STAMFORD, Connecticut, Jul 29, 02 (CWNews.com) - Three Catholic priests have been sentenced to prison in Communist China for violating a law aimed at «cults,» according to the US-based Cardinal Kung Foundation.
Fathers Pang Yongxing, Ma Shunbao, and Wang Limao were all sentenced to three years in a labor camp on July 7 for «disturbing the peace of society.» All three men lived in Hebei province. Father Pang, 30, was arrested at his home last December, Father Ma, 50, was arrested at Easter while celebrating Mass, and Father Wang, 32, was arrested on Palm Sunday, also during Mass.
In addition, the foundation reports that six Catholics were arrested and forced to pay a $3,850 fine in Hebei in May for making an «illegal pilgrimage.» These six were released after payment, but about a dozen more are being held because they cannot afford the fine, according to the foundation.
The Communist Chinese government requires Christians to worship only in state-controlled associations including the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which eschews any connections to the Vatican or the Pope. Many Catholics worship in churches that, while openly loyal to the government association, secretly pledge allegiance to the Pope.
Joseph Kung, the president of the Cardinal Kung Foundation, said that sentencing the priest under a law designed to suppress «cults» and to punish them for this in labor camps is «a transparent example that there is no religious freedom in China. It makes a mockery of the 'religious freedom' clause in the Chinese constitution.»
CWNews DAILY NEWS BRIEF © Copyright 2002 Domus Enterprises
29. juli 2002