Underground priests, seminarians arrested in China's Hebei province

Published: 2003-10-28

HONG KONG (CNS) -- A dozen priests and seminarians from the underground Catholic Church were arrested in China's Hebei province, near where the government demolished a church earlier this year. UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand, reported that an Oct. 26 press statement from the U.S.-based Cardinal Kung Foundation said the arrests were made Oct. 20 while the priests and seminarians were attending a retreat in Gaocheng County. Among those reported arrested and kept at a detention house in Gaocheng were Fathers Li Wenfeng, 31, Liu Heng, 29, and Dou Shengxia, 37, as well as seminarians Chen Rongfu, 21, Han Jianlu, 24, and Zhang Chongyou, 23. The Cardinal Kung Foundation, which supports the underground Catholic community in mainland China, did not know the names of the others arrested. Gaocheng is within the territory of the government-approved Shijiazhuang Diocese.

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