'Huge gulf' between China and Catholic church, says US congressman

State of religious tolerance quickly moving from bad to worse.

China:  The state of religious freedom in China is moving from bad to worse, said US Rep Chris Smith (R-NJ), responding to a new report by the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.

“There’s a huge gulf now” between China and the Catholic Church, Smith stated during an October 9 conference call with reporters.

He acknowledged that “the underground church has been brutally persecuted in China, both Protestant and Catholic,” but said that now even the state-recognized church is facing persecution.

“The Patriotic Church, the Catholic Church, they are being targeted with church demolitions and other kinds of repression which we have not seen before. So there’s a great deal of concern that religious freedom, as bad as it was, has further deteriorated in China.”

Smith went on to cite a statement from the report: “Chinese authorities continued to harass, detain, imprison, and interfere with the religious activities of members of both registered and unregistered Protestant communities who ran afoul of government or party policy.”

The report also detailed the government’s hostility to Catholicism, saying that “authorities continued to harass Catholics who practice their faith outside of state-approved parameters”.

Among the incidents of harassment in the past year were the reported detainment of two underground Catholic priests for “organizing adult catechism classes” and fines levied against laymen supporting the priests’ efforts.

Source: Catholic Nerws Agency