Katolsk undergrunnsbiskop arrestert

Auxiliary Bishop Jiang Ming Yuan Was Recently Consecrated

BEIJING, SEP 5 (ZENIT.org).- Eyewitnesses told the international agency "Fides" that Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Jiang Ming Yuan of Zhao Xian (Hebei province) was arrested by security forces on August 26 in the afternoon. Since then, there has been no news of him.

Bishop Jiang Ming Yuan received the episcopal consecration on August 8; he is a member of the underground Catholic Church, which is not recognized by the government. Over the last few months, the Communist regime did everything possible to impede his consecration. The government, which is intent on selecting patriotic bishops, has held a series of monthly meetings for ideological indoctrination and is relentless in claiming control over religions. However, priests and faithful have remained united and, on August 8, without governmental permission, celebrated Bishop Jiang's consecration from the hands of Bishop Raymond Wang Chong Lin of Zhao Xian, who is quite elderly. 26 priests took part in the ceremony, as well as more than 1,000 faithful,and all the religious of the flourishing diocesan Congregation of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus.

Bishop Jiang's arrest is another chapter in the 6-year old campaign launched by the Chinese government to put an end to the clandestine Church. Bishop James Su Zhimin, 68, and his Auxiliary Bishop Francis An Shuxin, 51, both clandestine bishops of Baoding, are in some unknown place in the Hebei region. They disappeared through police action in 1996. Other bishops of the region are under house arrest.

The pressure is not just on Catholics. Yesterday, it was made known that the Chinese authorities formally declared the arrest of 85 of the 130 Christians detained last month, under the accusation of being part of an "heretical cult." This was disclosed by the Hong Kong "Information Center on Human Rights," according to which those arrested are members of the Fangcheng Evangelical Church, one of the numerous Protestant denominations not recognized by the Chinese government and,consequently, regarded as illegal.

The 130 Protestants were detained on August 23 in the Xihua district in the Henan region. The arrest of 85 of them was confirmed two days later. All the others, including 3 U.S.missionaries, were released. They were accused of using the "heretical cult" for illegal purposes, according to the official communication given to the family of one of those detained.

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