Do not disregard the health and lives of your fellow countrymen for the sake of religion.

Do not deny the coexistence of religions

Vietnam's successes in preventing and fighting the Covid-19 pandemic have been recognized and highly appreciated by the world. In that common success, no one can deny the contributions of religious dignitaries, followers and religious organizations. Since the outbreak of the epidemic, the vast majority of religious followers in the country have "accompanied the nation" and proactively and actively participated in the fight against this dangerous "enemy". The heads of religious organizations have actively urged and reminded followers to strictly comply with the Government's regulations and the health sector's instructions on disease prevention and control. Most followers and establishments have done well when organizing and participating in religious activities.“5k” recommendationKeep distance, wear masks, disinfect, declare health and apply online religious activities to help prevent the spread of the epidemic.

However, it is necessary to clarify the fact that, while the entire Party, people and army are resolutely taking action with the spirit of "Fighting the epidemic like fighting the enemy" to achieve the "dual goal" of both effectively preventing and containing the Covid-19 epidemic and developing the socio-economy, there are still some dignitaries, followers and religious organizations who ignore the instructions and regulations of the Government, local authorities and recommendations of specialized agencies, and do not strictly comply with the procedures on preventing and fighting the Covid-19 epidemic.

Religious activities that gather large crowds without complying with government regulations and recommendations from professional agencies will be one of the leading risks leading to the spread of disease in the community.

In the past few days, public opinion across the country has been abuzz about the activities ofRenaissance Missionary Churchat 415/8/4 Nguyen Van Cong, Ward 3, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City. From the number of people initially discovered, to dateAs of May 30, 2021, there were more than 60 cases positive for SARS-CoV-2.

Authorities cordoned off the area where the Renaissance Missionary Church (Ward 3, Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City) was operating. Photo: Doc Lap/TNO

Not to mention whether the activities are right or wrong, just considering from the perspective of epidemic prevention and control according to the investigation of the authorities, this missionary group operates without complying with the regulations on Covid-19 epidemic prevention and control of the Government and the Health sector. This is the cause of the spread of the epidemic to many people. The Investigation Police Agency of Go Vap District Police has decided to prosecute the criminal case on the charge of "Spreading dangerous infectious diseases to people" related to the Renaissance Missionary Church to conduct investigation and handling. The above incident can be considered a typical example of the situation where some believers and religious organizations have not accompanied local Party committees, authorities, and functional agencies in epidemic prevention and control to protect people's lives and health.

Unlawful and unethical

Not only are they mere administrative violations, but also acts of ignoring the instructions and regulations of the Prime Minister, local authorities and recommendations of specialized agencies, and failing to strictly comply with procedures for preventing and combating the Covid-19 epidemic are also violations of the law. Article 8 of the 2007 Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases clearly stipulates prohibited acts. Accordingly, the following acts are strictly prohibited: “Intentionally spreading infectious agents; People with infectious diseases, people suspected of having infectious diseases and people carrying infectious pathogens doing jobs that easily transmit infectious agents according to the provisions of law; Concealing,failure to declare or late declarationcases of infectious diseases as prescribed by law; Intentionally declaring and providing false information about infectious diseases; Discriminating against and providing negative images and information about people with infectious diseases; Not implementing or not implementing promptly measures to prevent and control infectious diseases as prescribed by this Law; Not complying with measures to prevent and control infectious diseases as required by competent agencies and organizations”. Clearly, the above-mentioned acts of some religious dignitaries, followers and organizations are violations of the law.

Not only is it illegal, the behavior of some religious dignitaries and followers is also against morality. The basic development direction of religions is "Living the gospel in the heart of the nation", in the spirit of "Respecting God, loving the country"; living "a good life, a good religion";... As citizens, with the responsibility of leading religious establishments, dignitaries should clearly demonstrate their responsibility to the community. In particular, religious dignitaries must truly be exemplary pioneers in propagating and mobilizing parishioners to comply with Government regulations and instructions from competent authorities, actively accompanying the entire Party, people and army in participating in epidemic prevention and control.

However, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic raging around the world and in the country, some religious dignitaries still organize ceremonies and prayers... This can be considered an act of defiance of the law, disregarding the lives and health of the people, first of all the parishioners. This not only causes concerns and worries among the people in the localities, but also the parishioners themselves are not at ease because in the face of the complicated epidemic situation, the risk of spreading from gatherings to perform ceremonies and pray is very high. Obviously, the indifferent and irresponsible behavior towards parishioners by some religious dignitaries is unacceptable.

Strengthening propaganda combined with strict handling of violations

To overcome the above situation, on the one hand we must promotepropaganda workso that the people in general, the Catholics in particular, especially the dignitaries with a voice in the community, clearly understand the viewpoints, policies, and laws of our Party and State, which always respect and guarantee the people's freedom of belief and religion, but all activities must comply with the law and for the benefit of the community, the benefit of the nation and people.

5K message of the Ministry of Health to prevent and control Covid-19 epidemic.

Along with that, through promoting propaganda, it is necessary to promptly provide official information on the complicated and dangerous developments and urgent requirements of the work of preventing and fighting the Covid-19 epidemic, thereby raising awareness, consciousness, and sense of responsibility for participation for the people in general and religious compatriots in particular. On the other hand, through information channels, it is necessary to help people clearly perceive the plots and tricks of taking advantage of the work of preventing and fighting the epidemic to divide and sabotage the great national unity bloc that hostile and reactionary forces are plotting to carry out. Only by clearly recognizing these things, can the people in general and the Catholics in particular raise their "resistance" and not follow suit and proactively participate in the fight against false arguments and acts of taking advantage of the epidemic situation to incite and cause chaos, plotting to sabotage the Party, the State and our people.

At the same time, it is necessary to resolutely and strictly handle those who deliberately take advantage of religious activities to violate the law on disease prevention and control in order to support the plots and sabotage tricks of hostile forces. In handling cases, it is necessary to be timely but strict and cautious so that bad guys do not take advantage of, entice, or incite religious people to violate the law, oppose the government, or distort and falsify the work of preventing and fighting the Covid-19 pandemic of our Party, State, and people.

Phung Kim Lan