STAMFORD, Connecticut, Aug. 29 (CWNews.com)

    A Catholic priest in China's Fujian province was arrested by police on August 19 while celebrating Mass in a private home, reported the US-based Cardinal Kung Foundation on Monday.

    Father Gao Yi Hua, 44, of Sang Chen Tang village in Fujian is a priest in the underground Catholic Church in China. The Communist Chinese government requires Christians to worship only in state-controlled associations, including the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, which eschews any connections to the Vatican or the Pope. Many Catholics worship in illegal, underground churches, following only bishops appointed by the Pope.

    The foundation said it did not know why Father Gao was arrested, where he was taken, or where he is being held now. The priest, who had been ordained for the underground Church in 1984, had been forced to work in a "re-education through labor" camp for two years until his release in 1991.

    Joseph Kung, president of the foundation, said: "Currently, the Chinese government is exerting efforts to force the members of the underground Church to register with the Chinese government, thereby forcing them to join the Patriotic Association."

    He added, "Because of the stiff resistance by the underground Church to register with the government, the government intensified its persecution of the underground Church by punishing it most severely. As a result, hundreds of underground bishops, priests, and Catholic faithful are still in prison or labor camp. Father Gao is apparently one the latest victims."

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