What real Mission requires, Bishop Jin had in spades

I first met Bishop Aloysius Jin Luxian in 1987 in Shanghai. Then 71, he had been back in his native city since 1982 after 27 years in jail or custody of one kind or another. Locked up with hundreds of other Catholics in Shanghai in 1955, he came back in 1982 to one of the [...]

China quake survivors face acute shortages

Tens of thousands of homeless survivors of China’s devastating quake are living in makeshift tents or on the streets, facing shortages of food and supplies as well as an uncertain future. Saturday’s disaster has left at least 193 dead, 25 missing and more than 12,000 injured, and forced the evacuation of some 245,000 people in [...]

China: New bird flu strain confirmed

Jiangxu provincial officials said on Wednesday that an outbreak of a new strain of bird flu has so far been contained to four people, who remain in critical condition. State media on Tuesday announced that four people had been infected with the H7N9 strain of bird flu that some believe killed two people in Shanghai last month and [...]

China: Illicit ordination on same day as pope’s inauguration

Bishop Joseph Ma Yinglin of Kunming, who is not recognized by the Holy See, ordained two priests in Yunnan province today, raising new questions about the troubled relationship between the China Church and the Vatican. A priest of Kunming who concelebrated the Mass told ucanews.com they had planned the ordination for the solemnity of St. [...]

China says it hopes for ‘flexible’ pope

China’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that it hoped newly elected Pope Francis would take a “practical and flexible” attitude. “We hope that under the leadership of the new pope the Vatican will adopt a practical and flexible attitude and create conditions for the improvement of China-Vatican relations,” said foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying. Despite [...]

China pope reaction reflects tensions with Vatican

Beijing on Monday called for Pope Benedict XVI’s successor not to interfere in China’s internal affairs, highlighting enduring tensions with the Vatican after the pontiff’s surprise resignation. Asked about the pope’s decision to step down, which stunned the world when it was announced last Monday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the Vatican “should [...]

China: Oldest bishop dies at 100

China’s oldest Catholic bishop, John Baptist Liu Jingshan of Yinchuan (Ningxia), has died at the age of 100. He passed away on Monday at the cathedral in Yinchuan city, capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northern China, where he spent much of his life after his retirement in 2009. His health had been declining [...]

China: Diocese land deal protest turns violent

A dispute over land revenue between parishioners in Leshan city and a local construction firm turned violent on Monday, with two parishioners hospitalized. About 100 protesters gathered on Monday afternoon and early Tuesday morning outside a construction site to demand that the Renshou Sanyou Company pay money owed to the diocese for land that was [...]

China’s Jesuit ‘come-back kid’

He’s had more comebacks the Deng Xiao Ping. Deng famously was deposed twice only to bounce back a third time and reshape modern China. Aloysius Jin Luxian SJ, bishop of Shanghai, has been knocked about and pushed over by life, the Catholic Church in China and at the Vatican, by the Jesuits and the Communist [...]

Beijing choked by 3rd day of hazardous smog

Mask-wearing Beijing residents endured a third day of pollution at hazardous levels on Sunday, as authorities warned that a thick cloud of smog may not lift from the Chinese capital until midweek. As the dense smog shrouded large swathes of northern China, flights were canceled and traffic was delayed as visibility was reduced to 100 [...]

Censors strengthen ‘Great Firewall’ of China

Chinese authorities, who have long sought to limit access to information, seem to have reinforced the so-called Great Firewall of China, frustrating foreign companies and raising activists’ concerns. The Great Firewall (GFW) – the country’s huge system of internet limits and censorship – now appears to be stepping up its targeting of virtual private networks, [...]

China: Dozens detained over Mayan doomsday rumors

China has detained dozens of people, some of whom it terms ‘doomsday cult members,’ as part of a nationwide crackdown on rumors about a supposed forthcoming apocalypse, state news agency Xinhua said today. Authorities in five different areas have detained 52 people for spreading predictions of a December 21 “doomsday” linked to the ancient Mayan calendar, [...]

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