Just recently two priests were arrested after visiting Europe. The police also took away a number of books and photos that the priests brought back from Europe. Catholicism is not recognized in China but there is an active underground Church where citizens secretly worship under the guidance of the Vatican. This is what Joseph Kung of the Cardinal Kung Foundation stated:
Joseph Kung said, "Following the consecutive releases from jail of Bishop An Shuxin and Bishop Jia Zhiguo within the last 40 days, the hunt-down and arrests of these two priests in Shenzhen, which is thousands of miles from their home in Wenzhou, is a sign of the issue of religious freedom turning for the worse. We had hoped that the releases of Bishop An and Bishop Jia were not isolated cases, but rather the beginning of the release of hundreds of other imprisoned religious. We were wrong. These two arrests of Father Shao and Father Jiang dashed our hopes and proved that ours was wishful thinking. Also, these two arrests show that China is simply not sincere about improving its relationships with the Vatican and its human rights policy. I once again urgently call on the Olympic Committee to take note of these arrests and to consider canceling the Games in China in 2008 in order to preserve its good name and spirit." (more)
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