The priest betrayed God and violated the law.

(Baonghean.vn) - The Second Person of the Trinity cannot die so unjustly. Priests Dang Huu Nam and Nguyen Dinh Thuc should stop; you have gone too far beyond what belongs to Catholic Canon Law.

"Father Dang Huu Nam incited unrest, exploited children, and distorted the truth about April 30th."

"A veteran from Quynh Luu exposes and requests legal action against Dang Huu Nam."

"The inflammatory rhetoric of Nguyen Dinh Thuc and Dang Huu Nam"

At the Last Supper, Jesus said to the twelve apostles, "One of you will betray me." The atmosphere at the meal suddenly became somber; everyone looked at themselves, at their brothers and sisters beside them, and asked themselves, "Who would dare do such a thing?" or "Who is that person...?"

And the one who betrayed Jesus was eventually revealed to be Judas. That era has passed; Jesus died, was crucified for the sins of mankind. His death is a light shining throughout the world so that God's children may know how to unite and love.

Father Dang Huu Nam distorted the history of April 30th and took children to the streets. (Image cropped from a video clip.)

But now, in the name of God, in the name of the Catholic Church, using the pretext of divine authority, the two priests, Dang Huu Nam and Nguyen Dinh Thuc, have openly and mercilessly betrayed Jesus.

More than anyone else, our two priests must understand what they must do in their missionary and pastoral roles to bring about a better life in the name of God, which is also what the true Catholic community expects.

Before, during, and immediately after the Mass on the night of April 29th, Father Dang Huu Nam pressured everyone, plotting and scheming to express their "religious faith" on April 30th. When he did not receive the parents' agreement, Father Nam turned around and said, "...then when children go to protest and file complaints, no one will arrest or beat them..."

Because of religious authority and obedience, we reluctantly grieved for the children who followed Father Nam's scheme. Who wouldn't be saddened, when every family and every person was celebrating the April 30th and May 1st holidays, reuniting for the nation, the North and South coming together as one family, yet Father Nam – a Judas in a dark robe – was loudly distorting the truth about the great victory of Spring 1975?

The most painful thing for us is seeing children wearing slogans and banners on their heads without knowing what they're supposed to be doing. My grandson even asked me, "Grandpa, what did Father Nam mean by reading those slogans on my head?"

Many people assume that forcing children to do this does not violate Canon Law, but that's not necessarily true. Canon 793, Section 1 of the Code of Canon Law, Book III – The Church's Teaching Duty on Catholic Education – clearly states: “Parents, as well as those acting in their place as parents, have the duty and the right to educate their children; Catholic parents also have the duty and the right to choose the means and schools by which they can provide a more thorough Catholic education for their children, according to local circumstances.”

Canon law dictates this, so each of us parents must be vigilant and courageous. We cannot allow Father Nam to use our children as worthless pawns in a democracy campaign to achieve his own agenda. Because God is good, He is the Way and the Truth, let us speak the truth and defend the truth. We may remain silent and endure because of Father Nam's authority, but we have a weapon to fight against evil. When Father Nam forces our children to do this, Canon 793, Section 2 of the Code of Canon Law, clearly states: "Parents also have the right to receive assistance from civil society to ensure the Catholic education of their children."

The faithful do not accept a priest who abuses the Eucharist for worldly, illegal purposes.

When divine authority has gone beyond our limits because of the law of obedience, because of fear of retaliation, or because of threats of "punishment" from priests, let us ask the civil authorities to intervene according to Canon Law. The time has come when we cannot sit idly by while priests Nam and Thuc sow evil in the minds of our children. Because according to the law of karma, you reap what you sow. When our priests fail to fulfill their duties as stipulated in Canon Law, Article 794, Section 2: "The spiritual shepherds have the duty to prepare all the faithful to receive a Catholic education," we are ready to speak out so that our children do not go down the path of sin. Because the Catholic Church does not have any words or actions like those that Father Nam and Father Thuc are instilling in our children.

Canon 795 of the Code of Canon Law states: “Since true education must aim at the holistic formation of the human person, and at the same time must be directed toward the ultimate purpose of the human person and the common good of society, children and young people must be educated in such a way that they can harmoniously develop their physical, moral, and intellectual talents, so that they may have a more complete sense of responsibility and know how to properly use their freedom, and so that they may become people capable of actively participating in social life.” Instead of going to church daily to hear the Word of God, we Catholics are listening only to the slander and defamation of the government by these two priests. These two priests have ignored the Word of God, preached the Gospel sparingly, celebrated Mass superficially, and focused only on cursing and insulting. They have turned the sacred altars of our two parishes into places of profanity and sin. These two individuals ruthlessly betrayed God.

The dissemination of the Bible, publications serving holiness, and the preaching of the Gospel cannot be done arbitrarily as Father Nam and Father Thuc are doing. Canon 823 of the Code of Canon Law stipulates: “To preserve the integrity of the faith and morals, the pastors of the Church have the duty and the right to ensure that works or the use of social media do not harm the faith or morals of Christians; they also have the duty and the right to demand censorship of works related to faith or morals proposed for publication by Christians and to remove works that are harmful to the sound faith and to good morals.” Yet, arrogant banners and slogans, vulgar writings, and shirts with images of skeletons and fists are brazenly displayed before the altar of God, not to mention that these are cultural products that go against the good morals of the locality and the nation...

Throughout this S-shaped land, we see the consequences of those who speak ill of the leader and the regime. It is none other than the people themselves who force these fools to grovel in ditches for daring to insult President Ho Chi Minh. One day soon, we ask the government to be lenient and tolerant, as the patience of true Catholics has reached its limit because of those who masquerade as priests and brazenly sell out God, using their dark robes to force Catholics to do things contrary to God's laws. If we act rashly or foolishly, it is understandable because we want to protect the purity of Catholic morality, so that these Judases who betray Christ will pay the price in eternal hell.

Violation of laws and international conventions.

On April 30, 2017, after preaching with outrageous, provocative, and blasphemous words against the history of the reunification of the country on April 30, 1975, Father Dang Huu Nam, parish priest of Phu Yen (An Hoa commune, Quynh Luu district), organized for children and teenagers to stand in the scorching sun for many hours, displaying banners and slogans, instilling unhealthy perceptions and ideologies into their minds; exploiting children to distort and misrepresent history, insulting the honor and dignity of tens of millions of Vietnamese people; and openly plotting against the Party and the State. Dr. Nguyen Trong Hai, Head of Trong Hai & Associates Law Office, stated that the aforementioned actions of Father Dang Huu Nam seriously violated the Law on Children enacted by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on April 5, 2016, and seriously violated the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Regarding the Law on Children, the actions of Father Dang Huu Nam violate Clause 5, Article 6, which prohibits "Using, enticing, instigating, inciting, exploiting, luring, seducing, or forcing children to commit acts that violate the law or offend the honor and dignity of others."

Regarding the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Father Dang Huu Nam's actions contradict Articles 16 and 32. Vietnam was the first country in Asia and the second in the world to ratify the International Convention on the Rights of the Child on February 20, 1990. Since ratifying the Convention, the Vietnamese State has made many efforts to implement it, which have been highly appreciated internationally and are one of the world's exemplary models of effective implementation. However, Father Dang Huu Nam has seriously violated the Convention.

Therefore, from a legal standpoint, the actions of Father Dang Huu Nam are completely wrong, contrary to the highest international and national legal documents, namely the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Law on Children. The law stipulates that any organization or individual who violates the provisions of these documents has grounds for prosecution.

From a social perspective, it is very clear that inciting and organizing children to serve the purpose of propaganda, sabotage, and distortion of history is contrary to the conscience, morality, and ethics of every individual. Exploiting children to serve the purpose of propaganda against the Party and the State, and to distort history, is a serious violation from both a social and legal standpoint and must be severely punished.

The actions of Father Dang Huu Nam must be dealt with severely.

On May 3rd, people inside and outside the province continued to strongly protest against the historical distortions and legal violations of Father Dang Huu Nam. In Cau Giat town, Quynh Luu district, nearly 600 veterans organized a rally to expose the evil schemes of the extremist priest Dang Huu Nam. At the rally, Mr. Nguyen Hong Long - Chairman of the Veterans Association of Cau Giat town - expressed his indignation: “The actions of Father Dang Huu Nam are clearly reactionary, using the guise of a priest to trample on and deny the achievements of the revolution. With a high sense of responsibility and as a reliable force of the Party and government, we call on all veterans to stand up to protest and demand that Dang Huu Nam stop distorting the historical victory of April 30th.”

Some veteran members analyzed: The church is a place for worshippers to pray and carry out religious duties, not a place to preach against the revolution. “We are the ones who directly shed blood for national independence; some sacrificed their lives, but others are currently suffering from the effects of war, Agent Orange, and injuries… Therefore, the provocative actions and denial of victory by Father Dang Huu Nam are unacceptable. We request that the higher authorities carefully consider and severely punish this,” said veteran Ho Van Lu, a member of Branch 5.

The Veterans Association of Cau Giat town has passed a resolution protesting against Father Dang Huu Nam, parish priest of Phu Yen, An Hoa commune. They request that the Vinh Diocese and the Thuan Nghia Deanery take measures to prevent Father Dang Huu Nam's illegal actions. The Veterans Association also demands that Father Nam strictly abide by the law, refrain from inciting parishioners to commit illegal acts, and request that Father Dang Huu Nam apologize to the people and Veterans Association of An Hoa commune, the Veterans Association of Quynh Luu district in particular, and the Veterans Association and people nationwide in general, for his words and actions that distort the history and traditions of April 30th of the Vietnamese nation.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Le, Secretary of the Nghi Loc District Youth Union, shared: "Our young generation is extremely indignant at these distorted narratives. As citizens of a country, regardless of whether we are employed or not, we must live and work in accordance with the Constitution and laws. I believe that all acts violating the law must be dealt with strictly according to regulations."