美国之音记者亚微/最近又有一批天主教和基督教家庭教会领袖和信徒在中国被捕。美国天主教组织龚品梅基金会透露，河北省4位天主教神父最近被警方拘捕，其中3位是崇礼县的神父梁爱军，沽源县的王忠神父和尚义县的神父。他们因为拒绝参加官方控制的天主教爱国会而逃离各自的家乡，7月24号在内蒙古锡盟被捕。 6 f9 V x; V4 E u& x$ ?) @. B1 O. c% c3 b龚品梅基金会说，在最初被关押时，他们被关在铁笼子里，而且不准与任何人说话，给他们送水也被警方拒绝。他们现在被转移到一个隐秘的地点。另外，龚品梅基金会还透露，河北省琢鹿县双树村的崔太神父本月初遇车祸后，被当局移交公安及宗教部门处理。他一直被关押在琢鹿县的拘留所里。崔太神父属于河北宣化教区，他也拒绝加入天主教爱国会。- U, [9 M# W9 t% `0 [
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龚品梅基金会负责人龚民权说，目前中国有5位主教被关在监狱里，很多主教被软禁或受到严密监视，有大约15名神父以及人数不详的天主教徒被关押。龚民权敦促中国政府迅速采取措施停止在全国各地的迫害，释放被关押的天主教神父以及信徒。# ^& _ A$ h3 _; I' \0 B9 d* Q! c
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龚民权说：“天主教地下教会一共有35到40位主教，他们都是罗马教宗任命的，但是没有被中国政府承认，其中有5位主教都被关在劳改营里，有2到3位主教乾脆不见了。我们也不知道他们在什么地方，生死如何我们也不知道。其他的主教被软禁、监视或者在逃。每一位主教都没有自由，而且是在很严密的监视之中。另外，还有很多神父也被中国当局抓捕，差不多有15到20位神父，而且有很多天主教徒也被关在监狱里。” % u9 M8 p1 e: @, M9 Q6 V5 u # p8 H2 | D" ~- N*内蒙古关押家庭教会领袖* : Y! v) N/ W5 ^) a0 p, k/ V2 K! u8 c
内蒙古自治区乌海市乌达区被警方带走的4位家庭教会领袖至今依然被关押。根据美国基督教权益组织对华援助协会提供的消息，7月14号，乌海市乌达区刑警大队和桥西派出所各派两名刑警到付蓬图牧师家中，抓走了付蓬图的妻子高春霞以及其他三位传道人，他们是来自平顶山的谢亚楠和陈冰慧以及乌海乌达本地的教友刘玉康。0 T; Q2 r; _! {3 m
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高春霞的父亲高学新说，警察抓住他女儿时，她并没有在聚会，而只是在和从平顶山来的传道人谈话。高学新说，警方两天之后才给他们拘留证，罪名是非法传道。他说：“我们去要人，他们说：‘甭要了，我们还没调查清楚呢。’我们家属说：‘我们是信神的，你们早就调查过了。他们把家中的电子琴、电脑和圣经全部收走。我们信神根本不犯法啊！’” 2 J; I, c2 B, H% e1 m7 l: u* ^9 u
据未经证实的数据统计，中国天主教和基督教新教信徒加起来估计已超过1亿，而且这个数字仍在不断增长。但是，家庭教会成员的宗教信仰受到各种限制，被当局恐吓、骚扰和拘留的情况时有发生，特别是天主教徒持续受到要他们效忠官方天主教爱国会的压力。6 m; x+ ~ ^7 `/ G# y0 }
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中国和梵蒂冈在主教任命等问题上存在分歧，双方至今未建立外交关系。1 \& @2 D8 n2 K8 M/ n
. y( w2 d7 p- vChina detains three underground priests, group says 9 v8 f* P" {" U% H2 U$ \/ USun Jul 29, 2007 6 N" n& u4 X! Q- Q% [ / y, c; {, Z, r! @6 [BEIJING (Reuters) - China detained three "underground" Catholic priests unwilling to serve a state-controlled body, a U.S. group has reported, as Beijing and the Vatican press their claims on religious controls.: o7 d" B* @- D" z' J; B/ `" ]
N6 L. S8 o+ N6 u8 T) CThe three men were caught by police in north China's Inner Mongolia region, having fled there from neighboring Hebei province, the Cardinal Kung Foundation said in a statement emailed late on Saturday. ( g, O; ^ W: k$ m: {' d ! v4 ~7 b G) b; I: @9 E) aThe detentions came as the Vatican and Beijing test their boundaries of authority following a letter on China's Catholics from Pope Benedict.: m" d% ^+ {# Y6 F
2 e# M% ^: \. Y7 j# c# T7 ZChina's 12 million Catholics share the same basic religious beliefs but are politically divided between "above-ground" churches approved by the ruling Communist Party and "underground" churches that reject government ties.& W- k5 H% [# o% q7 b/ @# d* H- [
% q& v# i$ G+ r" wOn June 30, Pope Benedict issued a letter that urged reconciliation between the two sides. But he said the church must have the power to run its own affairs, including appointing bishops, possibly with government consultation. ( _8 e) ]* Y0 G9 b U# x$ ^5 `- { 1 G% a" c% R* a7 v: s8 MThe Chinese government has often rejected such claims as interference in "domestic affairs" but has given no detailed public response to the letter. 9 t3 w% a3 }' J5 L v- F8 s' Q/ L* F: }) S
Parts of Hebei, the priests' home province, are a stronghold of "underground" churches. / h8 _, D, Q3 m, k4 u , M8 a9 e" a6 XThe Cardinal Kung Foundation said the three had refused to join the Catholic Patriotic Association, the state-controlled body that seeks to control church affairs.' n1 f; N8 B; s% _- ?- L
, a. S3 O- d+ X' e9 K$ MPlain clothes police detained the priests -- Liang Aijun, Wang Zhong and Gao Jinbao -- on July 24 and they have been transferred to an unknown location, the Foundation said. " `+ v! |2 t% r! N( e9 B) W/ I3 l5 k* P' k9 z& w
"They'd been hiding for quite a while when they were hunted down," the head of the Foundation, Joseph Kung, told Reuters by phone. 8 S4 g2 C& W& S/ }$ L3 r! C 5 V% _6 ^: a" a3 ~) V! LKung said he did not know if the men have been charged. Another underground priest, Cui Tai, had been detained in Hebei following a minor motorbike accident, he said. ) X" p9 M1 l' F% x! j+ k( h" {( D( n! O9 d, f! U5 ~
Sometimes "underground" clergy are released after days or weeks; sometimes they are held for much longer.6 o, W! m# g3 I+ e( g
4 O% D( U$ Z3 R) X5 X1 kThe Vatican is waiting to see how China handles the appointment of a new bishop for Beijing, the country's most prominent diocese. : t% e, `% ~3 p" A, r! X % w- k# \# X( ?7 g+ c" s; [Rome has said a nominee proposed by the state-registered diocese, Father Li Shan, could be acceptable and has urged him to seek papal approval. ' S( A) i* @' S5 b4 H4 M0 A, \; ?% A5 r1 s4 x
But an editorial in a Beijing newspaper on Friday said China rejects the Vatican's demand that it stop appointing bishops without papal approval. ; Y# Q W1 M4 p( J; e+ ]% D6 J) R4 E
These days, most state-approved bishops have also won Vatican blessing. The Vatican has not had diplomatic ties with Beijing since 1951 and instead recognizes Taiwan, the self-ruled island that China regards as an illegitimate breakaway.
