Zhen Yuan

Illicitly ordained, he was granted communion with the Holy See in 2008 with orders to obey Mgr. Jia Zhiguo. Who,, once again, is under detention and probably will not officiate at the funeral.

The ceremony took place today in Zibo cathedral. Some 46 priests and 1,500 Catholics attended, including a number of underground believers. Mgr Jospeh Yang Yongqiang is the tenth official bishop to be ordained this year, in communion with the Holy See and recognised by the government.

The new bishop, Mgr. John Baptist Li Suguang, tells AsiaNews of his desire to work for unity between the two communities, underground and official living in the diocese. So far this year, nine bishops have been ordained in China.

The bishop emeritus of Hong Kong visited the Expo, where he met bishop Jin Luxian, and his auxiliary Mgr. Xing Wenzhi, who taught in the same seminary as the cardinal, at the Marian shrine of Sheshan. The meeting between the bishops "conditioned by the terrible Chinese system." Tribute to Liu Xiaobo.

For the first time in decades, to mark the Mid-autumn Festival, some priests and laity of the diocese of underground Bishop. Jia Zhiguo, met with Mgr. Jiang Taoran, official bishop emeritus of Shijiazhuang. Mgr. Jia arrested several times, was freed last July.

He is the seventh bishop ordained in a year, with the approval of the Holy See and Beijing. The ceremony was attended by five thousand faithful, 120 priests and four bishops, all approved by the Vatican. He tells AsiaNews it is time to "build the Church in our hearts." Taiyuan is a land of martyrs.

The prelate, 91, died last Saturday in Fuzhou (Fujian). A pillar of the underground Church, he spent most of his life in prison. His last sentence to prison dates back to 2001.

Mgr Yang is the new, Holy See-approved bishop coadjutor. Nine prelates, all in communion with the Pope, were present at the ceremony. The new bishop is also vice-rector of Xi’an seminary. Most Catholics in the diocese are from farming communities, dispersed across the plateaus of northern Shaanxi. Yan’an has a glorious place in China’s Communist history. At the end of the Long March, it was for a while the stronghold of the Revolution.

The priest who presided at the funeral calls on Catholics to forgive the murderer and pray for him. The official bishop of Bameng does not participate in the funeral, but brings a floral tribute and offers condolences to the underground community. The church and hospice where the two victims worked in danger of being demolished.

Approved by the Vatican. The Diocese of Taizhu was among the first to have a Chinese bishop in 1926. The newly ordained bishop has spent 25 years in hard labour. "In prison I discovered that God is close to me". No problems in the relationship between official and underground Christians. After decades the diocese is reborn.

Wenping Zhang, 43, was arrested yesterday afternoon in Hohhot. He had been fired and promised to kill Fr Joseph Zhang. Victim’s funerals will be held on 11 July.

The two religious worked in a nursing home in the district of Wuda in Wuhai, a main city of Inner Mongolia. The hospice staff found their bodies around 6.30 this morning in a pool of blood. Reasons for murder and identity of assassin remain unknown.