New arrests of underground Catholics in China
Beijing, Jul. 29

(CWNews.com) - Chinese officials have arrested a priest of the underground Catholic Church, beaten members of his congregation, and ransacked the home where he was celebrating Mass, the Cardinal Kung Foundation reports.

Father Lin Daixian was arrested along with a seminarian and 9 parishioners when police raided the home where he was celebrating Mass in Fujian. Several parishioners were beaten and injured in the violent raid, before the priest and his companions were taken to a local prison, where they were still being held, the Cardinal Kung Foundation said.

Father Lin, a priest of the Fuzhou diocese, has now been arrested four times since his ordination in 1995. The 10 men imprisoned with him have not been identified.

The arrests represent another setback for religious freedom in China. They came just as the government recognized a new auxiliary bishop in Xian who had been recognized by the Holy See-- a step that seemed to indicate an opening toward the Vatican.

Joseph Kung, the president of the US-based Cardinal Kung Foundation, saw the new arrests of underground Catholics as an indication that the Beijing regime is not serious about allowing freedom to the underground Church. “The Chinese government has repeatedly declared to the world that there is religious freedom in China," said Kung. " Yet this kind of arrest of innocent religious believers keeps taking place."

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