Priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc reported falsely

(Baonghean) - Like other religions, Christianity always guides its followers to maintain faith, tolerance and charity. In other words, charity and tolerance are the guiding principles for all Christians.

In the Homily of Pope Benedict XVI (June 27, 2009), there is a passage: “It is highly desirable that by teaching children to live according to a clear conscience, in integrity and truth, each Catholic family becomes a center of human values ​​and virtues, a school of faith and love for God. For their part, by living a life founded on charity, integrity and respect for the common good, lay people must demonstrate that being a good Catholic is also being a good citizen.”

In fact, in Vietnam, in any historical period of the nation, there are many lay people, priests and monks who actively and positively participate and make significant contributions to the development process of the country.

On that basis, patriotic Catholic organizations were established such as the Liaison Committee of Patriotic Catholics (1955-1983), the Vietnam Patriotic Catholic Solidarity Committee (from 1983 to present). It was the patriotic movement of Catholics that created an important premise for building the direction of "Living the Gospel in the heart of the nation" recorded in the famous Joint Letter in 1980 and later Joint Letters of the Vietnam Bishops' Council.

However, on July 1, an unfortunate incident occurred in Yen Khe commune (Con Cuong). It was a clash between parishioners of Quan Lang parish (Anh Son) and people of Yen Khe commune, which originated from proselytizing and organizing illegal religious activities in the area. This incident caused tension in social life and caused unnecessary misunderstandings among Catholics and non-Catholics who are usually very harmonious and united.

The incident would have been even more complicated and heated if it had not been for the return from abroad of Bishop Nguyen Thai Hop - the incumbent Bishop of Vinh Diocese in the early morning of July 14, 2012. With his prestige and virtue, the Bishop made the atmosphere less tense and changed in a positive direction.

Bishop Nguyen Thai Hop is a Doctor of Theology, has taught in many places around the world, has many research projects and holds important positions in the church. With the motto "Truth and love", Bishop Nguyen Thai Hop is reaping success on the path to the divine God.

On the morning of Sunday, July 15, 2012, at Cau Ram Church, we heard the entire Report of the incident that occurred in Con Cuong on July 1, 2012, sent by priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc to the Bishop of Vinh Diocese to be read during the ceremony.

As people present in Yen Khe who witnessed many illegal ceremonies of the priests of Quan Lang Parish (Anh Son) at Mrs. Minh's private home (Con Cuong Town) and later at Mr. Pham The Tran's home (Trung Huong Village, Yen Khe Commune, Con Cuong) as well as witnessing the incident that occurred on July 1, 2012, we affirm that: The words in the report of priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc are dishonest.

With the responsibility of journalists, we would like to point out the dishonest points in this report so that the majority of parishioners as well as non-parishioners and interested public opinion can understand the nature of the matter:

Priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc performed a ceremony at the private yard of Mr. Pham The Tran, Trung Huong village, Yen Khe commune, Con Cuong on July 1, 2012. Photo taken from the website Giaophanvinhonline

At the beginning of the Report, Father Nguyen Dinh Thuc stated: For a long time, the parishioners of Con Cuong parish have always been subject to the control and oppression of the local government. The government regularly sends people to threaten, prevent, and terrorize the priests and parishioners.

In fact, Con Cuong district currently has only 79 households, 208 people who are Catholics living in 11 communes and towns. Of which, Yen Khe commune has only 4 households with 21 people. For a long time, Con Cuong parishioners have been attending mass at Quan Lang Parish Church, in Tuong Son Commune (Anh Son). The religious activities of the believers here are respected by the government. In particular, in Quan Lang Parish (including 2 communes Tuong Son and Hung Son, Anh Son district), there are 5 churches that have been built spaciously, have been granted land use rights and have been given favorable conditions for religious activities.

Recently, some parishioners in Con Cuong have applied to register their religious activities and establish a parish in Con Cuong district, but because they do not meet the legal requirements, the Con Cuong district government has not approved them. Therefore, there is currently no parish in Con Cuong and the place where religious activities have been held for a long time is Mr. Pham The Tran's private house, not a "chapel"; this also proves that the priests of Quan Lang Parish (Anh Son) have organized illegal proselytizing and ceremonies. Thus, what priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc said about the parishioners in Con Cuong being "restrained", "oppressed", "threatened" and "obstructed" is not true.

Priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc continued to distort: ​​Police cars, propaganda cars of the Con Cuong District Cultural Office, militia and a group of thugs rushed in and used brutal force to suppress two nuns Dinh Thi Bac and Ho Thi Hien, who beat and kicked a female parishioner named Bay in a terrible way...

The truth is that at around 1:00 p.m. on July 1, 2012, a working group consisting of officials from various sectors and organizations of Con Cuong district and Yen Khe commune (without police force) led by Mr. Vi Van Kim - Vice Chairman of the district People's Committee went to Mr. Pham The Tran's house to explain and request that Mr. Tran immediately stop organizing and harboring religious activities at his private home. The working group repeatedly requested that the gate be opened to enter and work, but Mr. Tran and the two nuns not only refused to do so but also loudly insulted and challenged him. Faced with that situation, the working group of Con Cuong district was forced to cut the gate lock to enter and carry out their duties.

Priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc also accused: A large number of cadres and a group of people were waiting to push, block, and surround me, beating and kicking me (priest Thuc - PV). Because the number of parishioners was small, many of them were severely beaten... The people were bewildered to witness the presence of the 113 mobile police of Con Cuong district and a military force with guns ready to point at the chapel.

In fact, priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc and about 200 followers from Anh Son district and some followers in Con Cuong went to Mr. Tran's house to organize illegal religious activities. At the same time, some people in Yen Khe commune went to the area in front of Mr. Tran's house to protest the above activities. When priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc arrived, the working group asked to work but priest Thuc refused. At this time, some extremist parishioners threw bricks and stones at the task force, leading to a fight between parishioners and local people. As a result, 10 people were injured.

Next, the extremists arrested 43 officials and people, took them to Mr. Tran's house, locked the gate, and used helmets and pipes to assault them. Meanwhile, priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc continued to preach in Mr. Tran's yard while some extremists beat officials and people. Furthermore, priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc said that he was "punched and kicked".

As direct witnesses to the incident, we affirm that it is completely fabricated. The images on the Vinh Diocese website recorded at that time that Father Thuc was still calmly performing the ceremony, proving Father Thuc's lies. At the same time, Father Nguyen Dinh Thuc said that the fight had left many parishioners seriously injured, but only mentioned the case of Ms. Ngo Thi Thanh in Hamlet 12, Tuong Son Commune (Anh Son).

Meanwhile, the number of injured officers of the Working Group and Yen Khe residents was up to 62 people and 4 parishioners in hamlets 9 and 12 of Tuong Son commune, Quan Lang parish (Anh Son) were injured but were not mentioned. When the fight broke out, Con Cuong district police arrived at the scene to carry out the task of maintaining security and order in the area.

At about 4:30 p.m. on July 1, 2012, priest Ngo Van Hau asked the Chief of Con Cuong District Police by phone to come in to resolve the incident. At about 5:00 p.m., Mr. Hoang Van Tan - Chief of District Police and Mr. Vi Van Kim - Vice Chairman of the District came in to coordinate with the priests to resolve the incident.

At around 4:30 p.m., 15 border guards from Battalion 19 of the Nghe An Border Guard (stationed in Con Cuong district) were on their way to patrol as planned when they saw the incident happening in Yen Khe commune and stopped to assess the situation. About 30 minutes later, the border guards continued their mission to reinforce border patrols for Border Guard Station 555, Mon Son.

In particular, priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc also fabricated: two Thanh Chuong people broke into the chapel and threw stones. The parishioners held them back and reported that the local government paid 500,000 VND for each time they came to harass them and the authorities terrorized and arrested many believers.

First, Father Nguyen Dinh Thuc said "two subjects from Thanh Chuong", so who are they (full name, permanent address)? And where is the evidence when saying "the government paid 500 thousand VND for one time of harassment"? As for "the government arrested many believers", can Father Thuc list the full names and addresses of the arrested parishioners? In fact, when the fight broke out, 2 young male parishioners carried 2 sacks of weapons (knives, swords, spears) and tried to smuggle them into Mr. Pham The Tran's house, so they were arrested by Con Cuong District Police. After making a record and taking statements, these 2 subjects were released.

Priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc continued to fabricate: At about 3:30 a.m. on July 2, 2012, a group of 41 people barricaded themselves and left the chapel with our help. After a sleepless night, parishioners from all over began to leave. On the way home, we witnessed the presence of hundreds of riot police, traffic police, and police of all kinds, along with police dogs, deployed along the road to Highway 7.

The truth is that around 2-3 am on July 2, 2012, the chairman of the provincial People's Committee called priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc twice to persuade and request the release of those illegally detained, to disperse the crowd and to clarify priest Thuc's illegal behavior.

At this time, many local people were upset because their family members were detained and beaten, so they brought primitive weapons and support tools to Mr. Tran's house. At this time, priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc called the Chairman of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee to request rescue and help.

Under pressure from the Task Force, at around 4:00 a.m. on July 2, 2012, those who were illegally arrested and detained for 12 consecutive hours were released. At around 5:30 a.m. the same day, under the protection of the government and the police, priests Ngo Van Hau, Nguyen Dinh Thuc and the parishioners safely left Yen Khe commune. The authorities deployed protective measures to prevent clashes between the parishioners and the local people, who were extremely upset.

At this time, the police force approached the scene to persuade, explain, and ask the Catholics and non-Catholics to put down their weapons and disperse; at the same time, they promised to protect the two priests and the parishioners to leave the scene safely. Mr. Nguyen Huu Cau - Deputy Director of the Provincial Police even gave his police hat to a female parishioner as a token.

We know that, in Christianity, priests are those who carry out the mission of bringing the ideas of Jesus to the community of God's people. That is love, forgiveness, charity and holiness. In other words, priests are those who carry out the task of taking care of the spiritual life of the community of believers, bringing to their followers peace, serenity and love.

With the dishonest and fallacious words when reporting the incident that the priest participated in, is priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc worthy of the role and status of the one who transmits the faith to the believers? Priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc not only violated the law but also violated the 8th commandment of God “do not bear false witness”.

What would the believers present at Yen Khe commune where the incident occurred on July 1, 2012 think of priest Thuc when he acted so dishonestly? Moreover, priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc is not a stranger but a son of Nghi Thuan - Nghi Loc homeland. The rice grains and potatoes of Nghi Loc land have raised the priest. Now the priest dares to make up lies to divide his compatriots, cause hatred, and make the homeland and country chaotic and insecure?

The dishonest reporting, even distorting the nature of the incident by priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc, has caused serious consequences. First, it caused misunderstanding of the nature of the incident that took place in Yen Khe on July 1, 2012 by the Bishop, priests, monks and parishioners in Vinh Diocese. Next, it deceived the public who were interested in this incident. From there, it broke the relationship between the government and the church, caused disunity between the laity and the laity; and created an unnecessary tension in society.

In fact, in recent times, the daily lives of Catholics in many areas have been disrupted. Dishonest reporting has also led to many Catholics breaking the law. Many churches have hung banners and slogans with provocative content that go beyond the scope of religious activities.

Thus, from organizing proselytizing and illegal religious activities to making dishonest statements, priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc has violated the law of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Catholic Church's canon law. Therefore, priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc must be held responsible before the law and the Catholic Church.

NPV