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INTENTION : |
That the Church in China may persevere in its faithfulness to the Gospel and grow in unity.
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Unreported Persecution
Article 36 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China (PRC) claims:
Citizens of the People's Republic of China enjoy freedom of religious belief. No state organ, public organization or individual may compel citizens to believe in, or not to believe in, any religion; nor may they discriminate against citizens who believe in, or do not believe in, any religion. The state protects normal religious activities.
Chinese authorities point to this constitutional protection to the foreign visitors as proof that the persecution instituted under Chairman Mao is a thing of the distant past. Modernization of a backward nation has been the top priority of China's Communist Party since Deng Xiaoping launched the PRC's new brand of "market socialism."
However, the Preamble of the PRC Constitution also states:
The basic task of the nation in the years to come is to concentrate its effort on socialist modernization.
Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the guidance of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought, the Chinese people of all nationalities will continue to adhere to the people's democratic dictatorship and follow the socialist road ... step by step to turn China into a socialist country with a high level of culture and democracy.
Fr. Bernardo Cervellera, PIME, Director of Asia News, a Catholic news agency in Italy, says: The communist government is scared, because Christianity elevates the individual, it creates a bond among people, it fosters solidarity and helps those in need. So the government fears that Christianity will become a channel through which social revolts can gain strength.
Fr. Cervellera, who was a missionary in China for seven years, spells out the reality of Christian persecution in the PRC. "There's always the possibility of being arrested, or being taken to a forced labour camp, or in the case of some bishops, they simply disappear without a trace," he says. "Without a formal accusation or court trial. Yes, churches are destroyed even when they have a valid permit. It's a way to oppress Christians who according to communists are too free and therefore pose a threat to their regime."
Understandably, due to this government hostility, many Christians conceal their religious beliefs, and it is impossible to know the precise number of Christians in China. Estimates vary widely. The Chinese Communist Party most recently (2004) placed the number at 18 million Christians, which is an extremely lowball estimate. A 2010 Pew Centre survey estimated China's Christian population at 67 million. Other scholars and organizations have placed it as high as 130-150 million.
Since the Communist Party recognizes that it has been unsuccessful at destroying Christianity and that it continues to grow in China, it has opted instead to control it. But this too is failing.
Bishop Thaddeus Ma
Bishop Thaddeus Ma, the Catholic Bishop of Shanghai, is a prime example of the failure of the PRC's "Patriotic" churches. Father Thaddeus Ma was a Catholic priest in the communist-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which is not in communion with Rome and which Pope Benedict XVI declared to be "incompatible with Catholic doctrine."
However, on July 7, 2011, Monsignor Ma was ordained auxiliary bishop of Shanghai, with the approval of the Holy See. At his ordination he avoided the embrace and communion with Zhan Silu, the Patriotic Association's illicit bishop. Moreover, he sent shock waves throughout the Communist Party leadership by announcing that he was quitting the Patriotic Association. Ma was arrested immediately following the ordination ceremony, and he has remained under house arrest at Sheshan Regional Seminary ever since.
Christian Perseverance by William Jasper,
New American 12 December 2014
China Intensified Crackdown Against "Disobedient Catholics" Amid Hong Kong Protests
As anti-extradition law protests continue to escalate in Hong Kong, the Chinese government is targeting underground Catholics in China who refuse to join official churches and could potentially form alliance with Hong Kong Catholics.
Bitter Winter reports that some priests have been targeted for arrests, and closures of Catholic places of worship have become more frequent than ever.
According to a Catholic in the Diocese of Yujiang in the southeastern province of Jiangxi, a priest who refuses to join the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA) received news in early September that the government was planning to arrest him in order to "prevent the underground Catholic Church in mainland China from uniting with the Catholic Church in Hong Kong."
The priest went into hiding and does not dare to use his cell phone or return to his home. Foreseeing the persecution, he once told his parishioners that "You must be prepared. If I'm placed under house arrest one day, you must persevere in your faith, recite the Rosary, and pray."
To prevent any potential alliance-building, the Chinese regime is also prohibiting these "unruly" clergy from visiting Hong Kong.
A clergyman from the Diocese of Yujiang told Bitter Winter that he had been invited by Hong Kong Emeritus Cardinal Joseph Zen to visit Hong Kong in August to participate in church activities. Yet due to the ongoing protests and intensified control by the authorities, he was unable to go.
"Cardinal Zen is quite concerned about our underground churches in mainland China. Perhaps he has asked me over to learn about their plight, but the CCP won't allow me to travel; there's nothing I can do," the clergyman said regretfully.
According to local parishioners, from July to August, at least five Catholic gathering places in the Diocese of Yujiang were forcibly shut down for refusing to join the CPCA. A local priest said that the reason the government is forcing Catholics to become part of the CPCA is to control them further and cut off all contact between them and the outside world.
A parishioner from Yujiang believes that Catholics must draw a line between themselves and the CPCA, and must be determined not to waver. "The CPCA is purely a political tool, not a religious organization, because it obeys the Communist Party's management; they place the Party above all else," he said. "Internationally, the CCP uses the existence of the Patriotic Church to deceive the world, to show that there is religious freedom in China."
Persecution: International Christian Concern
5 October 2019
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