CHINESE PRIEST ARRESTED, DETAINED
STAMFORD, Connecticut, Feb 12, 03 (CWNews.com) - A Catholic priest of the
underground Church in China has been arrested by the Communist government,
according to a Catholic human rights group that monitors persecution of the
Church in China.
The US-based Cardinal Kung Foundation said Father Dong Yingmu, 37, was
arrested this past Christmas in the Diocese of Baoding in Hebei province as
he was on his way to celebrate Mass. He was held in a local jail for a month
and then sent to prison, the group said.
The Cardinal Kung Foundation noted that two bishops and eight other priests
belonging to the underground Church in the Diocese of Baoding are now in
prison. Bishop Su Zhimin, 70, the ordinary of the diocese, was arrested in
1997, and Auxiliary Bishop An Shuxin, 53, was arrested in 1996 and their
whereabouts, and even whether they are alive or dead, are unknown. Six
priests have been sentenced to three-year terms in prison camps, and two
priests are being held in local jails without trial.
Catholics in Communist China are required to worship only as part of the
government-controlled Patriotic Catholic Association, which eschews any
connection to the Pope or the universal Church, although millions of
Catholics are believed to secretly belong to the underground Church. While
some priests and bishops have formal ties to the patriotic association while
primarily serving the underground Church, others remain outside the
state-mandated strictures on worship.
Joseph Kung, the president of the Cardinal Kung Foundation, said: "Having
incarcerated two bishops and nine priests of the underground Catholic
Diocese of Baoding, the Chinese government has caused great damage to this
diocese, but it failed to break its spirit." He added that the same kind of
persecution of Catholics exists throughout China. He said, "This awareness
should enable the public to visualize how severe religious persecution in
China actually is."
Jento
http://www.netmails.com/members/daje/
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