The Excellency Bishops

Tonight, under Saint Mary’s altar, in my beloved Capital Ha Noi, your small and humble child would like to submit this petition to you, my spiritual leaders. I strongly believe that you will accept this heartfelt letter with Love. As a citizen, I believe that you will express your determination to construct this constitutional government to be more democratic day by day. I believe that you, as our Catholic Church’s Holy Lambs Shepherds, have fulfilled your heavy responsibilities before our Church and before God, Jesus Christ.

The Highly Respected Bishops,

Today, I am crying for Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly. My tears poured down on my computer keyboard. I am a stranger to you, especially opposite to you, in terms of materialistic interests because I am working for the government of  Socialist Republic of  Vietnam. However, the Almighty God, Jesus Christ, has brought
me Love and the Indefinite Relationship to you. The most precious thing in life is the Faith in God.  A Communist once told me. He has suffered in agony living with the atheistic Communist doctrine. Thanks to God who has endlessly poured his great holy favor on me every day to help me with his proper directions to write this letter to you in a rainy night in Ha Noi with all my Respect and Love.

The Highly Respected Bishops,

Nearly 600 armed police had been dispatched to An Truyen Parish in a peaceful morning to arrest the innocent Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly when he was
preparing to say Mass. The small church was shaken when he closed his eyes to sing Saint Francis’ song “Peace Prayer” with his suffering face.  He has determined himself his path of sacrifice, the sacrifice to win true religious freedom in Vietnam. Perhaps he was also begging God to forgive the police agents because they did not understand what they were doing. However, his emaciated face displaying on television channels before the court made me unable to stop crying. I love him only because one main innermost reason:  He is a Catholic priest. If he had been wrong in his methods he would have never erred in his goals.  Demanding the illegally confiscated pieces of land returning to the Church and demanding more religious freedom for Vietnam are always excellent and legitimate requests.

In our history, the priests and parishioners who had demonstrated their Faith and were imprisoned or killed were never wrong.  Nevertheless, they are my pride, my
source of life, my source of energy and my breath in my daily activities.

Since the day Father Ly was arrested I have mailed many letters to the responsible authorities requesting explanations on the false accusations, wrong arrest and especially his unfair and 2-hour trial without the due process. As a citizen, I have accurately proved that the government had seriously violated the laws when arresting him. I want everybody has to be treated as a legal entity that has contributed his/her efforts to build up this Vietnamese government. I understood that this dictatorship regime has scared off people. However, the denial of constitutional rights to demand back the basic rights for our citizens is a non-patriotic act.

I have mailed to the responsible authorities many requests but I got no response. But those quiet letters have changed the recognition of many people, especially the atheistic members of the Communist Party who often invite fortune tellers to their homes to pray for them to become Grand Capitalists. They understood that the Catholics are still courageous enough to express their legitimate Faiths.

It is sad that many priests forced their poor parishioners to prepare expensive feasts to treat the government officials in order to get permissions to travel and study in foreign countries. Fine and educated officials happily eat at those feasts while looking down on those spiritual leaders.

The Excellency Bishops,

That horrible Friday October 19th, 2001 and the sentence of 15 years of imprisonment and 5 years of home detention in a hasty trial without public hearing and defendant’s attorneys has punched down harshly on the loyal son of our Catholic Church, Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly. It is the Vietnamese Communist
Government who has ripped off from Father Ly his constitutional rights. Since 18th century, after Karl Marx had published the “The Capitalism” to condemn the
ruling Capitalists, urging people to overthrow the capitalist regimes, he was not prosecuted of “destroying the unification of  the people” or “propagandizing against the government”.  That was totally contrast to the case of Father Ly who had only expressed his view peacefully to demand more religious freedom and was heavily sentenced. I am extremely sorrowful.  How do the other priests, Catholic seminaries’ students, Catholic students and enthusiastic parishioners think if we still keep
silent about Father Ly’s case?  We do not love this country and we do not want to make it better don’t we? Please do our best in accordance with our laws to make
our country more democratic.

Mr. Nguyen Van An, President of our Congress had encouraged us that :”In order to have independence we have to sacrifice”. Today, to have democracy we have
to fight. Montesqieu in “De La Esprit des Lois” had pointed out that democracy is not a freely granted value but it is the result of continuous struggles to confirm the power of the People.

Our Church’s land have been illegally confiscated by the government.  Church’s properties have been stolen. Presently, many priests and Catholic believers who
have been days and nights fighting to win back our Church’s properties do not know if they should continue their holy struggles. Your most peaceful expression will be good enough to encourage and motivate us. If your silence means agreement with the government it will be our utmost broken-hearted unhappiness and our endless torment for all efforts we have put forth for our Church. Who will protect us?
 

I will not discuss too deep in the reasoning points. Our Church’s lawyers will debate those issues in details. The true meanings of the Vietnamese Constitution will support your allegations. I am writing this letter to express my sincere wish to you, my Holy Lambs Shepherds. I pray for the Vietnamese Bishops Council to be perspicacious to make its wisest decisions in order to implement its continuous and organized strategy to bring out Light and Faith for Jesus Christ’s followers in this critical time. The Excellency Bishops,
 
I am a small and humble Catholic but I will openly and legally fight against the Vietnamese Communist government. I will try my best in an ideal struggle and will completely finish my battle while keeping my Faith. If I ever made any unintentional mistakes while writing this letter to you please forgive me because that is my belief, my passion, my patriotism and my Catholic Faith.

Nguyen Van Min
Attorney-At-Law
Nam Dong, Thai Ha Parish, Ha Noi.

English version by Vie^.t Si~ Duy Ta^m