Vatican Denounces Chinese Bishop's Arrest

(UCAN) -- The Vatican has denounced the March 30 arrest of a Catholic bishop in mainland China, and lack of religious freedom among clergy, as "obstacles" to dialogue between the Holy See and Beijing.

Pope Benedict XVI approved a statement containing the denunciation, released to international media on April 2, the day after a three-day plenary meeting of the Commission for the Catholic Church in China ended. The statement in Italian says the commission, a consultative body, "learned with profound sorrow the news of the arrest" of Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo of Zhengding, 74.

Bishop Jia, who is not affiliated with the government-approved Church community in China, was taken from his residence in Hebei province, northern China.

Reflecting the mood of the commission's meeting, the Vatican statement avoids euphemisms and uses the word "arrest." It says "situations of this kind create obstacles to that climate of dialogue with the competent authorities" which the Holy Father had keenly desired in his 2007 letter to the Catholics in China.

It pointedly notes that "sadly this is not just an isolated case -- other ecclesiastics too are deprived of their liberty and are subjected to undue pressures and limitations in their pastoral activities."

The more than 30 members of the commission -- Vatican officials, five Chinese bishops, members of Religious orders involved with China -- extended to all those who suffer in this way "the assurance of their fraternal closeness and their constant prayer in this Lenten period."

The statement says that "the participants, drawing on their own sometimes painful experiences, highlighted the complex problems of the present situation of the Church in China, which derives not only from difficulties internal to the Church but also from the not-easy relations with the civil authorities."

UCA News learned that participants devoted about half their meeting to this issue. They discussed, among other things, the commemoration in Beijing on Dec. 19, 2008, of the 50 years of "self-election and self-ordination of bishops," and the elections later in the year of the chairpersons of the government-recognized Catholic Patriotic Association and Bishops' Conference of the Catholic Church in China.

The commission was concerned about participation of Vatican-approved bishops in these events, which contradicts what the Pope wrote in his letter to Catholics in China.

In the first half of the meeting, the commission focused on what was designated as the main topic: formation of seminarians and consecrated persons, and ongoing formation of priests.

The Vatican statement says the commission will seek to promote a more adequate human, intellectual, spiritual and pastoral formation of the clergy and consecrated persons in union with the bishops of China, "who bear the prime responsibility for the ecclesial communities."

It said Pope Benedict offered guidance in his 2007 Letter, when he reminded Catholics in China that "The Church, always and everywhere missionary, is called to proclaim and to bear witness to the Gospel. The Church in China must also sense in her heart the missionary ardor of her Founder and Teacher.....Now it is your turn, Chinese disciples of the Lord, to be courageous apostles of that Kingdom. I am sure that your response will be most generous."

UCA News learned that the quotation was chosen because it highlights the call to Chinese Catholics "to be courageous apostles."

The Vatican described participation in the meeting as "intense." Some participants told UCA News the discussion was "passionate" and "frank," and described the meeting as "very fruitful."

Pope Benedict spoke at the closing session, during which he underlined "the importance of helping Catholics in China to make known to others the beauty and reasonableness of the Christian faith, and to present it as a proposal that offers the best answers from the intellectual and existential points of view."

He greeted participants individually and thanked them "for their commitment in the field of formation" and "encouraged them to continue their service for the good of the Church in China."