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"The Good Will Be Martyred"
Persecution of Catholics in China Increases
Special to the Fatima Network
 Vatican agency 'Fides' reported on January 31 on the alarming
situation of the Catholic Church in Communist China, whose members remain
faithful to the Pope's authority. In China, communist authorities have
constantly persecuted the Church, opposing the practice of the Catholic
cult, with exception of the official church sanctioned by the state -- the so-called "Patriotic Church". However, the so-called "underground Church" which is
faithful to the authority of the Supreme Pontiff survives in spite of the
persecutions, attracting a great number of faithful.
As the agency
informed, the persecution against the "underground Church" has reached really
alarming dimensions. In the last three years, six bishops have disappeared,
while dozens of priests have also been kidnaped by the police, without counting
diverse actions against Catholics in general and the destruction of
churches.
Among other things, the agency points out that the repression is part of a
campaign that seeks to force the Catholic faithful to the authority of the
Pope to be part of the "patriotic" church sanctioned by the state. Among the
bishops "missing," is the case of Bishop James David Lin Xili, 80 years old,
disappeared since September 8.
In a similar press-release that confirms this
persecution in more detail, The Cardinal Kung Foundation, an advocate of the
underground Roman Catholic Church in China, reported on January 23 that one
underground Roman Catholic bishop, three priests and one layperson were
recently arrested.
Underground Roman Catholic Bishop Han Dingxiang, Bishop of the
Diocese of Yong Nian in Hebei Province, was arrested on or about December 1,
1999 when he was leading a religious retreat in Shijiazhuang. Bishop Han was
detained and released many times in the past, each for a short period
of time. He has now been taken away for almost 2 months. "We do not know where
he is. He is 63 years of age and was in jail in the past for about 20 years"
said the press-release.
Mr. Wang Chengqun, an underground Roman Catholic lay leader in
Baoding, Hebei was arrested shortly before Christmas, 1999. He is now held in
the "Re-education through Labor" center in Gaoyangxian County in Hebei
Province. This is his seventh arrest in the last 20 years, having been
imprisoned for a total of approximately 10 years. When he was in the labor camp
last time in 1997, he suffered a stroke, partially paralyzing him without any
medical care from the prison authority. They kicked him out of the labor camp
instead. His paralysis was not cured when he was arrested last Christmas. He is
65 years of age.
Underground Roman Catholic priests Father Guo Yibao and Father
Wang Zhenhe, both of Anjiazhuang, Xushui, Hebei were arrested when they were on
their way to offer a Mass in Easter, 1999. Both of them are now in Xushui
Detention Center. No one is allowed to visit them. In addition, Father Xie
Guolin of Xuguozhuang, Gaoyangxian, Hebei was also arrested in 1999. Details of
Father Xie's arrest are not known.
Joseph Kung, President of the Cardinal Kung Foundation,
said: "We do not know the official reasons for the arrests of these persons.
However, we believe their arrests are the result of their religious activities
in accordance with their conscience. Sadly, in China, the practice of religious
activities is only allowed in accordance with the choice of the government.
This choice of the government for all religious believers is to join the
Patriotic Association. Practicing religion according to one's conscience and
thereby refusing to join the Patriotic Association is illegal in China and is
subject to arrest and to other form of punishments."
At the Fatima: World
Peace 2000 conference held in Hamilton in October of 1999, Joseph Kung from the
Cardinal Kung Foundation delivered a dramatic speech which documented the
ongoing persecution of the Catholic Church in China. He exposed the official
"Patriotic Catholic Church" whose bishops are not appointed by the Holy See,
but by the Chinese government. In order to receive moneys from the West,
members of the Patriotic Church often pose as true Catholics "loyal to the
papacy." At the Fatima World Peace conference, one African bishop mentioned
that he found Joseph Kung's speech startling and revealing. "According to the
information I receive in my diocese," the bishop said, "I was under the
impression that the Catholic Church was flourishing in China. I did not know
the persecutions were still going on."
In his speech, Joseph Kung also spoke of the
life of his uncle, the heroic Cardinal Ignatius Kung who spent 35 years in
Communist China and who now lives in Connecticut. You can listen to Joseph
Kung's speech on the web.
Mr. Kung's speech is also available from The Fatima Crusader on
both audio and video cassette. Call 1-800-263-8160.
Please remember the
persecuted underground Church in China in your prayers.
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