An elderly bishop in China's underground Catholic church has been
jailed again by police, nine months after his release from their
custody, the Cardinal Kung Foundation reported.
Bishop Jia Zhiguo, 73, was taken away Tuesday by security agents in
the northern city of Zhengding. However, it was not immediately clear
why Jia was detained or where he was being held, the group said.
According to the Associated Press, a man who answered the telephone
at the Zhengding Religious Affairs Bureau referred questions to the
local government. Officials at the Zhengding government office and
public security bureau said they had never heard of Jia and hung up
without giving their names or any other details.
Jia was last released in September 2006 after being held for 10
months by local authorities. The reason was never made public but
religious groups say Jia has been repeatedly detained over his refusal
to affiliate himself with the Communist Party-controlled Catholic
Patriotic Association.
"He was not even allowed to step out of the courtyard of his
residence, was not allowed to administer the 'Last Rites' for his dying
parishioners, and was not allowed any visitors," the foundation said.
In 1951 China broke off ties with the Vatican and set up a parallel
church to undermine the faithfulness of Chinese Catholics to anyone
besides the state.
This resulted in two churches in China, those faithful to the Holy
Father and those who belong to the state Church. Those who remain
faithful are forced underground and often jailed. The harassment can
also include, the destruction of their churches, fines, and sometimes
being sent to labor camps.
Worship is allowed only in government-controlled churches, and while
many of these Catholics desire union with the pope, the government
still appoints their priests and bishops.
The Cardinal Kung Foundation is named for the late Cardinal Ignatius
Kung Pinmei of Shanghai, who spent 30 years in Chinese prisons and died
in the United States in 2000 at age 98.
Technorati Tags: bishop, jail
No comments:
Post a Comment