Child exploitation - political intrigue!

(Baonghean) -After the “Common Letter” of Mr. Nguyen Thai Hop - Bishop of Vinh Diocese issued on September 6, 2013 with words distorting the truth, inciting parishioners to “offer sacrifices and take concrete actions”, the website of Vinh Diocese and some reactionary websites were flooded with images of prayers, expressing the spirit of “communion” with My Yen Parish (Nghi Phuong, Nghi Loc) of some parishes and churches. What is condemnable is that, in these prayer sessions, some dignitaries took advantage of, staged and arranged children to become the main “actors” to perform the “play” that Bishop Nguyen Thai Hop called “communion” and “solidarity”.

Even more cruel and blatant, this happened right in churches - places that represent the solemnity, holiness and charity of God. The images on the Vinh Diocese website and some other Catholic websites show dozens, even hundreds of young, naive children, many of whom are still wearing school uniforms (perhaps they rushed from primary and secondary schools to the Church - editor's note) being "hypnotized" to kneel under candlelight, innocently holding up A4 sheets of paper with lines of content distorting, inciting, and opposing the government: "Lighting the fire of love in the darkness of tyranny", "Repressing the people is leftist", "Nghe An government deceives the people", "Freedom and justice for My Yen", "Condemning the slanderous actions of Nghe An media", "Human dignity and human rights", "Police + thugs 2 in 1" .... While the whole society is trying to nurture and enrich children with the quintessence and civilization of humanity, in a "sacred and sacred" place, innocent young souls are being poisoned and destroyed by stuffing them with thoughts of "tyranny", "oppression", "deception", "slander", "thugs"... by those who "shepherd" their souls.

Not only that, on the Queen of Justice page, there are also pictures of children (at the Binh Thuan Parish Church, Nghi Thuan Commune, Nghi Loc, where Father Dang Huu Nam is the parish priest) in white shirts, bewilderedly holding slogans distorting and opposing the government. The children were used as an excuse and "pushed" into the article with provocative words: "On the Mid-Autumn Festival, when the whole country's children are excitedly welcoming the Full Moon, the children and young people of Binh Thuan cannot forget their brothers and sisters who are in trouble in My Yen. Many activities have taken place, especially the hours of Eucharistic adoration, lighting candles to pray for their brothers and sisters... On the Mid-Autumn Festival night, the candles with all the sincerity and faith of the children offer to God a painful, earnest plea to look down on the young people, their fellow believers who are being persecuted by the Vietnamese Communist government in My Yen".

Children were exploited to pray in communion at Binh Thuan Parish Church according to the intention of the "shepherd".

Turning the Mid-Autumn Festival night of children into a prayer ceremony to show “solidarity, shared responsibility, sympathy and unity with the My Yen brothers and sisters” to serve the purpose of opposing the government is an inhumane act, unacceptable in a civilized society. Can 9- and 10-year-old children perceive their behavior and clearly identify right and wrong about the content on the A4 paper they are holding in their hands? Are the parents and the children who are being exploited resentful and hurt? Knowing that, while the joy of celebrating the “Mid-Autumn Festival” of the children was replaced by hatred, groaning with “painful prayers”, at schools, meeting halls, and cultural houses in Nghi Phuong (where some parishes are praying for the so-called “persecution and oppression”), the authorities at all levels, organizations, functional sectors, women, mothers, brothers and sisters, with all their love, organized for the children a “Full Moon Festival” filled with joy and love.

I believe that any parent and the entire society, seeing these offensive and malicious images being staged and staged, will be heartbroken and angry. Innocent children have been used as tools by some dignitaries and priests to serve their plots to promote illegal acts.

Children’s souls are like blank sheets of paper. Whatever images or content we, adults, write or draw on it, that sheet of paper will be filled with joy, sadness, will become “fairies or witches”. Confucius taught that “human nature is inherently good”. Living in an unhealthy educational environment, or being indoctrinated with deviant thoughts, when growing up, people will inevitably lose their goodness.

In some sermons of the Catholic Church, it is also shown that: For Christians, conscience is the deepest point of a human being and the place where God is present. From birth, people are taught and trained to live as a human being, to become free and responsible for themselves and society. Education and training in education, virtue... so that people can live up to their dignity. "In a gourd, it is round, in a tube, it is long", living in a loving environment, people will certainly feel the love for them and their loving heart will be aroused and act according to the true conscience, which is Christ himself.

During his lifetime, President Ho Chi Minh also devoted a lot of love to children, “milk for the young, silk for the old”. He said, “Children are like buds on a branch, knowing how to eat, sleep and study is good”. Since its establishment, the Vietnamese State has always cared for and given the best to children. Vietnam was the first country in Asia and the second in the world to ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child on February 20, 1990. This is an international convention regulating the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children, approved by the United Nations General Assembly on November 20, 1989 and entered into force on September 2, 1990. At Point d, Clause 1, Article 29 of the Convention clearly states: “States Parties agree that the education of the child shall be directed to: the preparation of the child for responsible life in a free society, in the spirit of understanding, peace, tolerance, equality of sexes, and friendship among all peoples, racial, ethnic and religious groups and persons of indigenous origin”.

Students of class 2A, Nghi Phuong Primary School enjoy Mid-Autumn Festival.



Leaders of Nghi Loc district and Nghi Phuong commune presented gifts to disadvantaged students at the Primary School.

Yet, in some parishes of Vinh Diocese, instead of educating children in the direction of “good life, good religion”, “Gospel in the heart of the nation”, “respecting God and loving the country”, some dignitaries and officials took advantage of innocent children who were at the age of “eating, sleeping, studying” to communicate lies, slander, and distortions that Mr. Nguyen Thai Hop had previously used as an excuse to issue a “Common Letter” to incite gullible parishioners to “offer sacrifices and take concrete actions” to serve his own personal plot.

Children's souls are like seedlings that need to be cared for and shaped. If they are bent, they will bend; if they are straightened, they will be straight. The first lessons will be the baggage they carry with them throughout their lives. The Bible says, "Parents, do not provoke your children to anger, but educate them on behalf of God by admonishing and correcting them." Pope Benedict XVI's teachings to Catholics also admonished that "A good Catholic is also a good citizen." With the "education" that the dignitaries, priests, and parishioners of some parishes in Vinh Diocese have been doing, will their children become good citizens? Could it be that the "concrete action" that Mr. Hop mentioned in the "General Letter" includes the parishioners having to "offer" the future of their own children? Let me ask, with the way of "sowing" into the children's thoughts and "pressing" into their hands lies, hatred, and opposing slogans like that, do some "shepherds" feel ashamed?

Ironically, none other than Mr. Nguyen Thai Hop himself has been constantly blabbering on overseas radio stations about the so-called "respect for people's dignity", "respect for human rights" and some priests like Dang Huu Nam - Parish Priest of Binh Thuan have repeatedly loudly criticized the government for violating international conventions, but they themselves took advantage of the children's Mid-Autumn Festival night to turn it into a prayer ceremony for "fellow believers being persecuted by the Vietnamese Communist government in My Yen".

I would like to say that, no matter what name some dignitaries and officials use, the act of exploiting children as "tools" to serve the political schemes of those who always consider themselves "superiors" is an act of cruelty, against morality, and a crime that causes public outrage and condemnation.

With the above inhumane acts, the head of the Xa Doai Bishopric and a number of parish priests in the Vinh Diocese violated Vietnamese law, specifically, Article 7 of the Law on Protection, Care and Education of Children: The following acts are strictly prohibited:“Taking advantage of, enticing, or forcing children to buy, sell, or use cultural products that incite violence., obscenity; making, copying, circulating, transporting, storing child pornography; producing and trading in toys and games harmful to the healthy development of children; torturing, abusing, humiliating, appropriating, kidnapping, buying and selling, or swapping children;Exploiting children for personal gain; inciting children to hate their parents or guardians or to violate the life, body, dignity or honor of others; abusing child labor or using childrendoing heavy, dangerous work or exposure to toxic substances,do other jobs contrary to the provisions of labor law".

PV