China Releases ‘Underground Church’ Bishop After 10 Year Sentence

It has been reported that China has finally released a bishop after spending 10 years in jail for being a member of the underground Roman Catholic Church that remains loyal to the Pope and the Vatican.

The Cardinal Kung Foundation, a US-based group, which monitors religious persecution in China, has reported that Bishop An Shuxin was released from confinement this week.

In 1996, whilst working in the Hebei province, Bishop An was arrested after the Chinese government stated that it did not recognise the Pope’s authority. Rather the government forcibly insisted that all Chinese Catholics belong to the state-operated Church.

The Chinese Church was established after the Vatican and Beijing severed relations in the 1950’s.