They have not touched the local temple, which is huge. The faithful ask for prayers so that the mayor changes his mind. The destroyed house is located in an area of high urban value. The local Catholic community has been without a bishop since 2005. The October renewal of the Sino-Vatican Agreement on the appointment of bishops has not stopped the government’s repression.
Rome () – The Datong (Shanxi) police yesterday began demolishing the house of the local diocese where priests stay and which is used as a convent for nuns. learned about it from local sources who circulated videos of what happened on the internet.
The temple and the house are 100 years old and have all the permits. However, they are located in an area of high urban value. So far the first one is safe because it is huge and its demolition would draw too much attention, even internationally. The other construction was destroyed with maces and picks.
Datong worshipers send messages on WeChat asking for prayers to stop the mayor’s unreasonable behavior. Since 2005 the diocese has not had a bishop, although it is one of the “official” communities, recognized by the Chinese Communist Party. The last pastor was Bishop Taddeo Guo Yingong, who began his ministry in 1990 and passed away in 2005. He had spent more than 10 years in forced labor during the Cultural Revolution.
In November 2018, a group of faithful from the diocese released an open and signed letter, in which they denounced the growing oppression of the government against the Christian community after the implementation of the New Regulations on Religious Activities.
The Sino-Vatican Agreement on the appointment of bishops that was signed in 2018, and the double renewal in October 2020 and 2022, have not stopped the government’s crackdown on Chinese Catholics, especially unofficial (underground) ones.
The Datong diocese is not the only one where holy places or property of the Catholic Church have been destroyed. For years the government has been waging a campaign to remove conspicuous crosses, decorations, paintings and statues deemed “too Western.” The purpose would be to affirm “Sinicization” and a Christianity according to Chinese characteristics”, subject to the authority of the Party.
The Accord does not appear to be working from the point of view of appointments either. In November, the Holy See denounced the violation of the agreement by the Chinese authorities with the appointment of Msgr. John Peng Weizhao as auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Jiangxi. Despite the many vacant sees, no bishop’s investiture has taken place in China since September 8, 2021.
