China arrests two underground priests, Kung Foundation says

Published: 2004-05-17

HONG KONG (CNS) -- Two underground priests in China's Hebei province have been arrested before they could start classes on natural family planning and moral theology, according to the U.S.-based Cardinal Kung Foundation. A May 16 foundation press release said Father Lu Genjun, 42, second vicar general of Baoding Diocese, and Father Cheng Xiaoli, 40, of Anguo Diocese, were arrested May 14 in Anguo, about 130 miles southwest of Beijing, according to a report from UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand. According to the release, Father Lu, who was ordained a priest in 1990, is being kept in a police detention center in Dingzhou, near Anguo. Father Cheng, who was ordained in 1991, belongs to the Anguo Diocese. His whereabouts are unknown, the foundation statement said.

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