Peaceful lands
(Baonghean) - In contrast to the images of law violations in Phu Yen parish (An Hoa commune, Quynh Luu), most of the Catholic hamlets are peaceful, and Catholics and non-Catholics unite to build a prosperous life.
» Father Dang Huu Nam, we are so tired!
When the church bells ring in the peaceful morning, people begin a new rhythm of life, on the boats that have just docked, and on the rice fields that are about to be harvested. Those are the first feelings when arriving in Tho Dong village, Quynh Tho commune (Quynh Luu) on a day in early May.
The church of Van Truong parish in Tho Dong village was built in 1890, currently the parish has 35 households with more than 140 people. Located on the border of Dien Chau district and 2 communes with many followers of other religions, Quynh Ngoc and Son Hai, the parish here is still peaceful as if it has never known the recent changes related to illegal behavior of parishioners in neighboring areas.
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| Parishioners of Hong Long commune (Nam Dan district) signed a commitment to build a model of a hamlet free of crime and social evils. Photo: Phuong Thao |
Mr. Hoang Van Quang - Chief of Quynh Tho Commune Police said: "Here, Catholics and non-Catholics are very united. Tho Dong village has Catholics who have been deployed to become an advanced model in the movement of the whole people protecting national security since 2010. Since then, the movement of the whole people protecting national security in this parish has achieved many outstanding results."
Tho Dong villagers mainly develop their economy by fishing. After the marine environmental incident that occurred in early 2016, the villagers were very confused and worried; however, no one had any acts of opposing the government or violating the law. Up to now, the villagers are completely assured to go out to sea, investing in building 2 new large boats worth over 2 billion VND to serve fishing.
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| Bao Nham Stone Church (Bao Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District). Photo courtesy. |
Not only that, parishioners are also very unanimous in implementing the policies of the Party and the State. 100% of parishioners contribute money and labor to build village roads and alleys; especially for 5 consecutive years, there have been no parishioners violating the law and social evils, no children dropping out of school, and security and order are always guaranteed.
To achieve that result, according to Mr. Nguyen Xuan Tuyen - Chairman of the Pastoral Council of Van Truong parish: "At prayer ceremonies, we propagate to parishioners not to harm others, not to violate the law, and to raise vigilance to protect property for families and society.
Especially the coordination with the Front Committee, the Village Executive Committee, the mediation team, promptly resolves small conflicts among the people, and is reasonable. The Pastoral Council also coordinates with the Village Executive Committee, the security team to maintain patrols at night, especially on holidays and Tet, doing a good job of crime prevention. The parish has 2 self-governing teams, through patrols, has detected and promptly prevented subjects from coming to the area to steal property, and reminded to disperse some gatherings of young people drinking alcohol on the way.
Mr. Tuyen recounted the incident on December 13, 2014, when some parishioners and Mr. Ho Ngoc Thoa and Mr. Ho Ngoc Hau (Tho Thang village) had a conflict at the clam farm beach. As soon as he heard the news, Mr. Tuyen and members of the Pastoral Council and the Commune Police Department promptly arrived to stabilize the situation, not causing division in the solidarity between Catholics and non-Catholics.
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| Children of Thuong Nam parish (Hong Long commune, Nam Dan district) perform a performance about sovereignty over seas and islands. Photo: Phuong Thao |
Having the opportunity to visit Hong Long commune (Nam Dan) - where the model "People of hamlet 4, Hong Long parish unite to build a new countryside" has just been born, one can fully feel the enthusiastic working spirit, the peace and solidarity of Catholics and non-Catholics. The launching ceremony of the model was held on April 1, considered the nucleus of the movement of the whole people to protect national security and order in Hong Long commune in particular and Nam Dan district in general. The parishioners of Thuong Nam and the people of hamlet 4, Hong Long commune have signed a commitment to build the model, striving for over 80% of households to meet the standards of good self-management of national security and order.
Mr. Nguyen Pham Huu Hong - Chairman of Hong Long Commune People's Committee said that for a long time, the government and the Executive Committee of Thuong Nam parish have paid attention to building solidarity between Catholics and non-Catholics, together ensuring security and order in the area. The head of the parish's prayer group is also assigned to be the head of the self-governing inter-family group, therefore, at the prayer sessions at the church, the State's policies and guidelines are also incorporated to propagate to the parishioners.
This work has created a high level of consensus and unity. The parish priest, together with the parish pastoral council, the parish group and the commune government, cooperated to encourage parishioners to comply with the Party's guidelines and policies; the State's policies and laws and regulations on religious activities; and parishioners to respect God, love their country, and live a good life.
Together we build a peaceful life
Peaceful parishes like Hong Long and Quynh Tho are typical examples of the mass movement to protect national security in Nghe An. This movement has been replicated in many other localities such as "Catholic parishes without crime and social evils" in Nghia Thuan commune (Thai Hoa town), "Comprehensive movement" in Nam Loc parish (Nam Dan), "Peaceful parishes, joining hands to build new rural areas" in Con Ca parish (Nghia Dan)...
To date, the province has had 398 self-management boards and 3,164 self-management groups in religious areas with tens of thousands of parishioners participating in the task of ensuring security and order and building a mass movement to protect national security at the grassroots level. The self-management boards, self-management groups, and advanced models have contributed to resolving and reconciling most of the conflicts and minor violations right in the community.
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| Priest of Hoi Yen parish, Nghi Van commune (Nghi Loc) encourages people to hand over homemade weapons to the authorities. (Photo: Archive) |
Captain Nguyen Khac Hung - Team Leader of the Team guiding the movement of the whole people to protect national security in communes, wards and towns (Department PV28, Provincial Police) said that with the key task of building, fostering and replicating models, the Provincial Police force must always stay close to the grassroots, grasp the characteristics of each locality to have appropriate model development orientation.
The implementation process shows that the material and spiritual life of the people is increasingly improved and enhanced; many parishes and parishes have become advanced models in labor, production and the fight against crime, and the protection of security and order. This is one of the outstanding results in the implementation of Directive 09/CTBCA-V28 dated August 19, 2014 of the Ministry of Public Security and Directive 172/CTUBND-NC of the Provincial People's Committee on promoting the mass movement to protect national security in the religious areas of Nghe An province.
However, in the current context where hostile forces are increasingly exploiting religion to sabotage the State and disrupt the situation, the stabilization of security and order, especially in areas with religious followers, becomes even more important. Meanwhile, the coordination between departments, branches and organizations is sometimes not synchronous and tight, so it has not created the attraction for the masses of religious followers to participate; affecting the quality and depth of the movement.
Therefore, in addition to preventing and strictly handling subjects who incite and take advantage of the situation to cause division between Catholics and non-Catholics, it is also necessary to regularly innovate forms and measures to mobilize the Catholic masses with practical content, suitable for each region, each locality, in each period, creating motivation and encouraging compatriots to voluntarily and actively participate.
Phuong Thao
