An online petition opposing an agreement between the Chinese government and the Vatican was subject to a cyber attack on February 14, it has emerged.
According to a statement from the group Free Catholics in China, a denial-of-service (DDOS) attack on its website meant that it did not resume normal service until the following day, the Catholic Herald reported.
'We will not be cowed into silence by such attack, and we will never stop voicing out for the Church,' the group said.
The controversial Vatican-China deal is reportedly set to be reached by next month. Chinese Catholics are divided between those in the 'underground' Church who are loyal to the pope and the government-backed Catholic Patriotic Association, which appoints bishops without Rome's approval.
The open letter published on the website is signed by named Catholics mainly in Hong Kong and also in the US and the UK. It says: 'We are deeply worried that the (proposed) deal would create damages that cannot be remedied.'
The 15 lawyers, academics and human rights activists who have signed the open letter express dismay at an agreement which would involve the Vatican recognising seven bishops appointed by China's Communist party.
The letter censures the appointment of seven bishops by the Chinese state, not the pope, adding that the bishops' 'moral integrity is questionable'.
The letter, published on the influential site Asia News and elsewhere, says: 'We are worried that the agreement would not only fail to guarantee the limited freedom desired by the Church, but also ... deal a blow to the Church's moral power. Please rethink the current agreement, and stop making an irreversible and regrettable mistake.'
The letter to bishops around the world came less than two weeks after Cardinal Joseph Zen, the former bishop of Hong Kong, accused the Vatican of 'selling out', writing in a blog post: 'Do I think the Vatican is selling out the Catholic Church in China? Yes, definitely, if they go in the direction which is obvious from all what they are doing in recent years and months.'
Last month, the Vatican asked two underground bishops to give up their positions in favour of government-appointed counterparts, one of whom was excommunicated by Rome in 2011.
A petition attached to the letter had been signed by 1,600 people as of last week.
The alleged cyber-attack happened within hours of widespread international publicity about the open letter.
