Catholic Priests in China Feel Betrayed by the Vatican -- Facial Recognition Tracks Chinese People on New Year's

(Beijing) The authorities of the People's Republic of China expect a record number of lunar new year human movements to be celebrated in China. Mass exodus is systematically monitored by the regime for the first time using facial recognition systems.The Catholic priests of the communist empire are also monitored.

About 1.5 billion Chinese will participate in the largest mass movement in the world. Whether by train, plane, car or even on foot, most Chinese are still on the move for the next 35 days to celebrate the Chinese New Year, which is all about the pig. This superlative human movement started on March 21st and will last until March 1st. The Chinese traditionally return to their family homes to celebrate New Year's celebrations with relatives and friends to celebrate the New Year. There are no lack of bottlenecks in the means of transport and on the transport routes to transport such crowds.

The official New Year's date in China is February 5, 2019. Authorities are officially expecting 2.99 billion people. Thousands of additional trains and aircraft are used to deal with this. According to the authorities estimate, air traffic alone is expected to increase by 12 percent over the previous year.

New high-speed lines are being put into operation for the New Year, including the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong line.

For the first time, the new social credit system will also be used. Human movements are monitored and controlled with the most systematic facial recognition possible. The system uses a gigantic database and new artificial intelligence technologies.

Underground priests feel "betrayed" by the Vatican

Catholic priests are also being monitored in the People's Republic of China. To officially serve as a priest, you must join the regime approved Patriotic Association. AsiaNews has released the news of such an "official" priest. He reports that underground priests with whom he is associated, feel betrayed by the Vatican, especially since the agreement between Beijing and the Holy See. Despite the agreement, the Patriotic Association continues to work for a Chinese national church independent of the Holy See and dependent on the communist regime.

Only the Patriotic Association is recognized by the state

The priest therefore calls on the Vatican to discuss the role of the Patriotic Association in future talks with Beijing.

The reason for this message is an alarming development for the priest. Several priests of the faithful underground church with whom he is friends are about to give up their priesthood. They feel betrayed by the Vatican. Pope Francis declared after the signing of the Episcopal Agreement "The last word is mine," but the role of the Patriotic Association has not been clarified. The Patriotic Association "is a controlling body of the Chinese Communist Party and wants to build a self-sufficient church independent of the Holy See."

Pope Benedict XVI, in his 2007 Letter to Chinese Catholics, declared the Patriotic Association "incompatible with Catholic doctrine," said the priest. Pope Francis repeatedly emphasized that the letter of his predecessor is "still valid".

But the reality gives a different impression, said the priest. Francis draws on bishops and priests of the Patriotic Association, as a kind of "lesser evil." Membership in the Patriotic Association is still a prerequisite for being recognized by the state as a priest. Benedict XVI. stated, however, that membership of organizations and bodies that deny the indispensable principles of the faith and the ecclesial community is not permitted.

The Patriotic Association is doing just that, as the 60th anniversary of its founding has once again proved.

The priest tells of various underground priests who are so disappointed by recent developments that they feel abandoned and betrayed by the Vatican. Several people know that they have returned to their hometowns or want to return. They are "victims of the Sino-Vatican Agreement," said the priest.

"I'm afraid there are many priests throughout China who are going through this now: they were faithful and defended the Catholic faith, but suddenly they were betrayed by Rome. They can not rape their consciences and even less can they act against their faith. "

The priest's concern is that his confreres may lose their "missionary vocation". If the secular power knows their priesthood and they do not even get hold of the Church, "are they really like the crucified Christ, and can only cry with all their might, 'Father, why have you forsaken us?'"

Text: Andreas Becker / Giuseppe Nardi
Picture: AsiaNews

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Pope and Media Silent as Caracas Cathedra Attacked by Reds

[American Thinker] Less than a week after 49 Egyptian Christians were massacred in two bombings in Alexandria and Tanta during Palm Sunday mass, Venezuela's socialist thugs stormed a Wednesday Holy Week mass, assaulting the presiding archbishop of Caracas, the church's worshippers and trashing and looting the church. The attack wasn't on the same level as the terrorist bombing, but it signaled an emboldened and increasingly violent state, which may well have been drawing inspiration from the horror in Egypt. 
As one wag on Lucianne.com put it:

Communism: the other religion of peace. 

The archbishop in question, Cardinal Jorge Urosa Sabino, was no ordinary archbishop. For years he has blasted the horrors of Venezuela's chavismo for leaving the poor more impoverished and hungry than ever, even as it purports to speak in its name. He's denounced dictatorship and warned of its ascent in the country. Along with many archbishops, he's tried to warn Pope Francis that materialistic communism is an unmitigated disaster for the country.

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2017/04/where_is_pope_francis_in_the_wake_of_socialist_mob_assault_on_archbishop_in_venezuela.html#ixzz4eFodRecP
Follow us: @AmericanThinker on Twitter | AmericanThinker on Facebook

China is Preparing a Second Cultural Revolution to Decimate Religion

(Beijing) The Chinese Communist Party wants a "second Cultural Revolution, to decimate the religions". The municipality of Zhumadian in Henan Province has ruled in favor of the Protestant Church of Beitou. The church was demolished on April 14 on behalf of the authorities. It was where the wife of the pastor Ding Cumei, was killed, when she and her husband desperately tried to prevent the anti-Christian vandalism. The woman had been thrust into a pit and buried alive under the rubble.

The corpse of the woman was laid out by the Christians next to the ruined church. The authorities had caused the demolition of the church, because it is located where there is a shopping center to be built. For two years China's communists have turned  against Christians in the country. What is officially called "urban cleansing" and "economic improvement", is in reality, a targeted campaign against Christianity, whose rapid spread is a concern to the communist government. The anti-Christian demolitions affect mainly the provinces of Zhejiang, Henan, Hebei and Hubei.

Death of Pastor's wife - causes international stir

Three weeks after the death of Ding Cumei, the city council ruled in favor of the the ministry couple. The Christians could keep the land, and it will not be reallocated in a commercial zone. The death of the Pastor's wife had evidently aroused too much international attention. The authorities are trying to limit the damage. For Ding Cumei, however, the authorities are too late. Pastor Li Jiangong now fears that the murderer of his wife will not be charged and everything could be covered up.

On April 14, the Church of Beitou was destroyed. The day before, a church was demolished in Wenzhou, "because the cross on the roof was too high" as ChinaAid reported. In a few minutes, property valued at three million yuan had been destroyed (approximately 400,000 euros), which amount had been donated over several years by the faithful for the church.

In Hebei Province, the situation is no less dramatic. Last month, five underground Catholic priests were  disappeared there. At present there isn't any sign of life from them. The faithful believe that they were arrested by police and taken to a prison or a re-education camp.

State and party leadership is concerned with the topic of Religion

The Chinese Communist Party appears unwilling to tolerate the Christian religion. Last 22-23 April, the highest ranking meeting in 15 years was held in Beijing on religion. Not a good sign for Christians. The meeting involved the participation of state and party leader Xi Jinping and included the members of the entire Standing Committee of the Politburo, in short, the CP members who really run the country.

The meeting took place behind closed doors. The sparse information announced by the official press does not bode well.

State and party leader Xi Jinping stressed that the question of religion is closely connected "with state security and national unity". Therefore, it is "essential" that  religious communities "mix their teachings with Chinese culture, obey Chinese laws and all of the reform of China and the prescribed socialist modernization  to contribute to the achievement of the Chinese dream." Xi Jinping called for "Sinicization of religions" and its subordination to the Communist Party, "to strengthen the position of the party"

"Party members have to practice no religion but to be Marxist atheists"

At the same time Xi Jinping warned all party members not to practice a religion. "You do not have to search for their values ​​and their faith in religions, but have to remain Marxist atheists with firmness". Finally he criticized "foreign forces", accusing, "to seek to influence the religion in China". The latter point was directed without direct mention especially against the Vatican and the Catholic Church.

The Holy See has been trying for two years without success to reach an agreement with Beijing to improve the lives of the Chinese Catholics.

John Mok Wai Chit from the Chinese University of Hong Kong confirmed AsiaNews' statements of Yi Jinping. The state and party leader had "stayed in all clarity that there had to be no religious activity outside of party control." The "leading role of the party must be enforced on all religions".

There could be no doubt in the reading of  these explanations says John Mok Chit Wai: "I think it's pretty clear that Xi has no intention of entering into any compromise with religious groups. But on the contrary. Xi has made it clear that there can be no compromise. The party has to stand above other religions "

The Chinese Lawyer Sang Pu from Hong Kong, sees it no differently: "With this speech, the Communist Party has dropped the moderate mask that had been her created by Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao [the three successors of Mao Zedong] . "Xi is preparing a" second cultural Revolution "in order to decimate all religions," said Sang Pu. "To my knowledge, no one  here in Hong Kong sees the speech by Xi as good news."

Text: Giuseppe Nardi

Image: Il Timone

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG 

"Our Chavez" -- Venezuela's President Prays a New Our Father

(Caracas) More new blooms drive Venezuela's Chavism . This includes the most recent anti-Christian provocation: President Nicolas Maduro made a partisan statement, in the future the new "revolutionary" Our Father "Chavez Nuestro" prayer in honor of the deceased predecessor Hugo Chavez.

Chavism is named after the late president and revolutionary leader Hugo Chavez (2013) by the Venezuelan government since he wanted to implement a Bolivarian Revolution after their 1999 acquisition of power. 

The reigning  president since 2011, Nicolas Maduro of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) bases his power on the state-sponsored cult of personality around his predecessor ,Chavez. The presidential elections in April 2013 Maduro had won with a wafer thin 50.66 percent of the vote  for himself. 

During an internal training session for party functionaries of the ruling PSUV, the Chavisten were encouraged by Maduro, to continue to pray a socialist version of the Our ​​Father. It was written in honor of the deceased  late President Hugo Chavez as reported by  the Venezuelan television channel Globovision  on Monday.

In the new "Bolivarian prayer of the Chavista delegates" it says:

"Our Chavez will in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in us, the delegates, hallowed be thy name.Your heritage come to bring it to the people here and everywhere, give us your light today, so you lead us every day and lead us not into the temptation of capitalism, but deliver us from the evil of the oligarchy and the crime of smuggling, for we are the country, the peace and the life, eternity, Amen. Viva Chavez!"

President Maduro took the "revolutionary" step so that the "Revolution is in a phase that requires to reinforce the value of education... The Venezuelans should be fortified for  daily street fighting for the values ​​of the revolutionary leader Hugo Chavez," said Maduro in his address at the end of the event.

Hugo Chavez had a very difficult  relationship with the Catholic Church and also did not hesitate to let his followers storm the Archbishop's Palace in Caracas. His affiliation with the Catholic Church was still clear. The religion of his successor Maduro however is unclear. The son of a Jewish-born father and a Catholic mother was, as the President himself declared, "socialist educated." Maduro himself  has made anti-Catholic as well as anti-Semitic statements and is a supporter of the  Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba, who is deceased since 2011.

The video shows the party meeting at which the "prayer of the Chavista delegates" was first presented.

Vatican Amnesty For Red Suspended Priest

MARYKNOLL, N.Y., Aug. 1, 2014 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Vatican has issued a decree that lifts its 29-year suspension on Father Miguel F. d'Escoto Brockmann, a Maryknoll priest. The Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers is the mission society of the U.S. Catholic Church.

Father d'Escoto, 81, was ordained a Roman Catholic priest on June 10, 1961. He helped found Orbis Books, the theological publication division of Maryknoll, and he was an official with the World Council of Churches. During the 1970s, Father d'Escoto became engaged in politics in Nicaragua. He joined the Sandinista National Liberation Front, a political party that overthrew Anastasio Somoza Debayle and established a revolutionary government.

For his political actions, involvement in the Sandinista government and failing to resign from a political office (Nicaragua foreign minister) held in violation of his ministry, Father d'Escoto was suspended from his priestly duties by the Vatican.


http://www.christiannewswire.com/news/472574552.html

Cardinal Zen Warns Francis About Chicoms

[SCMP, Hong Kong] Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, Hong Kong’s outspoken former bishop, has asked Pope Francis not to visit China, saying the pontiff would be “manipulated”.

Improving ties between the Vatican and Beijing has given rise to speculation the pope could reach out to China.

But Zen told the Corriere della Sera, an Italian newspaper, in an interview: “I would tell him now: ‘Don’t come, you would be manipulated.’”

“The few courageous [Catholics] could not meet [the Pope], and the Communist Party would show him the illegitimate bishops, including the three excommunicated ones,” the 82-year-old said in the interview.

The comments come as ties between the Vatican and China have improved in the early days of the pontificate of Francis. When he rose to the helm of the Catholic Church last year, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs congratulated Francis on his election.


Pope Francis conducts a mass after presenting archbishops with their palliums in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican June 29, 2014. Photo: Reuters

In an interview in March, also with the Corriere, the pope said he had exchanged letters with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“We are close to China,” Francis reportedly said at the time. “I sent a letter to President Xi Jinping when he was elected, three days after me. And he replied.”

The Vatican and China have not had formal talks since Beijing severed ties 63 ago over allegations of espionage. Informal talks were last known to be held in 2010.

Yet Beijing’s unsanctioned ordination of bishops in 2010 and the house arrest of Thaddeus Ma Daqin, the outspoken auxiliary bishop of Shanghai, two years later have soured ties.

Ma, who gained widespread popularity by publicly resigning from the state-sponsored Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, has since been under de-facto house arrest at the Sheshan Seminary in the city’s Shanghai’s outskirts. Only one public appearance has been reported, in October 2013.

Since January, authorities in Zhejiang province have demanded Christian communities to take down crosses from their churches or else these would be demolished.

Hundreds of churches or crosses have so far been torn down in the province under the campaign, which local officials say only targets structures that violate building codes.

http://m.scmp.com/news/china-insider/article/1545687/cardinal-zen-asks-pope-francis-not-visit-china

"Prayed Rosary With the Chains" -- Nguyen Huu Cau Freed After 40 Years in Prison

(Saigon) Persecuted by the communist regime, he used the chains that robbed him of   freedom to pray the rosary. Nguyen Huu Cau converted to Christ in prison. A few days ago he was released after more than 37 years in prison and a prison camp. "In 1986, I was baptized at the Easter Vigil by the Jesuit Joseph Nguyen". Cau described in an interview with Catholic News the hard fate of Vietnamese Catholics. The Jesuit priest was the one who told him about Christ in custody   and taught him the catechism. Since then, "I have prayed the Rosary every day seven times  and Stations of the Cross five times," said Nguyen Huu Cau-.

After futile attempts reeducation, Cau was released  last 22 March. 32 years spent as  the "enemy of the people" in prison and more than five years in a concentration camp. After his release, he said: "I thank God that He has forgiven my jailers."

Due to severe torture during his detention, Nguyen Huu Cau-is now deaf and almost blind. "In prison, I've gotten to know Christ and found to faith."

Prison camp Z30A K2 in the jungle

Cau was born in 1947. He served in the South Vietnamese army and became a captain. As such, he fought against the Communists of North Vietnam and the South Vietnamese Communists. When the Communists won in 1975, he was arrested and disappeared for several years in a concentration camp. In 1980 he was released from the camp, but in 1982 re-arrested because he had made hints on manuscripts of his poetry, that could have been criticism of the Communist regime.

From the Death Penalty to Life Imprisonment

In 1983 he was convicted of "sabotage" and damage to the reputation of the party and sentenced by the government as "an enemy of the people" to death. Later the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. For 32 years   Cau had been in the prison camp Z30A K2  in the middle of the jungle. He wrote more than 500 letters  to the Communist regime and called for the resumption of his trial. He never received a response. On 22 March 2014 he was released from prison 39 years after his first arrest. The release was due to an amnesty granted by Vietnam's State President Truong Tan Sang because of the precarious health of Nguyen Huu Cau-.

The Hardest Rosary of the World

 Cau prayed the Rosary "on the chain to which I was chained. It had 90 rings. I have made from the chain that took my freedom, my own personal rosary. From Father Joseph Nguyen Cong Doan, who was himself a prisoner, "I got to know the love of God. So I could even compose a song that is dedicated to the Holy Cross, which has carried me in an earthly captivity." Father Nguyen works today at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem.

Forgiveness for His Tormentors

Before his conversion, Nguyen-Huu Cau kept his hatred against the Communist regime and against his tormentors alive. He hoped someday to be able to take revenge for what they did to him. Several times he thought at the time of suicide to escape captivity. "But the love of God and the Blessed Mother have changed me. I feel no hatred more for my tormentors. The Holy Trinity and Mary helped me to overcome my strife with my fate. Have prevented me from being killed  while in custody all these years. "

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
image: Tempi

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

Link to Katholisches...

AMGD

Vietnamese Police Crush Catholic Protest With Brutal Violence

Edit: here's the translation of Katholisches.  Usually, it's on Asianews, but since they haven't translated it into English yet, here it is:

(Hanoi) The Vietnamese police attacked a peaceful rally of Catholics in the parish of My yen. With batons, electric pulse weapons, tear gas and shots in the air with live ammunition, the Vietnamese police took action against several hundred Catholics who were demonstrating for the release of two parishioners. The two Catholics are in prison without charge since June. According to witnesses, it was one of the bloodiest and most brutal of anti-Christian police actions in recent years.

Several dozen Catholics were arrested. The number of injured is much higher. The seriously injured were taken to Hanoi. Several of them are in  serious condition. My Yen is in the province of Nghe An, a coastal area in the central north of the country.

According to pro-government state television on Wednesday the Catholics drew up in the wee hours of the church near the seat of the People's Committee of Nghi Phuonh in Nghi Loc District. They demanded the release of Ngo Van Khoi and Nguyen Van Hai. On the evening before about a 1,000 Catholics had been demonstrating for their release. The authorities had announced after numerous petitions of the parish, the release of the two Catholics, without any conditions. The two men are still in custody

Radio Free Asia reported, the police appeared in front of the parish church of My Yen firing warning shots to disperse and to intimidate the Catholics. As they would not retreat, "the police came beating with batons and electric batons on the demonstrators." One of the Redemptorist affiliated websites has published numerous photos of some of critically injured Catholics. Many have head injuries. According to witnesses, about 3,000 police officers and soldiers had been used against the Catholics. Doctors were prevented from coming to the aid of the injured.

The two Catholics, Ngo Van Khoi and Nguyen Van Hai had been arrested in June by a special command of the security forces. Since then they are in detention, without  officially being charged of a crime. The families were initially told that they were for "disturbing public order" and in security custody. >Since this "disorder" is said to have taken place, it has not been clarified.

Vietnam has resisted   demands for religious freedom  and continued repression. The security forces take action against bloggers, dissidents and human rights activists who are calling for the right to religious freedom.  In 2013 more than 40 human rights activists have been arrested for "crimes against the state".  The arrests are made on the basis of a provision that classifies general and vague human rights groups as "subversive". In January, 14 were Vietnamese, including several Catholics, were sentenced to long prison terms on charges of "attempting to overthrow the government. A judgment that has been branded by many human rights organizations as political despotism.

Text: Asianews/Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: Asianews

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com
AMGD

Red Chinese Kidnap Catholic Bishop

Edit: Can American Bishops be far behind?
By Leslie Hook, Published: July 10
BEIJING — Tensions between Beijing and the Vatican are mounting after Chinese authorities detained an outspoken Catholic bishop who has defied state control of the church, a move that highlights the Communist Party’s deep mistrust of religious organizations.

Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin was whisked away just hours after he announced his resignation from the leadership of the Patriotic Catholic Association, or PCA, the government body that controls China’s state-sanctioned version of the Catholic Church, according to two people close to the PCA.
Link to WP...

Accident or Assassination? Priest and Six Seminarians of Underground Church Killed

Edit: this occurred earlier this month. More recently, Beijing has confirmed the arrest of Christian dissident Gao Zhinsheng.

China's President Hu Jintao, has also been railing against the threats of Westernization in the country.


(Peking) In the Chinese province of Hebei six seminarians and a Catholic priest lost their lives in a traffic accident. On the 11th of December the vehicle with the seven was rammed head on by a truck, as was first reported.

Father Joseph Shi Liming 39 years old, Prefect of the Seminary of the the Underground Church of Baoding, drove the car, and six seminarians, who were found with him in the small bus, were all killed in the collision. They were Joseph Yang, Joseph Bai, John Gong, Paul Li, John Wang. One seminarian, Gabriel Gao is the only one surviving, as he was hurled from the vehicle. He is still wavering close to death, but should, according to reports on local blogs, awake from his coma where he is still in the hospital of Shijiazhuang.

In the underground Church there are suggestions that this was a hit by State Security Services. According to Asianews their collected information, however, points to a car accident.

The Diocese of Baoding is among the most oppressed by the Communist regime of the Peoples Republic of China.

The Catholic internet site Tianzhujiao zai xian (The Catholic Church in the Web) called for special prayers for the deceased members of the underground Church on the Feast of St. Silvester.


Link to Katholisches...

Text: Asianews/Giuseppe Nardi Bild: Asianews

There was also a prayer service for these men at a local Catholic Chinese site, translated from google thanks to a commenter on cathinfo.com:

Catholic News 31 December 2011
On the way to a mass to commemorate the Chinese church [the real one] and to mark the end of 2011, a priest and a religious were killed in a car accident.

We suggest the following:

1. We invite all priests and religious inside and outside of China to have a memorial service for the victims. Please invite the faithful to come to Holy Mass. (At Holy Mass, the priest can mention the stories of the religious and Fr. Joseph)

2. At the parishes of the deceased religious, please pray the Divine Mercy chaplet, and the Holy Rosary.

3. Attend Holy Mass in honor of their sacrifice.

4. Pray to God that He will comfort all their loved ones and families.

5. Do works of mercy, fast, charitable works, or any other mortification.

6. At 10:00 on the 31 of December, a minute of silence for them, and afterwards, prayers for the deceased.

Prayers for the departed

Lord God, we pray that out of your great compassion, have mercy on the souls of Joseph and all the religious  that have passed in peace and light into your house to enter into the ranks of host. Lord you have eternal love for us; you have allowed the shadow of death to blot out the spring of their lives. We pray to you amidst these bitter sufferings, that you will give them the strength to endure the sorrows of this life. At the same time, we pray that through the death of Jesus Christ who died and rose again, that we will ever follow him through this earthly pilgrimage that in the future we may be reunited with our brothers in heaven to partake in eternal felicity. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The names of the victims:

Joseph Shi, priest
Joseph Yang, religious
Joseph Han, religious
Joseph Bai, religious
John Gong, religious
Paul Li, religious
John Wang, religious

FARC Bombing Kills Mother and 8 Month Old Child

[Colombia] The terrorists of the FARC, its leaders, Piedad Córdoba, Ivan Cepeda and their allies at Alvear Restrepo Lawyers Collective [Like the SPLC or the ACLU but even worse] , these murderers and thieves have now committed an act of barbarism yet again for the admiration and support of the FARC.

They have murdered a girl of 8 months and her mother. They set off an explosion using 6 kilos of plastic explosive, killing the mother, the wife of an official, and her child on the 30th of December, just a few days ago at a police station in Orito Putumayo, near the Equadorian border.

 Los terroristas de las FARC, sus obsecuentes aúlicos Piedad Córdoba, Iván Cepeda y el Colectivo de Avivatos y Ladrones, entre otros, deben estar de plácemes por la barbarie cometida una vez más por sus admirados y defendidos amigotes de las FARC, nuevamente han maltratado a Colombia en su alma con ese asesinato de la niña de 8 meses de nacida y su mamá

Chi-coms Continue to Attack the Catholic Church in China

Edit: why not, they're doing it everywhere else. It might have something to do with the Vatican's recent excommunication of those participating in an unauthorized consecration of Bishops chosen by the Communist Government.

This is a very bad case of lay investiture and some things, at least, never change. If Catholic Princes could be hostile to the Church, why should Atheistic governments like China's be any different?

Tianshui: police arrest dozens of underground priests and lay faithful

by Wang Zhicheng
8/24/11
http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Tianshui:-police-arrest-dozens-of-underground-priests-and-lay-faithful-22441.html

The United Front wants to prevent the election of a bishop who from the underground community. Three underground apostolic administrators are under police control. The Church of Tianshui launches a campaign of prayer for the liberation of their priests and faithful.

Beijing (AsiaNews) - A group of priests and laity from the underground community of Tianshui (Gansu) were arrested by the security forces last weekend. Among them are the administrator of the underground diocese, Fr. John Baptist Wang Ruohan; retired Bishop Casmir Wang Milu; Father John Wang Ruowang; as well as several other priests and dozens of parish lay leaders. Bishop Wang and the two fathers Wang are brothers. They are being held in different places and subjected to political sessions.

So far, the underground diocese of Tianshui had maintained a comfortable relationship with the police and government authorities. The two communities, the official and underground, have a total of 20 thousand faithful and 27 priests, 15 of which belong to the underground community. In 2003, Msgr. Wang Milu retired and the official bishop, Msgr. Jinglong Augustine Zhao died in 2004. The official administrator of the diocese is Fr. Zhao Jianzhang Woods, nephew of Bishop. Zhao. He was also nominated to become bishop.