Chinese authorities install 'official' prelate in place of imprisoned bishop
CWN - August 09, 2010
A Chinese bishop who left the “underground” Church to join the government-backed Catholic Patriotic Association has been installed as the bishop of the Baoding diocese. To complicate matters, the “underground” Church in Baoding already has a bishop, who has been imprisoned since 1997.
The appointment of Bishop Francis An Shuxin to head the Baoding diocese—one of China’s largest, with an estimated 50,000 Catholic faithful—was made by the Patriotic Association without approval from the Holy See. At his installation, the presiding bishop was Ma Yinglin, who is not recognized by the Vatican.
The underground Church in Baoding recognizes Bishop James Su Zhimin as its leader. But he is being held prisoner by the government, and his whereabouts are unknown.
Bishop Francis An Shuxin was once an auxiliary bishop of Baoding, serving under Bishop Su Zhimin. But last year he shocked fellow members of the “underground” Church by announcing that he had joined the Patriotic Association, explaining that he took that step for the cause of Church unity.
Additional sources for this story
Some links will take you to other sites, in a new window.
|
An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus: Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you! |
Easter Campaign: Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($27,620 to go):
$80,000.00
$52,379.70
35%
65%
|
All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!
