The Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need has said that persecution in China is increasing after a cross was removed from a Catholic church in the Zhejiang province.
It is the latest in a spate of similar incidents involving state officials and Protestant groups, but this is the first recorded Catholic church in the province to have a Christian symbol removed.
Human rights activists have accused authorities in the eastern province of using this tactic to slow evangelization in one of the country’s most Christian areas.
John Pontifex, of Aid to the Church in Need, said: “This incident fits into a pattern of government aggression in Zhejiang province involving the partial or full demolition of churches – many of them already registered and approved by the state…What’s going on in Zhejiang shows the authorities have no intention whatsoever of giving Christians the freedom they need to practise their faith – something that is a fundamental human right.”
He went on to suggest that the faithful in China are experiencing the worst persecution for a decade.
Government officials removed the cross from the Zhuangyuan church in Yonhhiang parish just before dawn yesterday, 25 February. Ucanews.com reported that the previous evening, the parish priest had called an emergency meeting amid warnings that the cross was about to be removed. They were unable to stop state officials despite resisting a similar attempt to remove the cross last year.
"The person watching the church did not inform the parish priest about the removal this time, possibly because government officials threatened him to keep quiet," a church worker told ucanews.com on condition of anonymity. "When the priest realized the situation from others, he called a meeting immediately."
At least 18 Protestant church crosses have been removed in Zhejiang so far this year. Ucanews.com reported that this is the first time authorities have targeted the much smaller Catholic community in the province - an estimated 210,000 people - amid an ongoing campaign in which more than 1,700 crosses have been removed from churches across China since the end of 2013.
China’s rapidly growing Christian population has been seen by some as a challenge to the Communist Party’s authority. The Catholic Church itself remains divided into a state-registered Patriotic Church with first loyalty to Beijing, and an "underground" Church that accepts the authority of Rome on matters spiritual. Beijing insists on having the right to appoint bishops or veto appointments made by Rome, although sometimes accommodations are reached between Rome and Beijing.
In a recent interview Pope Francis hailed the “wisdom” of the Chinese people: an attempt seen by some, as offering an olive branch to Beijing.
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