justice and charity... You know how to trick a mosquito, but swallow a whole camel... You clean your cups and plates, but your hearts are full of filth... You appear to be moral, but inside you are filled with hypocrisy and sin. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees! You build the tombs of the prophets, repair the tombs of the righteous, and say: 'If I had lived in their time, I would not have had a hand in shedding their blood...'. But you poisonous snakes... The Lord will send you prophets, wise men, and wise men. In the days to come, Some of them you killed, some you crucified, some you flogged in your synagogues, and some you persecuted from city to city...”.

Priest Thuc and a form of "donation"?. Photo cut from documentary clip.

The above words of God show a religious lifestyle that has degenerated to the point of becoming evil of priest Thuc. Surely priest Thuc still remembers the Gospel of Saint Mark, chapter 12, verses 28-31, which recounts the clear determination of the Lord: “... The second commandment is like the first, love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these two”, because the spirit of solidarity of Christ is the tireless steps of kindness. The purpose of Christ's work is to highlight the main thing, which is charity, loving God with all your heart and loving others as yourself. The organizing spirit of Christ is to establish a Church filled with charity, signaling the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven.

So, looking at what Father Thuc has done recently, people seem to see the sky collapsing right under their feet.

I think the time has come when we should not pay attention to “believers and non-believers”, but should pay more attention to the classification of “altruists and selfish people”, as will be classified on the day of the final judgment. Those who are rich in kindness and prove their kindness will be believed by others. On the contrary, those who only know how to demand that others be kind to them, only know how to demand that others believe in their kindness, but they themselves cannot prove that they are kind, and people do not see anything kind in them, will sooner or later be eliminated./.

Brothers in faith