Jian Mei

During his ordination Mass, Msgr. Thaddeus Ma Daqin resigned from the Patriotic Association. And he avoided the imposition of hands by an illegitimate bishop. The ceremony was held last July 7 in Shanghai.

Joseph Yue Fusheng was ordained bishop of Heilongjiang by five bishops recognized by the Holy See. More and more "self-elected" bishops in the leadership of the Patriotic Association. Fr. Joseph Zhao and his curate were released immediately after the ordination ceremony. Harbin Catholics pray for Yue’s repentance.

Fr Thaddeus Ma Daqin, vicar general of the Diocese of Shanghai, and 40 priests celebrated Mass. A large number of plainclothes police monitored worshippers from other dioceses during the pilgrimage month. In Hebei, an underground priest and seminarian are arrested. Mgr Paul Li Yi, bishop of Luan (Changzhi, Shanxi) dies.

The rector of Montecorvino Seminary was removed for allegedly embezzling funds earmarked for the institution. However the Religious Affairs Bureau is trying to reinstate him and so stopped the start of the new school year.

The priest is the diocesan administrator of the underground community. Relatives friends barred from visiting him during detention, but a Catholic source tells AsiaNews: "He was condemned for his firmness in refusing to subscribe to the Patriotic Association." The community asks the universal Church and the Holy See to pray for him and do everything for his release. Meanwhile, 30 believers from Tianshui released.

The clergymen were holding a spiritual retreat for priests. At present, they are held in isolation in Dongming without water and food. Public security and the Religious Affairs Bureau want to force them to join the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, which is trying to create a breakaway Church, independent of the pope. Underground Catholics urge action by the Holy See and the universal Church to free them.

This is the first ordination since the illegitimate bishop of Leshan was officially excommunicated. About 1,500 people (out of 140,000) took part in the ceremony. Some participating bishops say they were forced to participate. Required to attend, Mgr Pei Junmin was able to stay away thanks to his priests.

Bishop Pei Junmin received an order to attend the Episcopal ordination in Shantou on 14 July. The candidate has no papal mandate. His priests are defending him from forced deportation.

The bishop-designate was seized by police right before his ordination, which had papal approval. The two priests disappear after they met Religious Affairs officials.

This is the first ordination since the Vatican issued a declaration on excommunication with regards to such celebrations. A lawful Episcopal consecration was scheduled to take place in Handan (Hebei) but was stopped by police. The unlawful bishop stresses the importance evangelisation but many of the faithful are “sad”.

The ordination was scheduled for 29 June, feast day of Sts Peter and Paul. The priest had just completed his spiritual retreat and was preparing to go back to his diocese. Police detained him and took him to an unknown location. Meanwhile, the current bishop, who was set to preside over the ceremony, suffered a heart attack.

He was elected May 2011. So far he had not recieved papal mandate. He died surrounded by his priests and in prayer. He was very involved in the rebuilding of the buildings of the diocese, which was hit by the earthquake of 2008.