(Wenzhou, Zhejiang province – October 4, 2024) Local police and law enforcement officials in China recently raided a local church, preventing a priest from holding Mass. The priest had filed a complaint with the religious affairs bureau against the leader of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.
According to a report by AsiaNews, a Chinese Catholic priest wrote an open letter to the Zhejiang Provincial Religious Affairs Bureau expressing dissatisfaction with the current situation in the Wenzhou Diocese.
The report states that in a letter circulating among the local Catholic Church, dated August 16, 2024, Father Jin Mengxiu condemned an incident on Sunday, August 11, when uniformed police raided a Catholic church. The Church had been designated as no longer serving pastoral care under a parish restructuring plan made months prior. Local Church leader Father Ma Xianshi was, in fact, the head of this Church.
Refusal to join the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association
Catholics in the Wenzhou Diocese have endured years of suffering and hardship. According to Canon Law, Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin, aged 61, is the bishop of the Wenzhou Diocese. He was appointed as coadjutor bishop in 2011 with a papal mandate and automatically succeeded the previous bishop, Vincent Zhu Weifang, after his passing in September 2016.
However, Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin, who remains loyal to the Vatican, has refused to join the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, an “officially recognized” institution imposed on Chinese Catholics by the Chinese Communist Party. As a result, Bishop Shao has not been recognized by the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. The Chinese authorities handed over the de facto governance of the Wenzhou Diocese to Father Ma Xianshi of the Patriotic Association.
Challenges Faced by Bishop Shao
Over the years, this “underground” bishop has been arrested multiple times and detained for months by the local authorities in Wenzhou. These actions are intended to weaken his ability to fulfill his duties as bishop. Particularly during solemnities, such as Easter and Christmas, authorities often arbitrarily detain him to prevent him from celebrating Mass, thereby stopping the faithful from attending rites he presides over.
His most recent detention occurred in January of this year when local security officers from Wenzhou detained Bishop Shao on January 2. He was ordered to bring clothes for spring, summer, autumn, and winter, after which all contact with the outside world was cut off. His parish was left in the dark about the location of his detention.
Concerns Over Parish Redefinition
It is reported that Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin had expressed opposition to the unauthorized drawing of geography of the parishes by priests in the diocese, pointing out that the redefinition of parishes must be approved by him. After protesting against decisions regarding the diocese made without his authorization, he was arrested and has been missing since.
According to canon law, personnel appointments, consecrations, and transfers within the Church must be decided or authorized solely by the bishop. Anyone receiving orders from individuals lacking legitimate appointment authority would automatically be suspended.
Father Jin Mengxiu, in his open letter to the religious affairs bureau, raised the same concerns as Bishop Shao. He argued that the redefinition of the geography of the parishes by a priest who is not the bishop had caused confusion among the faithful.
Last year, following the inauguration of a large new church in Longgang (which had only received permission from local authorities) within the Wenzhou Diocese, Father Ma Xianshi announced the “Notice on the Adjustment of Parish Geography and Priest Appointments in the Wenzhou Diocese.” This notice dismantled the original 11 parishes and restructured and expanded them.
Father Jin Mengxiu pointed out, “Only the bishop has the power to establish or suppress parishes.” He further noted that no such thing had occurred in other dioceses in Zhejiang Province, “not even in Shanghai, before Bishop Joseph Shen Bin’s arrival.”
Call for Action and Protection of Religious Freedom
Local police and law enforcement authorities raided a local church to prevent Father Jin from celebrating Mass. Father Jin believes that the police intervention was to support the enforcement of directives issued by priests with official backing. He argued that Father Ma’s decisions did not foster harmony between politics and Church, but instead would only escalate conflicts and tensions. In his defense, Father Jin questioned both Zhejiang’s religious regulations and Father Ma’s actions.
Father Jin insisted that he had the responsibility to celebrate the sacraments in the Church without priests, despite pressure from official institutions. He defended his actions by saying that his sole intention was to ensure that the faithful did not lose spiritual guidance and to prevent further chaos in the local Church, which could ultimately harm social harmony.
At the end of the open letter, Father Jin called on Zhejiang’s religious authorities to “rectify wrongful enforcement,” protect the legitimate rights of the believers of the Wenzhou Diocese, and safeguard both religious and social harmony.
(Reported by Special Correspondent Gao Zhensai of ChinaAid Association)
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