Auxiliary Bishop Thaddeus Ma
Daqin of Shanghai made a brief appearance at a former colleague’s
memorial service last week, reports Ucanews.
The young prelate has been largely confined to Sheshan Seminary in
the suburbs of Shanghai since July 2012, when he dramatically declared
his resignation from the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association during
his ordination as bishop.
The former colleague was Shen Baoyi, who died on Oct 20 at the age of
90. He was editor-in-chief of Guangqi Press, the first Catholic
publishing house to be opened in China after religious activities were
revived in the late 1970s. Upon his retirement in 1998, he was succeeded
by then Father Ma.
During the memorial service, held at Longhua Funeral Parlor in
Shanghai on Oct 24, Bishop Ma paid tribute to Shen and blessed his body.
After offering his condolences to Shen’s family, he then left quietly.
His confinement to the seminary, ordered by the state, appears to
have been slightly relaxed in recent months.
Accompanied by local
government officials he visited Jinggangshan, the birthplace of
China’s former Red Army and cradle of its revolution, in July.