By CatholicVote | Created at 2025-03-10 15:56:14 | Updated at 2025-03-10 19:01:17
3 hours ago
CV NEWS FEED // Chinese Communist security officials have arrested Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin of Wenzhou, who is accused of committing a “serious crime” for celebrating the opening Mass for the Jubilee Year on Dec. 27, 2024, according to AsiaNews.
The outlet reports that Bishop Zhumin was arrested March 7 after refusing to pay a 200,000 Yuan fine (about $27,500 USD) that China’s Public Security Bureau (PSB) imposed on him for the “illegal” celebration of the Mass.
CatholicVote previously reported that Bishop Zhumin had celebrated the Dec. 27 Mass publicly without federal authorization. Along with imposing the fine, Chinese authorities also attempted to require the bishop to destroy his residence and the chapel where he celebrated the Mass, which was attended by 200 Catholics. AsiaNews reported in February that he is accused of “unauthorized construction” of the buildings. At the time of this article’s publication, no update on this penalty was available.
When he refused to pay the fine, Bishop Zhumin contended that Church activities are not illegal. The PSB consequently arrested the bishop “for his own ‘safety,’” according to the March 7 AsiaNews report.
The location of the 61-year-old bishop is unknown, and members of the faithful in his community are afraid for his wellbeing, the outlet reports.
Pope Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Zhumin as coadjutor bishop of Wenzhou in 2011, and since then the bishop was never recognized officially by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to the February AsiaNews article. Because Bishop Zhumin has refused to register with the state-run church, Chinese authorities have arrested Bishop Zhumin multiple times in recent years, the outlet reported.
The recent fines and demolition penalty marked a new means through which the authorities were attempting to punish him. The March 7 AsiaNews report states that the PSB also recently changed its surveillance methods against churches. For the past several years on Sundays, government agents would attend the underground Wenzhou churches to prevent children and teens from going to Mass.
According to AsiaNews, the PSB’s new approach is to direct local authorities to watch churches for several hours in the morning to stop priests from celebrating Mass and to stop children and teens from entering.
