Swords and Scallops

It's no big secret that communist China is not a big fan towards the Catholic Church. Actually, they don't look favorably upon organized religion in general. Unfortunately, not much is being done to against this.

Via Catholic Online:

An "underground" bishop in northern China was recently released from an "unusually" long period of detention but is now being closely watched, according to local Catholic sources.

The sources told UCA News that Bishop Julius Jia Zhiguo of Zhengding, who is not affiliated with the government-approved open church, was returned to his Hebei province, at about 5:15 p.m. on April 19.

Bishop Jia's latest detention since last Nov. 8, according to the sources, was his longest in recent years, since each previous detention usually lasted only a few days. Zhengding is about 250 kilometers (about 155 miles) southwest of Beijing and about 15 kilometers east of Shijiazhuang, Hebei's provincial capital.

A local Catholic who met the 70-year-old prelate after his release told UCA News on April 24 that two officials are stationed at the church and Bishop Jia is under 24-hour surveillance. The bishop, who has suffered from a shoulder problem, now appears to be thinner, the Catholic also said.

The same source added that the bishop has some "freedom" within the church compound where he celebrates Mass every morning and meets laypeople, but the two officials follow him whenever he goes outside to visit Catholic families...

Thank God for people like Bishop Jia to keep the faith alive without compromises, even when faced with persecution.

PRC Chinese President Hu Jintao met with President Bush just recently. The issue of the persecution of the Falun Gong cult group was brought up when a protester shouted to President Bush, "Stop him from killing. Stop him from persecuting the Falun Gong." President Bush chose to apologize for the interruption, unfortunately.