Xinxiang bishop, seven priests and 10 seminarians arrested

27th May 2021

In the space of just two days, almost all the ecclesiastical personnel of the apostolic prefecture of Xinxiang in China were removed when police forces arrested the bishop Msgr.  Zhang Weizhu, seven priests and 10 seminarians.

On May 20, at least 100 policemen from Hebei province surrounded the building used as a diocesan seminary in Shaheqiao (Hebei).  The police entered the building and arrested four priests, seminary professors, and three other priests who carry out pastoral work.  Together with them, 10 seminarians who attended lessons in the factory were arrested.

Following the directives of the New Regulations on religious activities, the factory was closed and the director of the company, a Catholic, was arrested.

The apostolic prefecture of Xinxiang is not recognised by the Chinese government.  As a result the activities of priests, seminarians and faithful are considered “illegal” and “criminal”.

The civil authorities believe that there are other seminarians who have managed to escape and are looking for them in the surrounding area.

Public security and police are going from house to house in search of them.  If they discover that there are signs attributable to the Catholic faith (crosses, statues, sacred images, photos of the pope, etc.), the owners are fined and the objects seized and destroyed.

According to many observers, since the signing of the provisional agreement between China and the Holy See, the persecution of Catholics – especially the unofficial ones – has increased. For many faithful “the Agreement has been betrayed”.