Unusual "Sunday"

(Baonghean)The disturbance in Yen Khe commune (Con Cuong) has been going on for more than 2 weeks, but up to now, many parishioners in the whole province are still being kept in the dark or receiving false information.

In fact, on the afternoon of July 1, 2012, priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc and many parishioners of Quan Lang Parish (Anh Son) organized an illegal ceremony at the private home of Mr. Pham The Tran, Trung Huong village, Yen Khe commune (Con Cuong). When the working group of Con Cuong district and Yen Khe commune came to propagate and persuade the priest and parishioners to stop the illegal ceremony, immediately some extremist parishioners opposed and assaulted the officers on duty.

After that, many parishioners of Quan Lang Parish and some other places continued to come to Yen Khe to cause disorder. Priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc directed some extremist parishioners to illegally arrest, insult and brutally beat 43 people from the district and commune working groups, including many Yen Khe residents. The fight left 66 people injured, including 4 parishioners from hamlets 12 and 9 of Tuong Son and Anh Son communes. By dawn the next day, July 2, the police force on duty was reinforced and rescued the 43 detainees, while protecting priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc and more than 700 parishioners from other places who entered Yen Khe to safely leave Con Cuong.

That is the truth, but priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc and a number of priests and religious dignitaries of Quan Lang Parish have deliberately distorted the truth, blaming the authorities of Con Cuong district at all levels. That is the reason why most churches in parishes and deaneries throughout the province are displaying banners and slogans that blatantly distort the truth, even inciting, deliberately deepening the conflict between parishioners and authorities at all levels, dividing the solidarity between Catholics and non-Catholics. At the same time, during the Sunday mass yesterday (July 15, 2012), in deaneries throughout the province, a number of priests continued to preach falsehoods, inciting parishioners to oppose the authorities.

From early morning on July 15, 2012, people in To village, Yen Khe commune, called each other to visit the fields. The newly planted rice fields are growing well and are in the tillering period. This season has had a lot of rain so the drought situation has basically been resolved, however, people are still actively visiting the fields to bring water to the terraced fields. Mrs. Lu Thi Ty, whose husband, Mr. Luong Van Kieu, was assaulted by parishioners on July 1, said: "Currently, my husband's health is no longer worrying. He has recovered and returned to his normal work. We all hope that the situation will soon stabilize so that we can feel secure in plowing and cultivating." Mr. Tang Ngoc Son - Head of Lang Pha village, who was beaten and had a broken left arm and 3 ribs, has also been discharged from the hospital and has managed to walk again. He said that he is currently using traditional medicine to treat his injuries. His wife, Mrs. Tran Thi Tam, added that in about a month, Mr. Son will fully recover. Thus, the people of Trung Huong village in particular and Yen Khe commune in general have had half a month of living in peace. The fear of those who disturb the peace is also gradually fading away. The vibrant working life has returned to the tea fields and terraced fields of the peaceful villages in Yen Khe commune.

In contrast to the peace in Yen Khe commune, there was an unusual silence at the church of Quan Lang Parish, in Tuong Son commune (Anh Son). A seller of sticky rice cakes near the church said that since 4am on Sunday (yesterday, July 15, 2012), parishioners had come to buy sticky rice cakes to go to Bot Da Parish Church in Da Son commune (Do Luong) to attend mass. Local people said that it was an unusual Sunday in the center of Quan Lang Parish. Why is there a large, spacious church there, but parishioners have to travel dozens of kilometers to another place to attend mass?

Also yesterday morning (Sunday, July 15, 2012), the streets of Cua Nam ward, Vinh city, were unusually crowded with people and vehicles. Many roads were almost blocked, traffic was very difficult. The main reason was that parishioners from parishes in the area gathered at Cau Ram parish church, where the Cau Ram deanery was located. The fences in front and behind the church hung many banners and slogans with provocative meanings such as "Protest the sacrilege and beating of priests and parishioners by the authorities in Con Cuong", "Ke Gai parish is always in communion", "Nghe - Tinh - Binh parishioners will die for their faith"...



Banners with distorted and slanderous content against the government hung at Cau Ram Church (Vinh City) (Photo taken on the morning of July 15, 2012)

Before the ceremony, Father Hoang Si Huong, the parish priest of Cau Ram, said that the content of the ceremony was to pray and communicate with the parishioners who were beaten by the government in Con Cuong. After the prayer ceremony ended, many parishioners left the church to return to their daily work. Not many parishioners stayed to listen to Father Hoang Si Huong read the report on the incident that occurred in Con Cuong on July 1, 2012 by Father Nguyen Dinh Thuc. As witnesses from beginning to end of the incident that occurred in Yen Khe commune, we realized that the content and words of Father Hoang Si Huong and in the report of Father Nguyen Dinh Thuc were completely fabricated with the purpose of misleading public opinion and inciting parishioners.

According to the report of priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc, he was holding a mass at the chapel (actually the private house of Mr. Pham The Tran), the cadres and police of Con Cuong district and Yen Khe commune came to obstruct, beat the parishioners, nuns and the priest. On the morning of July 2, 2012, on the way back, the parishioners were still obstructed by the police. In fact, when priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc held an illegal mass at Mr. Pham The Tran's private house in Yen Khe, Con Cuong, the working group consisting of cadres of Con Cuong district and Yen Khe commune came to propagate and mobilize to stop the illegal mass. The police force only appeared at dawn on July 2 to maintain order, rescue the cadres and people illegally detained in Mr. Pham The Tran's private house to protect and ensure the safety of the priest and all parishioners to withdraw from Con Cuong district at the request of priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc.

Also at 6am yesterday Sunday (July 15), hundreds of parishioners carrying flags, banners and slogans from all over Hung Tay commune (Hung Nguyen) gathered in front of Ke Gai church gate. Unlike the usual prayer sessions, 30 minutes after gathering, the group moved in threes and sevens by motorbike towards Vinh city, through Gia market, and towards Cau Ram church about 7-8km away. From the alleys, occasionally a few more motorbikes quickly joined the crowd like a festival. In front of Ke Gai church gate, there were also two banners with the words "Protesting the sacrilege and beating of priests and parishioners by the government in Con Cuong". Ke Gai church was deserted at that time!



Parishioners from Nam Dan and Hung Nguyen districts go to Cau Ram Church to attend mass. (Photo taken on the morning of July 15, 2012)



Traffic jam on Phan Dinh Phung street in front of Cau Ram church gate (Photo taken on the morning of July 15, 2012)

At Xa Doai Parish, the center of Vinh Diocese, in Nghi Dien Commune, Nghi Loc District (Nghe An), from around 7am yesterday morning (July 15), parishioners flocked to church on all roads. However, in that crowd, besides parishioners who are conscious of obeying road traffic safety laws, there are also many parishioners who do not obey.

Here, there were banners hung at the gate of the Xa Doai Bishop's Palace and the Xa Doai Parish service store with distorted and untrue content compared to the nature of the incident that occurred in Yen Khe Commune (Con Cuong) with the aim of dividing the solidarity between Catholics and non-Catholics and inciting parishioners to oppose the government, such as: "Protest the sacrilege and beating of priests and parishioners by the government in Con Cuong".



Banners with distorted and slanderous content against the government hung at Quy Chinh Church (Nam Dan) (Photo taken on the morning of July 15, 2012)

Also yesterday, early in the morning, parishioners from parishes in Thanh Chuong and Nam Dan districts came to Quy Chinh Parish Church, Van Loc parish, Van Dien commune, Nam Dan district to hold the ceremony. Due to the large gathering of thousands of people traveling mainly by motorbike, carrying 2 or 3 people, many of whom did not wear helmets and walked in a row, traffic jams occurred. Right at the entrance to Quy Chinh Church - where the ceremony was held, a banner was hung right on the welcome gate with inciting content, distorting the truth: "Protesting the sacrilege and brutal beating of priests and parishioners in Con Cuong". It should also be added that in the past few days, many mobile phone numbers in Nam Dan district have received text messages with content that slandered the regime. After the ceremony ended, the parishioners here returned to their normal lives, many of whom went to visit the fields, fertilize, dig irrigation ditches, and take care of the summer-autumn rice crop.

Although the prayer ceremony took place at Dong Thap Parish Church in Dien Hong Commune (Dien Chau) at 8:10 a.m. on July 15, people and vehicles were already packed on all roads leading to the church from 6:30 a.m. Right at the Bung Bridge intersection, parishioners from Dien Hanh, Dien Xuan, Dien Nguyen communes... of Dien Chau district, along with parishioners from several communes in Yen Thanh district, riding motorbikes, many carrying 3 or more people without helmets, followed each other down National Highway 1A to Dong Thap Church. At 7:15 a.m., on National Highway 1A towards Dong Thap Church, there was a traffic jam between churchgoers and incoming vehicles. From the beginning of the road turning down to the church area, it was only about 150m, but it was completely jammed by the increasing number of people and vehicles. Because the church yard had to make room for the number of people coming to pray, motorbikes had to be parked all over the paths leading to the church. Opposite the church gate is a slogan with distorted, provocative, and untrue content: "Protest the sacrilege and beating of priests and parishioners by the government in Con Cuong". At exactly 8:10 a.m., the ceremony began and ended at 9:15 a.m.

In Cua Lo Town, from early morning, many parishioners gathered at Tan Loc Parish Church, Cua Lo Deanery, Nghi Tan Ward to organize a prayer at 8:00 a.m. according to the announcement of the Xa Doai Bishop's Office... Before and during this prayer ceremony, the priests and some parishioners here had some provocative actions, lacked respect for the truth and the law, and made up stories to defame the authorities: In front of the church and some roads in the parish area, they hung banners with slanderous intent, turning black into white, blaming all violations of the priests and dignitaries of Quan Lang Parish and some parishioners on the authorities at all levels. During the prayer ceremony, the priests continued to spread false propaganda about the nature of the illegal proselytizing incident in Con Cuong district; spread false propaganda about the developments of the incident in Yen Khe commune where priests and parishioners of Quan Lang Parish caused trouble. After the ceremony ended, on the way back, many parishioners violated the Road Traffic Law by riding 3 or 4 people on a motorbike, not wearing helmets, or running red lights...

At 8:00 a.m. on July 15, 12 parishes in 5 districts of Tan Ky, Do Luong, Nghi Loc... gathered at Bao Nham Parish Church, Bao Nham parish in Bao Thanh commune (Yen Thanh). Parishioners attending the prayer ceremony mainly came by motorbike and 2 passenger cars. Normal ceremonies have about 500 participants, but this ceremony had an unusually large number of people. In front of the church gate, banners with provocative and slanderous content were hung: "Share the pain with Con Cuong Parish", "Protest the sacrilege and beating of priests and parishioners by the authorities in Con Cuong".

Thus, through the events at parishes and deaneries yesterday (July 15), we can easily see unusual things. First of all, ceremonies, even important ceremonies, are usually held at parishes, and parishioners only gather at the deaneries to celebrate ceremonies when welcoming new priests or welcoming high-ranking people in the church. But it is not too difficult to understand the purpose of many priests when mobilizing parishioners and organizing ceremonies at the deaneries. That is to continue to incite and provoke parishioners by distorting and twisting the truth of the incident in Yen Khe commune (Con Cuong) on ​​July 1, 2012. Many priests believe that the Con Cuong district authorities beat priests and parishioners. So, may I ask which priests were beaten, when were they beaten, and how were they injured? Why was it not announced during the preaching sessions? Why don’t the priests specifically announce this to the parishioners so that they can visit, care for, and share in the most practical way! We affirm that among the 66 people injured in the disturbance in Con Cuong, not a single priest was injured or suffered any injuries, but 62 were officials and ethnic minorities from Con Cuong district and 4 were parishioners of Quan Lang Parish from Tuong Son (Anh Son).

It can be affirmed that the hanging of banners and slogans as mentioned above in churches, parishes and dioceses has gone beyond the scope of religious activities and beliefs and is an illegal act and has political intentions. Because the true purpose of each religion and its followers when coming to places of worship to pray is to find a peaceful world in their souls. But with provocative and inciting words on banners and slogans along with the preaching of distorted truths from priests, the question is whether the flock will reach a place of peace and love or come to hatred and division? Not to mention the mobilization of parishioners to perform ceremonies at the dioceses has caused traffic disorder, endangered lives and wasted time and money. Through this, we can clearly see the political motives and nature of many priests, which is to continue to divide and deepen conflicts, disrupt stability in all aspects of society to cause instability. Moreover, with what the priests and dignitaries of Quan Lang Parish have caused to the ethnic people of Yen Khe commune (Con Cuong), they have invisibly distorted the inherently good image of Catholicism and whether the ethnic minorities want to accept such a religion or not?

Once again, it is affirmed that, as a true Vietnamese, no one does not wish to live forever in peace and obey the law. Because after decades of war, more than anyone else, the Vietnamese people understand the losses and pain caused by war. Therefore, all those who go against the wishes of the entire nation, sooner or later, will have to pay the price for their actions. Hopefully, priests who have political schemes that go against the interests of the nation, the interests of the people and the good direction of Catholicism, will soon show their goodwill so that the parishioners can live a "good life, good religion" and join hands and hearts to build a peaceful and prosperous Vietnam.

Reporter Group, Collaborators