8 Catholic priests arrested in China

I always found it intriguing, the way Catholic priests in Beijing have to swear their allegiance to the CCP and not the Vatican. Jiang Zemin or Hu Jintao is, in effect, their pope. And it’s strongly recommended you don’t rock the religious boat.

A U.S.-based Christian rights group says China has detained eight Catholic priests who are loyal to the Vatican.

The U.S.-based Cardinal Kung Foundation says Chinese police swept through a small village in Hebei Province last week looking for priests who support the pope.

A statement released by the foundation alleges that 20 police cars surrounded the town, and police then went door to door until they captured the eight men, along with two seminary students.

…..

Separately, Reuters news service quoted the Buddhist Foundation of America on Wednesday as saying China had arrested a “living Buddha” for violating Chinese policy on religious practice.

The religious leader was reportedly jailed during a ceremony celebrating a recently renovated Buddhist temple in Inner Mongolia.

Mr. Becquelin says Chinese laws restricting religious activity are all-encompassing, and punishment for violators can be severe. “Technically, anyone who practices religion outside of the state control system is liable to punishment, including administrative detention, sentence to labor camp or even criminal sentences,” said Nicolas Becquelin.

I know, I know, things are getting better (well, at least some things). It just bothers me, to see a country making such magnificent strides in so many areas to continue to repress its people like this.

The Discussion: 3 Comments

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August 19, 2004 @ 1:36 am | Comment

The same thing goes on here. Last week a small town was “visited” and several arrested. Two are “missing”. This hasn’t been the first and sadly, won’t be the last. They were not Catholic by the way.

August 19, 2004 @ 3:36 am | Comment

For the same reason the CCP banned the Fa Lung Kong movement. Am not saying it’s right but Chinese authorities have a dread of any religious movement that “criticised” them, or suggest independent minded activities.

It’s not so much the loyalty to the Pope that worries them – it’s the thought that the churches could be potential 5th columnists or rallying points for dissent.

The Chinese experience of cult movements in China’s history – yellow turbans, Taiping Revolution, etc – hasn’t endeared such religious organizations to the authorities.

August 20, 2004 @ 9:29 am | Comment

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