Jia Zhiguo, Roman Catholic bishop of Zhengdin, China was released to his home at Christ the King Cathedral in Hebei on September 17.Even so, the bishop remains under house arrest and is under 24-hour surveillance by security authorities.
Bishop Jia is not allowed to receive visitors and is isolated from his fellow priests and faithful of the diocese.
No word is available as to his condition.
Bishop Jia was arrested on August 25, 2008, and not charged by the Communist government with any specific infraction. He has been repeatedly arrested and placed under surveillance by Chinese authorities.
The bishop is under the jurisdiction of the Vatican and is considered a member of the “underground” Church, loyal to the Vatican, that is not recognized by China.
China does allow some Catholic worship, with restrictions, albeit only under the authority of the government-authorized Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.
The Vatican now recognizes two-thirds of the bishops in China.
Known in China as “the Lord of Heaven Religion”, Catholicism traces itself to at least 1294 with the arrival of a Franciscan missionary to the court of Beijing. The priest, John of Montecorvino, built a church there in 1299.
However, various forms of Christianity dates back at least to the eighth century AD and the Tang Dynasty.
Judaism can be traced as far back as the 2nd Century BC, while dates back to as early as 650 AD Muhammad’s uncle, Sa`ad ibn Abi Waqqas, was sent as an ambassador to Emperor Gaozong.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce
(Source: Spero)