Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin was arrested several times for allegedly refusing to join state-run Catholic bodies
Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin of the Diocese of Yongjia (Wenzhou) seen in this file image
Authorities in China have taken away Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin of the Diocese of Yongjia (Wenzhou) along with his priest-secretary, about a year after he was released from detention, media reports say.
The bishop with his secretary Father Paolo Jiang Sunian was taken earlier this year, but there has been no news about his whereabouts or whether he has been released, China Aid reported on Feb. 18.
Media reports claimed the duo was prevented from attending the funeral of Father Leo Chen Nailiang, a priest who was loyal to the Vatican and was seen as a dissenter by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) like Bishop Zhumin.
Father Nailiang joined Catholic Church in the late 1940s. Before his death, he served as a parish priest of Pingyang parish in Wenzhou and was deeply loved by the congregation, the news report said.
The communists persecuted him in several ways and once sent him to a labor camp for several years for “re-education.”
The authorities reportedly banned all Catholics, who pledge allegiance to the Vatican, from attending the funeral Mass of Father Nailiang. Three priests from the parish of Rui’an presided over the funeral.
Bishop Zhumin, 59, was ordained as Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Yongjia, in Zhejiang Province, on Nov. 10, 2011, with a papal Mandate. He became the Bishop of Yongjia on Sept. 7, 2016, after the death of his predecessor Vincent Zhu Wei-Fang.
However, he came under pressure from the government as his appointment was not approved by the state-sanctioned Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China (BCCCC) and the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA).
Besides, he consistently refused to join the state-sanctioned church bodies, drawing the ire of the authorities.
He was arrested several times since 2011. Prior to his latest detention, he was arrested on April 7, 2022, when authorities flew him elsewhere to prevent him from celebrating the Catholic Holy Week Services.
Previously, on Oct. 25, 2021, the police detained him on the grounds of “tourism” and released him about two weeks later.
In 2017, the Vatican issued a rare statement, stating that the Pope was “very worried” about this and that the Holy See was “deeply saddened.”
Bishop Zhumin is one of several bishops who are routinely harassed and detained for refusing to obey the orders of the Chinese regime.
This continues despite the fact the Vatican signed a two-year provisional agreement with China in 2018, renewed in October 2020 and October 2022, to end disputes over bishop appointments.
The deal, whose provisions were never made public, reportedly gives the Chinese regime a say in the appointment of Catholic bishops approved by the Vatican.
For the Vatican, the deal is aimed at unifying millions of Chinese Catholics divided into the state-run church and the underground church pledging allegiance to the pope.
Critics say the deal was a betrayal of Catholics who remained loyal to the Vatican despite the state persecution, while the regime exploits the agreement to crack down on Chinese Catholics to dismantle the underground Church.
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