The Seven Sorrows of China, Part V

Sister A: Bishop C is really devoted to Mary. He loves Mary and the Eucharist very much. Every Sunday there is a Eucharist procession inside the church. He prays six hours a day in front of the Eucharist. He starts Eucharistic Adoration at 3:00 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. He then listens to Vatican Radio. We know this from watching him everyday. He has a little sign for himself which says, "every day I have to pray at least six hours in adoration." At 9:00 a.m. he will usually pray an adoration hour. At noon, he prays another two hours.

At night, the bishop will do Mass. At every Mass, he cries when he preaches, so much does he love our faith.

MM: Tell me about your prison experiences.

Bishop C: In prison there is isolation, no body torture for older bishops. They use pressure to tell you about Communism, to teach you propaganda. As long as you say "I will be obedient to the Patriotic Association," that is the only thing they want you to say, and if you join the Patriotic Church they will give you a good position in the Government. You may not stay in the village but move to a big city, and they give you a car.

The teachings they teach you is that the Church should be separate from Rome; we choose our own bishops, we ordain our own priests, without permission from Rome. There are some Patriotic bishops who said they were sorry to Rome and the Holy Father forgave them. So there are around 47 Rome-approved Patriotic bishops.

MM: Regarding the one-child policy, do bishops and priests preach to the people that abortion is a serious sin and that the people cannot have an abortion?

Bishop C: Yes, I do publicly, that abortion is wrong. Some tell the people secretly, or do this during Confession.

MM: Of the 17 bishops that are underground, do they all get as much prison time as you have received?

Bishop C: Almost all bishops are between 15 to 20 years in prison [he then gives details about his stay that are too specific and could jeopardize his anonymity].

MM: Did you experience physical torture?

Bishop C: I did labor work, carrying stones, carrying carts that I had to push and pull. I ate food that only pigs and dogs ate. I did work like horses and cows work. We had to work even in hunger. You have to work! [He then described a terrible personal injury that he received while working in a labor camp].

MM: If a parent in this particular region has a second child, what is the penalty?

Bishop C: If you have a birth permission certificate you can have [the child]; if not, you are fined 20,000 (approximately $2,600 dollars).

MM: Did you think the Pope’s letter was clear concerning potential problems with a Catholic aligning himself with the Patriotic Church?

Bishop C: He did a good job, it is strong enough, it is okay. He points out the mistakes they made.

MM: Why does the Pope not accept the Chinese Bishops Conference?

Bishop C: In this bishops conference there are no underground bishops, and some bishops are not approved by Rome. Rome would not allow them.

MM: Do you know cases of priests or bishops that have been tortured and/or killed?

Bishop C: Yes, for example, Bishop Gao, died in Shangdong Province. There was concern about the manner of his death in prison. Another priest was hung from a metal hook under his collarbone area, and the priest died.

There was a virgin from a small village, not a nun, that the Government asked to reject Catholicism, and she said no. They hung her upside down in prison for a long time. She did not die there, but after she came home from the prison she died.

One priest came back from Brazil who had heart defects. The Government did not allow him to leave the hospital, but they did not treat him. He wanted to go to a Hong Kong hospital. Finally they gave him a shot that killed him.

Another priest, they bound his legs and a donkey dragged him and his head was badly damaged. He almost died, but did not die.

MM: Is there less physical torture for imprisoned bishops and clergy now than before?

Bishop C: Now to elderly priests they won’t do physical punishment, but to the young priests they will bind their feet and hands together for a few hours, loosen them and then bind them again. This is happening now.

Almost every underground bishop and the older bishops of the Open Church have had this kind of experience.

MM: What could Western bishops do to help the Chinese Church?

Bishop C: Pray! Pray! Financially they can offer some help, but most of all pray. Through the Cultural Revolution (1960s persecutions) many churches were destroyed and we need to rebuild them.

MM: Cardinal Zen is fighting the Government in Hong Kong. Do you think he is helping the cause?

Bishop C: He is supporting the underground Church. He is speaking truth. He has the courage to speak. He can speak loudly about how the Government destroys our underground Church. Our Church has been persecuted much by the Communist Party from its beginning.

MM: It appears as though the Government is trying to put on a facade of being more open to religious freedom and human rights by trying to show the world a new democratic and open China.

Bishop C: The most cunning people are the Chinese. The Government says something very excellent, but what they do is very bad. The Government says, "we protect you from all dangers and give you peace," but actually what they do is confine me. I have no freedom.

For one bishop, they confined him in some tourist place, saying "We give you this time to travel," but when he went to the bathroom or anywhere else, someone followed him.

When they have dinner and lunch with me they are so generous and polite. This is also false. It is like a fox who goes to meet a chicken and says, "Happy New Year" and then eats him. Or like a cat that goes to a rat and says, "Happy New Year" and then eats him.