Bitter Winter, An Jin: To exert pressure on the clergy who refuse to join the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA), the United Front Work Department (UFWD) and Ethnic and Religious Affairs Bureau in Fuzhou, the capital of the southeastern province of Fujian, organized a conference in the city’s Yongtai county on August 27-29.
The priests from Fuqing city, which is part of the Archdiocese of Fuzhou, declined to participate, demonstrating their unwillingness to be controlled by the Chinese Communist Party. Their absence from the conference didn’t go unnoticed, of course. Local officials organized crackdowns on the churches where the “disobedient” priests serve, closing down the venues, intimidating clergy and congregation members. Report is here.
