Chinese priests face criminal charges after Vatican pilgrimage

Published: 2006-10-26

HONG KONG (CNS) -- Two leaders of the underground Catholic community in eastern China who visited the Vatican have been charged with "illegal exit" and will probably face trial, an Asian church news agency reported. Local Catholics hired a defense lawyer after learning that the priests might be given a trial, church sources told UCA News, an Asian church news agency based in Thailand, Oct. 26. Father Peter Shao Zhumin, vicar general of the Diocese of Wenzhou, and Father Paul Jiang Surang, sometimes known as Jiang Sunian, the diocesan chancellor, were arrested Sept. 25 in Shenzhen, China. They were transferred to Putaopeng Detention Center in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, UCA News reported. The Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy reported Oct. 12 that the two priests formally were placed under arrest Oct. 11 and charged with the crime of "illegal exit" following their return from a pilgrimage to the Vatican. Local Catholic sources told UCA News that the immigration office in Wenzhou has investigated the case, and the priests will probably undergo criminal proceedings.

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