Letter to Song Ngoc parish

(Baonghean.vn) - We obey what is according to God's will, and for things that go against God's wishes, everyone should be brave enough to give their opinions.

» Priest Nguyen Dinh Thuc incites parishioners

» The provocative words of Nguyen Dinh Thuc and Dang Huu Nam

It is the fourth year after the Lunar New Year holiday that Song Ngoc (Quynh Ngoc) left her hometown and returned to the company in Binh Duong to continue her work. Since the full moon of January, it has not been a long time but it is enough for me to understand what is called going to church and keeping the church in our parish.

Dear parents and all my brothers and sisters, I know that through the Sacrament of Baptism we become children of God, but that does not mean that through baptism alone we become perfect, become children of God subjectively and imposedly.

Although far from home, as a Catholic, when receiving the sacrament of baptism, I vow to live my life pure, noble, worthy of God's calling: "You are the light of the world... let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

Yet, since Tet until now, especially in the last two or three weeks, I have continuously received phone calls from the parents of my brothers and sisters, asking them to join their homeland in praying for the believers who were beaten by the communist government when they participated in protests and petitions... I was truly shocked by this information.

Dear everyone, dear parents, in the information age, the world is flat, so even if there is a small movement anytime, anywhere, taking advantage of the free time, Song Ngoc brothers and sisters far from home can quickly scan and we can clearly grasp the events happening in our hometown. Parents and brothers and sisters do not know that, but relatives in our hometown are also fed up with the way people leave their fields and work in the market to participate in lawsuits, attend mass as if standing before a judgment court.

I did not fabricate, did not listen to anyone, but the means of the group of brothers called "fighting for justice" of our parish spread everywhere, the image of Father Nam, who has no responsibility for the pastoral work of our parish, holding a microphone with a fierce face shouting in our church, I find that very offensive, our church was built to worship God, to read and meditate on the word of God, not for Father Nam or someone to come and curse, swear, shout slogans like a market, every day, every week, my friends and people of the same faith take the opportunity to attend mass at the church where we rent a room.

"People back home are also fed up with people leaving their fields and jobs to participate in lawsuits and attend mass as if they were standing before a judgment court."

Although we are Catholic, in our area and in many other localities throughout Vietnam, the priests understand the hardships of our people in general and the Catholic community in particular, so they take the opportunity to celebrate Mass earlier, not prolonging the sermons so that in the morning farmers can go to the fields to plow and harvest, workers like us can get to the factory in time, and business people can go to the market earlier so that their fish and vegetables can be fresher.

What about us? From Sunday to Saturday, Father Thuc and Father Nam continuously pressured everyone to go to the struggle, to protest, one day, two days, one week we persistently fight... Dear parents and brothers and sisters, our youngest son just called me this morning and he couldn't speak, he is still young but he already realized that his parents followed Father Nam, Father Thuc was gone for a whole week and couldn't even earn money to buy his notebook, scarf and backpack, I know my parents and brothers and sisters are also very sad, including everyone, but because of the divine right, because of the law of obedience, we grit our teeth and endure.

Innocent children who attend church services are also taken advantage of.

On the way to church, some young people were not wearing helmets, holding flags and slogans while driving motorbikes. (Photo taken on March 19, 2017 at Song Ngoc parish).

In the current situation in our country, our life of witness has a stronger value in convincing others than the eloquent sermons in the church of Father Nam and Father Thuc who are instilling national hatred in our minds.

I don't understand why you two were born and raised in the homeland of Vietnam. The rice you are eating and the clothes you are wearing are all made by the people of this country. Today, you two also studied from the school of your homeland. You and your relatives are enjoying the social security that this society brings. Why do you two want to overthrow this regime? We, like everyone else, clearly see that only a national and democratic revolution can bring freedom to all people like today. We have not seen any recklessness or religious violence that has had a positive effect on Catholics, but only made us suffer more.

You keep saying our country is undemocratic, but we and everyone else are free to follow or not follow any religion, free to choose a job, to produce and do any type of business as long as the law does not prohibit it. You keep criticizing our country like that, why don't you ask for asylum in the promised land?

Not only taking advantage of preaching in churches to speak ill of the regime and incite people, Nguyen Dinh Thuc and Dang Huu Nam also went out into the streets using loudspeakers to incite people to file complaints.

For weeks now, no one has been able to do business in peace, no one has been able to give their opinions, and yet you say it is a democratic struggle. Father and mother, it is time for us to boldly speak up as true Christians. As the Second Vatican Council said: “The laity are especially called to make the Church present and active in places and circumstances where, without them, the Church would not become the salt of the earth...”. On the contrary, if Christians “compromise” to accept lifestyles that go against all the values ​​of the Gospel, as Father Thuc and Father Nam are preaching, then we ourselves have effectively denied Christ before the world.

Dear parents and brothers and sisters, we should understand that the Church of God on this earth is not a place where all the saints, men and women, that is, those who are without any faults or blame, gather. On the contrary, we must honestly admit that the Church is only a place that invites sinners who want to be saved, who want to become saints, but who are still in the process of perfection and have not yet reached that goal. Therefore, we should not worship and obey what our two priests say, we obey what is according to God's will, and as for things that go against God's will, everyone should have the courage to give their opinions.

When reading the lines of confidences I sent, please do not misunderstand that I want to speak ill of or defame our priests, but this is the wish of the flock to make the church healthy, to free our villagers from useless things, so that our villagers can be at peace, and the parish can fervently offer good things to God every day.

I also ask those who have good will and want to contribute to the building, development and protection of the Church, to do so in the spirit of the Gospel and within the framework of the Church's teachings on the role and responsibility of all members of the People of God in the Church. If we see real bad examples in the lives of one or more people in the local Church, if there is "abuse of the pulpit" to attack individuals or spread things beyond the scope of sharing the Word of God, or see deviations in the liturgy, we are ready to speak up so that the religious life of our parish can return to the way it was before.

Or in the recent behavior of Father Thuc and Father Nam, who cursed the government and threatened people, including those who are old enough to be our fathers and uncles, our first duty is to be courageous and frankly express our views wisely to change the behavior of the priests, so that they can quickly return to the orbit of God's love.

I would also like to tell the two priests to respect the parishioners, do not force them to do those wrong things anymore, because of their role and position for the purpose of building and developing God's Church, which is the means of salvation for all people, all nations in all times. Respect to help each other fulfill our duties and responsibilities in the Church /.

Nguyen Van Binh

(Binh Duong March 23, 2017)