Chinese authorities block internet access to bishop's pastoral message
October 25, 2013
A pastoral letter by a Chinese bishop who is under house arrest has been blocked from internet circulation by Chinese officials, the AsiaNews service reports.
Bishop Thaddeus Ma Daqin of Shanghai has been under house arrest since July 2012. He was taken into police custody shortly after his episcopal ordination ceremony, at which he announced his resignation from the government-supported Catholic Patriotic Association and refused to share Communion with a government-appointed bishop who is not recognized by the Vatican.
Bishop wrote an extended meditation on Lumen Fidei, the encyclical by Pope Francis, which was briefly posted on his blog. Seen by his parishioners as the bishop’s first pastoral letter, the message was quickly copied to other sites and widely circulated. It is no longer available on Bishop Ma’s own site. A source told the AsiaNews service that the bishop was forbidden to post anything on his own blog for several days after the message appeared.
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