Bishop Shao is not recognized by the Beijing regime and has therefore been arrested by local authorities who want to prevent him from serving. “He was told to take clothes from spring, summer, autumn and winter” – indicating that he is likely to be detained for a long time, – notes AsiaNews, which is reporting on the case.
Imprisonment of the Bishop
Bishop Shao was ordained a bishop by papal mandate in 2011 and succeeded Bishop Vincent Zhu Wei-feng when he died in September 2016. However, after he refused to join official bodies Imposed by the government on Chinese Catholics, it was never recognized by the government. Due to a vacancy in this position, the government entrusted the management of the diocese to Father Ma Xianshi, a member of the Chinese Catholic Patriot Association.
During the holidays, Bishop Shao is regularly detained to prevent him from holding public ceremonies in the city, which is called the Jerusalem of the East because of its churches.
However, this year things were a little different. A few days before Christmas, on December 16, Bishop Shao was taken away by security forces and released two days later.
Then, on December 24 and 25, he was transferred to another city so that he would not celebrate Mass. Christmas, but still reported that he had one of the most peaceful Christmases of his life.
His arrest followed a new letter sent by Bishop Shao to Fr. He has December 31 and believes that he should protest the decisions taken by the diocese without his permission. They concern administrative decisions and the admission of clergy to ordination.
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(tags translate) China