The church of the village of Hutuo has been reduced to a pile of ruins; the tomb of the bishop of Luoyang, not recognized by the government, was desecrated; children are forbidden to enter churches; threats against Catholic parents and seniors: if they continue to believe they will not receive government subsidies or pensions.
Rome (AsiaNews) – “The Catholic Church in the province of Henan, in central China, is violently persecuted! Pray for them! “: This is the appeal we received yesterday from different parts of China, along with a list of violent acts that have occurred in recent weeks and which we publish below. The last one in the order of time: the plaque and the tomb of Msgr. Li Hongye, was desecrated and destroyed (see photo 1). Msgr. Li (1920-2011) was bishop of Luoyang, recognized by the Holy See, but not by the government. He spent decades in forced labor camps and dozens more under house arrest. The faithful believe the tomb was targeted because the bore the signs of his episcopal office.
Yesterday, a church in the village of Hutuo (Xicun, Gongyi) in the diocese of Luoyang was also completely destroyed.
The most squalid violence took place in Zhengzhou: on Easter Sunday, last April 1st, during the mass, representatives of the government entered the church and forcibly removed all the children and young people under 18 to enforce the prohibition that is now being applied throughout China: it is forbidden to guarantee religious education to minors under the age of 18. Since then, every Sunday there are government employees at the entrance of the churches to enforce the implementation of the ban.