Chinese Church: "Vatican Promotes Our Enemies"
The goal is to induce underground Bishop Shao Zhumin of Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, to join the government-controlled sect. Bishop Shao has been arrested multiple times, usually before important feast like Christmas or Easter. The most recent arrest was in April.
The Diocese of Wenzhou has about 200,000 faithful, 46 state priests and over 20 underground Catholic priests.
One anonymous priest said: “We know that the state interferes with the Church, and we do not accept it. But we cannot do anything about it.”
The Catholics either accept persecution or “the interference of atheism, banning children from church, preventing young people from receiving catechism”.
The main problem: “The Vatican is silent and promotes opportunists from the state Church, who gain visibility and recognition in both religious circles and political circles. The faithful see these ‘successes’ and ask us: Does it still make sense to resist? However, we want to follow our conscience.”
Since the death of Pope Francis, Chinese authorities have stepped up efforts to eliminate the underground Catholic Church. Places of worship and the relatives of underground priests have also been targeted.
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