1840 Bl.
John-Gabriel Perboyre Martyr of China Vincentian from Puech
France, who was ordained in 1826. In 1835 he volunteered for the
missions of China and went to Honan, where he rescued abandoned children.
When the persecution started, John was arrested and tortured for a
year. On September 11, he was strangled to death. Pope Leo XIII
beatified him in 1889, making him the first
martyr in China to be so honored. Pope John Paul II canonized him in
1996. |
Pope
Invites an "Underground" Bishop From China SEPT. 8, 2005
Names 3 Others From the Mainland to October Synod
VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 8, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI named four
bishops from mainland China, including one not recognized by the
Communist government, as members of the Synod on the Eucharist, says a
report.
It marks the first time since the dawn of Communism in China that a
Pope has invited a bishop of the non-official Church to Rome, according
to AsiaNews, an agency of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions.
The naming of the four bishops is seen by Vatican figures as a "warm
and friendly" indication to the Beijing government that talks can
safely be opened with the Holy See, said AsiaNews.
Last May 12, in a speech to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy
See, Benedict XVI had referred to countries that do not have
"diplomatic relations," saying that he expressed the hope of seeing
them represented at the Vatican sooner or later.
The Vatican press office released the names of the Chinese nominees
today, along with a full list of the papal picks to the synod, which
begins Oct. 2.
The four mainland Chinese prelates are Anthony Li Duan of Xian, Louis
Jin Luxian of Shanghai, both recognized by the government; Joseph Wei
Jingyi of Qiqihar, not recognized by the government; and Luke Li
Jingfeng of Fengxiang, recently recognized by the government.
A Vatican source said there is hope that the Chinese government will
allow them to come to Rome, according to AsiaNews.
'98 synod
The government in China allows religious activities by recognized
personnel and in places registered with the Religious Affairs Bureau
and monitored by the Patriotic Association.
The faithful who seek to elude government control make up the
non-official Church, which is considered to be an illegal organization.
For the Asian Synod, in 1998, Pope John Paul II had invited the two
bishops of Wanxian, Matthias Duan Yinming and Joseph Xu Zhixuan, both
members of the official Church, even though the former was still one of
the bishops named with the approval of Pope Pius XII.
Benedict XVI's choice of four bishops from the two branches of the
Church indicates that the Holy See perceives there is but one Church in
China, said AsiaNews.
ZE05090808
|
1856 Bl. Lawrence
PeMan China Martyr disciple of Blessed Augustine Chapdelaine
He was beheaded, and in 1900 was beatified. |
1858 Blessed Jerome
Lu & Laurence Wang martyred native catechists MM (AC)
beatified in 1909. Jerome Lu was born in Mao-Cheu, China,
c. 1810, worked as a native catechist, and was beheaded in his hometown
at Maokeu (Mao-Ken). Laurence was born in 1811 at Kuy-yang. Like Jerome
he was a catechist beheaded in the same town (Attwater2, Benedictines).
|
1861 Bl.
Paul Tcheng
Martyr of China. He was a Catholic seminarian when arrested by Chinese
authorities and beheaded at Tsingai. He was beatified in 1909. |
1861
Bl. John Baptist Lo
Martyr of China. Originally a humble servant, he was converted to the
Christian faith and slain because he refused to recant When tortured by
officials. |
1861
Bl. Joseph Tshang
Martyr of China. He was a native seminarian who, along with three
companions, was beheaded. Pope St. Pius X beatified him in 1909. |
1862 Bl. Lucy
Martyr of China Catholic schoolteacher
She was a Catholic schoolteacher in China, where she was beheaded. Lucy
was beatified in 1909. |
Chinese Bishop Jia
Released JULY 27, 2005
ZHENG DING, China, JULY 27, 2005 Zenit.org
Bishop Julius Jia Zhi Guo of the underground Catholic Church has been
released, after a five-day detention, says a U.S.-based watchdog group.
The bishop's release was confirmed Tuesday by Joseph Kung, president of
the Connecticut-based Cardinal Kung Foundation. He said no further
details were given.
Two security officials arrested the bishop the morning of July 18, the
second time in a month that he had been taken from his home in the
Diocese of Zheng Ding, in the province of Hebei.
Bishop Jia, 71, was previously in prison for some two decades and has
been under strict surveillance for many years.
As "non-official" bishop of Zheng Ding, he has headed one of the
liveliest dioceses of Hebei, the province with the largest
concentration of Catholics, numbering some 1.5 million.
This arrest marks the seventh one since January 2004.
The underground Church in China, which professes loyalty to Rome, does
not have Beijing's approval.
ZE05072721 |
July 9, 2005 St. Augustine Zhao Rong and Companions
(17th-20th centuries)
Christianity arrived in China by way of Syria in the 600s. Depending on
China's relations with the outside world, Christianity over the
centuries was free to grow or was forced to operate secretly.
The 120 martyrs in this group died between 1648 and 1930. Most of them
(87) were born in China and were children, parents, catechists or
laborers, ranging from nine years of age to 72. This group includes
four Chinese diocesan priests.
The 33 foreign-born martyrs were mostly priests or women religious,
especially from the Order of Preachers, the Paris Foreign Mission
Society, the Friars Minor, Jesuits, Salesians and Franciscan
Missionaries of Mary.
Augustine Zhao Rong was a Chinese solider who accompanied Bishop John
Gabriel Taurin Dufresse (Paris Foreign Mission Society) to his
martyrdom in Beijing. Augustine was baptized and not long after was
ordained as a diocesan priest. He was martyred in 1815.
Beatified in groups at various times, these 120 martyrs were canonized
in Rome on October 1, 2000.
Comment:
The People's Republic of China and the Roman Catholic Church each have
over a billion members, but there are only 10 million Catholics in
China. The reasons for that are better explained by historical
conflicts than by a wholesale rejection of the Good News of Jesus
Christ. The Chinese-born martyrs honored by today's feast were regarded
by their persecutors as dangerous because they were considered allies
of enemy, Catholics countries. The martyrs born outside China often
tried to distance themselves from European political struggles relating
to China, but their persecutors saw them as Westerners and therefore,
by definition, anti-Chinese.
The Good News of Jesus Christ is intended to benefit all peoples;
today's martyrs knew that. May 21st-century Christians live in such a
way that Chinese women and men will be attracted to hear that Good News
and embrace it.
Quote:
A year after these martyrs were canonized, Pope John Paul II addressed
a group of Chinese and Western scholars, gathered in Rome for a
symposium honoring the 400th anniversary of the arrival in Beijing of
Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit scholar and Chinese intellectual.
After noting the positive contributions that Christianity had made to
China, especially in health care and education, Pope John Paul II
continued: “History, however, reminds us of the unfortunate fact that
the work of members of the church in China was not always without
error, the bitter fruit of their personal limitations and of the limits
of their action. Moreover, their action was often conditioned by
difficult situations connected with complex historical events and
conflicting political interests. Nor were theological disputes lacking,
which caused bad feelings and created serious difficulties in preaching
the Gospel….
“I feel deep sadness for these errors and limits of the past, and I
regret that in many people these failings may have given the impression
of a lack of respect and esteem for the Chinese people on the part of
the Catholic Church, making them feel that the church was motivated by
feelings of hostility toward China. For all of this I ask the
forgiveness and understanding of those who may have felt hurt in some
way by such actions on the part of Christians.”
|
Chinese Bishop
Arrested for 6th Time Since Early '04
ZHENG DING, China, JULY 5, 2005 Zenit.org
Julius Jia Zhi Guo Taken Away to Unknown Location
For the sixth time in a year and a half, Bishop Julius Jia Zhi Guo of
the underground Catholic Church was arrested by government officials,
says a U.S.-based watchdog group.
Bishop Jia was arrested at his house in the Diocese of Zheng Ding, in
Hebei province, on Monday afternoon and driven away to an unknown
location, according to the Connecticut-based Cardinal Kung Foundation.
Government officials telephoned Bishop Jia in advance, notifying him
that he was being picked up and ordering him to tell the people that he
was being taken away to visit a physician. The bishop is not sick at
present, and has no need of medical care, the Kung Foundation said.
Bishop Jia, 71, was previously in prison for some two decades and has
been under strict surveillance for many years.
As "non-official" bishop of Zheng Ding, he has headed one of the
liveliest dioceses of Hebei, the province with the largest
concentration of Catholics, numbering some 1.5 million.
This is the sixth time that Bishop Jia has been arrested since January
2004. The first time was on April 5, 2004, when a car with four
government security policemen suddenly appeared at his residence and
took him away with no explanations.
Immediately after the arrest, which lasted until April 14, Vatican
spokesman Joaquín Navarro Valls described the detention as
inadmissible in a state of law, since no juridical reasons were given.
The underground Church in China, which professes loyalty to Rome, does
not have Beijing's approval. ZE05070501
|
Vatican Official Optimistic About Relations With China
6/23/2005
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 24, 2005 (Zenit) - A Vatican official says "there
are no insurmountable difficulties" for the establishment of diplomatic
relations between the Holy See and China.
Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, the Vatican's secretary for relations with
states, gave that assessment when speaking today on Vatican Radio.
He had returned from a June 11-22 trip to Southeast Asia, which took
him to Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei.
The prelate, who is in charge of the Vatican's foreign affairs,
explained that the request the Holy See makes to Asian countries in
general, "in the measure possible," is "freedom."
The Church asks for the chance "to offer its services to those in
greatest need and to be accepted as a sincere and friendly companion in
the pilgrimage toward a world more worthy of man, created in the image
of God," he said.
In regard to prospects for reciprocal recognition between the Holy See
and China, Archbishop Lajolo explained that "when there is talk of
recognition of a country, above all, one must distinguish between the
reality itself of the country and of its government and the
establishment of diplomatic relations."
With prudence
"It is obvious that the Holy See recognizes the Chinese state, though
it does not have diplomatic relations with it," he said. "How could one
not recognize a state of 1.3 billion inhabitants, such as China, with
its great tradition of culture, art, poetry, thought, etc.?
"The establishment of diplomatic relations with China is an issue that
has been under examination for a long time. From my point of view,
there are no insurmountable difficulties. However, it is necessary to
proceed with prudence to verify some assumptions which neither side can
give up."
The archbishop said he is sure that "with good will and a spirit of
friendship, which both sides seek, a good outcome can be attained."
Beijing cut relations with the Holy See in 1951, expelling its
apostolic nuncio.
China places two conditions before resuming relations: that the Pope
not interfere in the religious situation of the country -- among other
things, that he not appoint the bishops -- and that he sever relations
with Taiwan.
|
Church Requests
Whereabouts of Chinese Bishop
Authorities Deny Knowing Anything about His Fate BEIJING, MAY 10, 2005
Zenit.org
Four years ago a bishop of the Chinese underground Church disappeared,
and the government denies knowing anything about his fate. There is
grave concern that Bishop Cosmas Shi Enxiang, 83, might end his days
like Bishops Fan Xueyan and Li Lifang, who died in prison.
Wanting information, the Chinese underground Church -- which recognizes
the Pope's authority, but is not officially approved by the Beijing
authorities -- made another public request to the government for
confirmation of the detention of Bishop Shi Enxiang from Yixian, in the
province of Hebei, explained AsiaNews.
On Feb. 12, 2002, Fides news agency of the Congregation for the
Evangelization of Peoples, published an incomplete list with 33 names
of bishops and priests detained or not free to exercise their ministry
(see ZENIT, Feb. 21, 2002) because they refuse to belong to the
"Patriotic Association" or "official Church," with which the Chinese
government seeks to control the Church, creating an institution that is
independent of obedience to the Pope.
Among the arrested prelates, mention was made of Bishop Shi Enxiang,
ordained bishop in 1982. His last known detention was in December 1990,
from which he was released in 1993.
The authorities were after Bishop Shi Enxiang since 1995. He eventually
disappeared, at 81, from his niece's home in Beijing on the morning of
April 13, 2001. According to eyewitnesses, two cars bearing license
plates from Xushui, in Hebei province, drove the Bishop away. The
family went to the police for information on his whereabouts, but were
met with the latter's refusal. Beijing's police also denied knowing
anything.
Even more recently, the bishop's family went to the Xushui police again
to ask for information, but received nothing.
Four years have gone by without any information on the bishops'
incarceration, with the authorities refusing to acknowledge knowing
anything about it, reported AsiaNews.
The underground Church also asked for news about Father Liu Deli, 42,
of the same Chinese diocese, whose fate has been unknown since March
1999. He was taken into custody by the government, after being invited
to a meeting. There are no signs that he might be released any time
soon.
In March, AsiaNews published an incomplete list of bishops and priests
in prison, isolation, or condemned to labor camps. It included a
petition to be sent to the Chinese government asking for the
clergymen's release.
The petition found support in Europe, the United States, on websites
and in the press. Among its supporters include Mario Mauro, vice
president of the European Parliament, and Bishop John H. Ricard of
Tallahassee, Florida, chairman of the Committee on International Policy
of the U.S. bishops' conference, who wrote a letter to China's
ambassador in Washington asking for "information about the jailed
bishops and priests" in China.
Beijing severed relations with the Holy See in 1951, expelling the
apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Antonio Riberi. China stipulates two
conditions to resume relations: that the Pope not interfere in the
country's religious situation (among other things, that he not name
bishops), and that he sever relations with Taiwan. ZE05051003
|
Seven Catholic
priests arrested in Hebei
28 April, 2005 Rome AsiaNew
They were to go on retreat. Their bishop, Msgr Julius Jia Zhiguo, had
been under surveillance from John Paul II’s death through to the
election of Benedict XVI.
Seven priests of the underground Church were arrested last April 27 in
the village of Wuqiu, near the city of Jinzhou (Hebei). The
priests, whose age range from 30 to 50 years, had gathered for a
spiritual retreat together with Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo, unofficial
bishop of Zhengding. The news was reported by the U.S.-based Kung
Foundation, along with the named of those arrested:
Fr Wang Dingshan (50 anni), Li Qiang (31), Liu Wenyuan (35) di
Gaocheng; Fr Zhang Qingcai (45) della contea di Wuji; Fr Li Suchuan
(40) di Zhaoxian; Fr Pei Zhenping (43) di Luancheng; Fr Yin Zhengsong
(32) di Dingzhou.
The arrests were made by the Security Bureau and Religious Affairs
Bureau of Shijiazhuang at 5:30 p.m., with dozens of policemen and 9
police cars surrounding the retreat site.
Msgr Jia Zhiguo, who was to lead the retreat, had just been released
from a period of round-the-clock surveillance, from the time of John
Paul II’s death to Benedict XVI’s election, March 20 to April 25.
Security forces and the Religious Affairs Bureau had warned Msgr Jia to
refrain from all religious activity. The government in China allows
religious activity only in places and with people registered and
monitored by the state and the Patriotic Association. Any religious
activity outside of state control is considered unlawful and a threat
to public order. Control by the Patriotic Association aims at fostering
the birth of a national church, independent of relations with the Pope.
In the days around John Paul II’s funeral and the election of Benedict
XVI, some media outlets thought they had registered a change in the
government’s tone and new prospects for dialogue between China and the
Vatican. The government had in fact sent its condolences for the
death of John Paul II and best wishes for the new pontificate. The
seven arrests of the 27th and, prior to that, the arrest of 2 bishops,
a priest and a layperson (cfr AsiaNews 2/4/2005), against which the
Vatican has spoken out, occurred concurrently with the first days of
the new pontificate and with the final days and death of the late
pontiff.
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Ill Bishop Disappears in
China
JIN ZHOU, China, JULY 7, 2006 (Zenit.org)
Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo, 72, was arrested while still in the hospital
recovering from an operation. There has been no trace of him since the
arrest last Sunday.
The U.S.-based Cardinal Kung Foundation sent ZENIT a communiqué
stating that on June 25, Bishop Jia Zhiguo, of the underground Church,
bishop of the Zheng Ding Diocese, was arrested by the religious bureau
personnel of Jin Zhou in Hebei.
According to the communiqué, the authorities removed the bishop
from the hospital before his medical care was completed. The
faithful questioned the religious affairs office about his whereabouts
and were told that the bishop had been sent away for a few days of
"education."
There is no further information on his situation, the communiqué
reports.
Ordained a bishop in 1980, he has lived virtually the whole of his
episcopal ministry under house arrest and was previously imprisoned for
approximately 20 years. It is estimated that this is the ninth or 10th
arrest suffered by Bishop Jia Zhiguo since January 2004. Hebei is
the Chinese region with the greatest concentration of Catholics,
numbering over 1.5 million, most of who belong to the underground
Church.ZE06070702
|
Father
Zhao Kexun arrested
75
Rome (AsiaNews) March 31, 2005
Measures against the unofficial Church increasing. Conversions
and baptisms increasing. At Easter all Catholics prayed for the
Pope’s health.
Father Zhao Kexun a priest of the non-official Church of Xuanhua
(Hebei) was arrested yesterday by police. According to the Kung
Foundation, which reported the news, the priest was stopped and taken
away by public security agents on his way home after having celebrated
Mass in a private home in Zhajiazhuang. A woman accompanying Fr
Zhao was also arrested, but was released soon after.
The Chinese government allows religious freedom only to those
registered with the government’s Religious Affairs Bureau and in places
authorized and constantly monitored by that same bureau. On the
basis of new laws on religious freedom passed on March 1st, priests and
members of the faithful who gather in private homes or otherwise
outside the bounds of state control are considered outlaws and are
pursued as delinquents or conspirators against public order.
In the mid-90s, Beijing launched a full-blown and on-going campaign to
eradicate underground communities of all religions and in particular
Catholic communities, guilty of having ties with the Pope and the
Vatican, considered to be a “foreign power”
According to AsiaNews data, there are currently 18 bishops and 20
priests who have disappeared into the hands of police, are in
isolation, or are prevented from exercising their ministry.
In
mid-March, this agency launched a campaign calling for their liberation.
At least 8 million people in China refer to the underground
Church. According to government figures, 4 million Catholics
belong to the official Church.
AsiaNews sources say that the government is concerned about the huge
wave of religious sentiment.
Each year in the country at least 150,000 adults convert to
Catholicism, whether through the official or underground Church.
This year, during the Easter Vigil at the Church of the Saint Saviour
(Bei Tang) in Beijing, 48 adults were baptized. In cities across
China, the celebrations of the Easter Triduum were attended by large
numbers of faithful, but also by thousands of young, non-Catholic
people in search of faith.
In every gathering, the faithful prayed for the Pope, for his health
and for his suffering. Many priests asked worshippers to dedicate
each day a few minutes of Eucharistic adoration to the Pope and his
mission.
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Bishop Jia Zhiguo released 01/10/2005
seminarians avoid arrest
The underground seminary is constantly on the move to avoid police
detection. This is religious freedom Chinese-style. Rome (AsiaNews) – Chinese authorities
released Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo. However, the police tried to
raid an underground seminary in Baoding but seminarians were warned in
time and able to get away scot-free, sources told AsiaNews.
According to the Kung Foundation, the police had arrested the
69-year-old clandestine prelate on January 5 in a church in Wu Qiu
(Hebei) only to release him on the 8th. Local Catholics told
AsiaNews that he was arrested to prevent him from celebrating Epiphany
with his faithful. “It’s always the same story,” they said. “We are
used to it by now. Just before an important feast—Christmas, Easter,
Pentecost, the Assumption—the Bishop is taken into custody and
disappears for a few days. This is religious freedom Chinese-style for
you.”
The Chinese government guarantees freedom of worship but only for some
religions in places and by clergy registered with Religious Affairs
Office. For Catholics, this means being subject to the Patriotic
Association whose goal is to set up a Catholic Church separate from
Rome.
In Hebei, the province with the largest concentration of Catholics,
many refuse to submit to government’s control and prefer to meet in
private homes. Before Christmas, the police threatened to detain anyone
who celebrated the holiday outside established structures.
The underground seminary in Baoding, with its dozens of theology
students, was shut down in 1996 after a police raid led to the arrest
of its rector and the detention of Bishop Francis An Shuxin. At that
time, students were sent home. Since then the seminary has been moving
from place to place to avoid further arrests. However, Bishop An Shuxin
is still detained but no one knows where.
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China Releases 7
Priests From Detention STAMFORD, Connecticut, MAY 3, 2005 Zenit.org
Chinese authorities have released seven priests of the Diocese of
Zhengding who were arrested April 27 while on a spiritual retreat with
their bishop, says a U.S.-based watchdog group. Joseph Kung, president
of the Cardinal Kung Foundation, said that the priests in Hebei
province were released from various security bureaus. No other details
were given.
The priests belong to the "underground Church" which recognizes the
Pope's authority but is not officially approved by Beijing. They were
on retreat in a village near the city of Jinzhou with their
"non-official" Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo. The prelate, a bishop since
1980, has spent some 20 years in prison. Bishop Jia has been warned
previously by the Public Security and
religious offices not to engage in any religious activity. ZE05050302
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China's Grip on
Religious Expression Interview With Director of AsiaNews ROME,
MAY 1, 2005 Zenit.org
Businessmen who invest in China must be committed to the cause of human
rights, says the director of the AsiaNews agency of the Pontifical
Institute for Foreign Missions. Father Bernardo Cervellera, a
missionary who has lived in and often visits China, spoke with ZENIT
about the thorny problem of religious freedom in the country. To
promote human rights, Father Cervellera appeals to the international
community to promote a campaign for the release of Christians locked up
in Chinese prisons. ZE05050123
Q: Might not the campaign to release imprisoned priests and other
Christians be counterproductive for them, triggering reprisals?
Father Cervellera:
It has not been requested by friends of the detained. Totalitarian
countries are only afraid of international public opinion. To publish
violations of human rights and religious freedom, in particular, is the
only way to obtain something.
AsiaNews' campaign to release 19 bishops and 18 priests, detained in
different ways by the Chinese government, has received important
support as, for example, from the European Parliament and the bishops'
conference of the United States. Moreover, we need to tell Westerners
who go to do business in China that they should participate in the
building of a new civilization, based on the dignity of man. Sometimes
businesses do more harm than good in China.
Q: China argues that it does not enjoy relations with the Holy See --
that is how it justified its absence from John Paul II's funeral --
because the Vatican has relations with Taiwan. Is this the reason?
Father Cervellera:
For at least 20 years, China has continued to say that diplomatic
relations with the Vatican don't exist because the Holy See has
relations with Taiwan and that, before establishing relations with the
Holy See, the Vatican must sever its relations with Taiwan. The Chinese
government's second argument is that the Vatican must not
meddle in the internal affairs of the Church in China, in particular,
in the appointment of bishops.
China does not say, however, that the Vatican has relations with Taiwan
because it has no other option. The People's Republic of China severed
relations with the Holy See in
1951 and expelled the apostolic nuncio.
China does not realize that the Holy See has always said that relations
with Taiwan are not so important, and proof of this is that the Church
does not have a nuncio there, but a "chargé d'affaires." It is
not a genuine embassy; the real embassy was the one in Beijing but, for
the time being, nothing else can be done.
Much more serious is the problem of the Pope and the appointment of
bishops. In China, such appointments are regarded in terms of a
relationship with a foreign power, as they interpret everything in a
political, not pastoral, way.
So the difficulties depend entirely on China, which uses the motive of
Taiwan so as not to take steps forward in religious freedom. The
government is afraid of Taiwan, an island with 23 million
inhabitants, in contrast to China's 1.3 billion, because Taiwan is a
democratic country and sooner or later it might declare independence.
In fact, this problem of unity with Taiwan is an attempt by China to
keep the country united, using the trick of nationalism. It is the only
ideal that remains in China, a country absolutely divided between rich
and poor, coastal and interior zones, cities and fields, where many
social tensions nest.
Q: But wasn't the regulation opened recently on the matter of religious
freedom in China?
Father Cervellera: It's not exactly like that. With the new norms, in
force since May 1,
Christian communities are allowed to have places of worship, but what
the regulation seeks is greater efficiency in controlling, and that's
all. Among Catholics, no one sees any progress. Orthodox are allowed to
register, but this does not impede the government from controlling the
freedom of the churches, a fundamental right. Progress is not evident;
what is more, China is not taking steps forward.
|
Joseph Shi
Hongchen of Tianjin