What did Father Dang Huu Nam do in Phu Yen parish?

(Baonghean.vn) - Since taking charge of Phu Yen parish in An Hoa commune (March 10, 2014 to the present), Father Dang Huu Nam has engaged in many activities that go against the spirit of "living a good life and upholding moral values" of Catholics, causing resentment among the people and public opinion, and tarnishing the image of a priest.He is the "kind" shepherd of God's people, ensuring that "our Catholic parishioners in Phu Yen parish have been able to conduct their business peacefully since Father Nam came to the parish until now."

managingWho exactly is Father Dang Huu Nam?

Recent incidents of unrest in An Hoa parish include: Taking advantage of the fish kill in the coastal areas of four central provinces, Father Dang Huu Nam hung numerous banners and billboards along Route 537B, in front of the Phu Yen parish church, creating a traffic safety hazard for road users. Some slogans contained offensive and untrue content. He frequently urged parishioners to carry banners and slogans related to the prosecution and boycott of Formosa and environmental issues, marching along the parish road and at the boat dock in front of the Phu Yen parish church. He also organized parishioners to attend prayer services on environmental issues in other parishes in the area, specifically in Van Thai (Son Hai) and Manh Son (Tien Thuy), complicating the security and public order situation.

The road leading to An Hoa parish is littered with slogans inciting and instigating unrest.

On September 26, 2016, Father Dang Huu Nam organized over 500 parishioners from Phu Yen parish, An Hoa commune; Manh Son parish, Tien Thuy commune; Song Ngoc parish, Quynh Ngoc commune… to go to the People's Court of Ky Anh district, Ha Tinh province to file a lawsuit against Formosa Company, causing a disruption of public order and security.

To lure and gather some naive and gullible parishioners, Father Nam fabricated a story, claiming that if they filed a lawsuit, they would receive approximately 15 billion VND in compensation, with legal fees costing 1.5 billion VND, and that the compensation would be distributed to the parishioners... However, the People's Court of Ky Anh town later rejected the lawsuit because the plaintiffs' petition and supporting documents failed to provide evidence to prove the damages.

On October 3, 2016, Father Dang Huu Nam, believing that the authorities were making things difficult for him in the process of verifying procedures related to filing a lawsuit against Formosa Company, rang the church bell and used loudspeakers to call on parishioners to march to the An Hoa Commune People's Committee office. Some extremists assaulted and snatched the official badges of the Chairman of the Commune People's Committee, attacked the Vice Chairman, and staff of the Commune People's Committee Office. Some individuals even used helmets to attack Mr. Hoang Van Trinh, Chairman of the Veterans Association, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Trinh, a Red Cross official, and the Deputy Head of the Commune Police.

In the following days, Father Dang Huu Nam continued preaching and inciting parishioners to protest the court's rejection of their lawsuit. Father Dang Huu Nam even issued a so-called "Press Release" declaring that "on October 18, 2016, approximately 1000 people from Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province, would travel over 200km to the Ky Anh Town People's Court to continue filing lawsuits against Formosa and protesting the Ky Anh Court's rejection of their previous complaint." However, the events did not unfold as Father Nam had intended.

Father Dang Huu Nam (holding the loudspeaker) is inciting parishioners to file a lawsuit against Formosa.

In addition, Father Nam also incited some parishioners to oppose local policies and activities, such as: instructing those who won the bids for 55 plots of land in Tan An village, An Hoa commune, not to pay the remaining land fees, with the aim of putting pressure on the authorities at all levels to demolish the Tan An village cultural center and open a road to the area of ​​the 55 new plots of land.

On August 14, 2016, some residents of Tan An village, An Hoa commune, arbitrarily dismantled 5.5 meters of the front and 5.5 meters of the back wall surrounding the Tan An village cultural center. On August 15, 2016, a task force from the district and the People's Committee of An Hoa commune conducted an on-site inspection to facilitate the investigation and handling of the case according to the law. However, while the task force was carrying out its duties, the church bell of Phu Yen parish rang, and immediately about 20 young men came out to obstruct the task force from performing their duties, forcing the task force members to withdraw from the scene. Some unruly individuals chased after and assaulted a land and construction official from the People's Committee of An Hoa commune, who had to be hospitalized.

Furthermore, taking advantage of his sermons in church, Father Nam continuously slandered and distorted the policies of our Party and State, denying the revolutionary achievements that our country and people have attained, including the contributions of Catholic clergy and followers, causing resentment among the people; he also demanded that parishioners not pay various fees, taxes, and funds collected by the commune's People's Committee and the school year contributions of the schools...

On the morning of October 8, 2016, Father Dang Huu Nam directed the Pastoral Council of Phu Yen parish and about 50 parishioners, who were parents of students, to go to An Hoa Primary School to question the school's administration about the fees collected at the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year.

Most recently, on November 12, 2016, Father Dang Huu Nam unjustly beat Nguyen Van Luc, a 9th-grade student at An Hoa Secondary School. At that time, Mr. Ho Vinh Lai (residing in Quyet Thang hamlet, An Hoa commune) witnessed the incident and intervened. When confronted, Father Nam incited parishioners to attack Mr. Lai, causing serious injuries that required him to be hospitalized for emergency treatment.

Mr. Lai is being treated at Quynh Luu Hospital with multiple injuries.

The priest Nam's aggressive and violent behavior was not unique to this occasion. Previously, on December 31, 2015, while traveling, Father Nam had a collision with Mr. Ho Vinh Loi (residing in Toan My hamlet, An Hoa commune), and a fight ensued between them. Afterwards, upon returning to the church, Father Nam announced over the loudspeaker to the parishioners that he had been assaulted and claimed that the authorities had ordered it, thus inciting nearly 1,000 parishioners to march to the An Hoa commune People's Committee headquarters to exert pressure...

Many of Father Dang Huu Nam's actions in the past have been inconsistent with the responsibilities and duties of a Catholic clergy member; many of his behaviors and conduct have been inappropriate for the role of a priest. These actions have complicated security and order, affecting the lives and livelihoods of the people, including fishermen in Phu Yen parish; negatively impacting the relationship between Catholics and non-Catholics, as well as the image and prestige of the Catholic Church, and even leading some gullible parishioners to commit illegal acts.

The actions of Father Dang Huu Nam constitute a serious violation of the laws of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and Catholic canon law.

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