Catholic compatriots are competing in patriotism, living "a good life and a virtuous faith."

Father Nguyen Van Thuong, Director of Caritas Thanh Hoa Catholic Diocese: Spreading the spirit of solidarity, mutual support, and compassion to help poor parishioners.

Over the years, as the head of Caritas of the Thanh Hoa Catholic Diocese, I have always promoted the spirit of solidarity, not only encouraging and assisting parishioners in economic development and poverty reduction, but also educating and admonishing them to "respect God and love the country," live "a good life and a virtuous faith," and abide by all the policies and guidelines of the Party and the laws and regulations of the State.

I also actively encouraged philanthropists and parishioners both domestically and internationally to contribute to the "Charity" fund. From this fund, over the past five years, I have organized hundreds of visits and gift-giving trips for thousands of parishioners, worth more than 100.5 billion VND. Specifically: distributing 54,386 gift packages worth 20.8 billion VND; supporting the construction of 254 new houses for the needy worth 15.6 billion VND; and distributing over 14,000 bags of rice to poor families worth 5 billion VND. In addition, Caritas Thanh Hoa organized environmental protection activities, donated 46 water filters and clean water filtration systems worth over 7.5 billion VND; awarded scholarships to nearly 1,000 students with particularly difficult circumstances; provided thousands of charitable meals and hundreds of free transportation services for poor patients; and organized free medical examinations and provided free medicine to the people. Mobilized and supported people affected by natural disasters and floods in the Central provinces (in 2020) with over 6 billion VND; donated over 5.7 billion VND to support the Northern provinces affected by Typhoon No. 3 (in 2024). Coordinated with the Standing Committee of the Provincial Fatherland Front Committee to support over 7 billion VND in building houses for 182 poor Catholic households living on the river to stabilize their lives. Mobilized and assisted people in Ho Chi Minh City and Thanh Hoa children working in some Southern provinces and cities; visited and donated gifts to centralized quarantine areas and parishes to support poor people in localities facing difficulties due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic... with a total amount of over 4.1 billion VND. Helped many poor families have solid homes to stabilize their lives and settle down in accordance with Directive No. 22-CT/TU of the Provincial Party Committee.

Ms. Do Thi Khanh, Deputy Head of the Catholic Solidarity Committee of Vinh Loc District: Mobilizing Catholic parishioners to develop the economy and build national unity.

Vinh Loc District has 6 Catholic parishes, 2 Holy Cross Communities, 24 sub-parishes, with 1,690 households and 6,885 parishioners. People of various ethnic groups and religions in the district live together in unity within the communities. With a tradition of love for their homeland and country, and diligence in labor and production, the Catholic community has faithfully followed the Party's guidelines and policies, and the State's laws; actively participated in patriotic emulation movements and campaigns launched by the Fatherland Front at all levels; and practiced "Living a good life and upholding moral values," and "Respecting God and loving the country." As the Deputy Head of the District Catholic Solidarity Committee, I have encouraged parishioners to diversify their crops and livestock; boldly invest in and apply science and technology to production, animal husbandry, and intensive farming, resulting in high economic efficiency. Currently, the entire district has over 400 Catholic households with an average income of 100 million VND/year or more, and many Catholic families are successful in business.

In the "All People Join Hands to Build New Rural Areas and Civilized Urban Areas" movement, my family set a leading example by contributing money, donating land, and working with parish priests and local authorities to promote and mobilize relatives, friends, and Catholic compatriots in the district to contribute billions of dong, donate thousands of square meters of land, and thousands of man-days to build infrastructure, expand rural roads, and renovate houses and community spaces. For example, the Phap Ngo Parish in Phap Ngo village, Vinh Hoa commune – a village with 100% Catholic residents – mobilized 71 families to voluntarily donate 2,700 square meters of residential land to expand roads. Currently, 100% of residential areas with Catholic residents have achieved the standards of New Rural Areas and model New Rural Areas; most village roads and alleys in these residential areas have been asphalted or concreted; over 95% of households have solid houses, and 100% of households have access to electricity. In addition, I also encouraged Catholic compatriots to participate in patriotic emulation movements and campaigns launched by the Fatherland Front at all levels; and to fight against social evils and outdated customs... The activities of Catholic compatriots in the district have contributed to the local government's efforts in implementing social welfare policies, promoting unity between Catholics and non-Catholics, developing socio-economic conditions, and building Vinh Loc district into a prosperous district of the province.

Mr. Ngo Duc Hanh, Head of Huu Le Parish, Tho Xuong Commune, Tho Xuan District: Changing the awareness of parishioners in environmental protection work.

As the Deputy Head of the Catholic Solidarity Committee of Tho Xuan District and the Head of Huu Le Parish, I have actively propagated and mobilized efforts to change the awareness of parishioners regarding environmental protection by integrating environmental protection messages into church services, parish and sub-parish meetings, and community meetings. Monthly, or during the month of May and major Catholic holidays, we organize general environmental cleanups in the community, mobilizing parishioners to participate in cleaning village roads, collecting waste, and planting trees.

In addition, I mobilized parishioners to donate hundreds of square meters of land, contribute hundreds of millions of dong, and hundreds of man-hours of labor to expand roads; build a waste treatment system; and establish an environmental self-governance group... Through these practical activities, the residential area of ​​Huu Le Parish has become a "bright, green, clean, beautiful, and safe residential area" with a healthy living environment. Parishioners consider environmental protection as an integral part of their daily lives, closely linked to their faith and morality.

Along with environmental protection, social welfare activities are an area that I and Huu Le Parish always dedicate much effort to. Every year, we mobilize resources from parishioners, philanthropists, and social organizations to build and repair houses for disadvantaged families; donate hundreds of gifts to poor households and the elderly; provide scholarships, books, and learning materials for underprivileged students; and support people affected by storms, floods, and epidemics...

In addition to the above activities, we also create jobs for local people by supporting their livelihoods. For example, we donate plant and animal breeds to poor households, helping them acquire the means of production to escape poverty sustainably. My family alone has created seasonal jobs for 4-5 local workers, with a stable income of 8-10 million VND per person per month. Through these practical activities, poor and disadvantaged households in the parish have gradually improved their living conditions, and the movement of mutual support and solidarity among the parishioners has spread strongly.

Mr. Pham Cong Nhien, Head of the Catholic Solidarity Group in Hai Chau Ward, Nghi Son Town: Creating a strong bond between the government, the Catholic Solidarity Group, and the parishioners.

Hai Chau Ward, Nghi Son Town, has two parishes with nearly 2,700 parishioners. As a member of the Nghi Son Town Catholic Solidarity Committee and the head of the ward's Catholic Solidarity group, I always recognize my role, position, and responsibility to the community, bringing peace to people's lives. With the spirit of "charity, compassion, and living the faith with love," I, along with the members of the Catholic Solidarity group, have propagated and mobilized parishes and parishioners to actively participate in campaigns launched by the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations, such as: supporting the "For the Poor" Fund, building solidarity houses, supporting people affected by natural disasters; participating in the development of community regulations, beneficial activities of the parishes, and building residential areas that ensure social order and safety...

During the "National Unity Campaign for Building New Rural Areas and Civilized Cities," I, along with priests, monks, and the parish pastoral council, mobilized parishioners in Yen Chau residential area to contribute over 1.2 billion VND, donate over 500 square meters of land, hundreds of man-days of labor, and materials... to expand and concrete 500 meters of rural road from 2 meters to 4 meters; and build street lighting in the residential area. We also encouraged parishioners to actively participate in charitable activities, contributing a total of over 50 million VND.

Along with encouraging parishioners to shift their occupations from salt production to aquaculture, fishing, and seafood processing, raising the average per capita income to 72 million VND/year, my family and I continue to maintain a model of producing clean vegetables and raising aquatic products, bringing in nearly 100 million VND/year. By holding regular monthly meetings on church and social work, the Catholic Solidarity Group has promptly resolved issues arising in the residential area and among parishioners' families, creating a strong bond between the government, the Catholic Solidarity Group, and the parishioners, implementing the guiding principle of "Living the Gospel in the heart of the nation"...

Mr. Tran Van Tieu, Head of Lien Nghia Parish, Nga Thai Commune, Nga Son District: Building the model of "Peaceful Parish, Culturally Advanced Family"

The Lien Nghia parish in Nga Thai commune (Nga Son district) has nearly 4,000 parishioners across 7 sub-parishes; Catholic parishioners live interspersed with non-Catholics. Over the years, as the Parish Priest, I have actively worked with the Fatherland Front committee and other organizations in the residential area to effectively promote and encourage Catholic parishioners to exercise their rights and responsibilities as citizens and parishioners according to the motto "Living the Gospel in the heart of the nation"; participating in crime prevention, detection, combating, and reporting; maintaining security and order; and effectively implementing self-governance models in the residential area, integrated with emulation movements and campaigns launched by the Fatherland Front. At the same time, I have promoted and encouraged 100% of Catholic households to register and sign commitments to ensure traffic safety and to register to implement the 8 contents of the "Peaceful Parish, Culturally Advanced Family" model. Propagating to all parishioners, groups, and households in the parish the importance of adhering to the Party's guidelines and policies, and the State's laws and regulations, while consciously avoiding social vices; good Catholics are also good citizens, providing valuable information and effectively assisting the police in resolving complex cases...

Thanks to these active efforts, in recent years, Lien Nghia Parish's economy has experienced high growth, its culture and society have developed healthily, politics are stable, national defense and security are ensured, and per capita income (in 2024) reached 66.8 million VND; the poverty rate decreased to 0.88%; over 90% of Catholic families achieved the title of "Cultural Family"; 100% of villages were recognized as meeting cultural standards, and the commune achieved the New Rural Area standard; 3 out of 3 schools met national standards at level 2, and the commune met national standards for health; Nga Thai commune achieved the status of a safe commune in terms of security and order; and 9 out of 9 residential areas achieved the status of "Advanced Residential Area"... These results also demonstrate the positive and important contribution and role of Catholic people in the movement to build civilized urban areas and peaceful parishes and communities.

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/dong-bao-cong-giao-thi-dua-yeu-nuoc-nbsp-song-tot-doi-dep-dao-244807.htm