NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      STAMFORD, Connecticut (CWNews.com) - A bishop in the underground Catholic Church in Communist China was arrested on May 31, the Cardinal Kung Foundation reported on Saturday.

      Bishop Zhang Weizhu of Xianxian, near Beijing, was detained while traveling to his village, the foundation said, adding that no other details were available. Communist China requires that all Catholics belong to the state-sanctioned Patriotic Catholic Association, which eschews connections to the pope and refutes certain Catholic doctrines. The Vatican estimates that millions of Catholics belong to the underground Church, led by loyal bishops in danger of arrest for their activities.

      The foundation also reported that the Chinese government has again refused to renew the passport of Cardinal Ignatius Kung Pin-mei, for whom the foundation is named. The 96-year-old cardinal is the bishop of Shanghai, was imprisoned for 32 years, and now lives in exile in the United States. He recently submitted his passport to the Chinese Consulate in New York for renewal, but the consulate confiscated the document, said the cardinal's nephew Joseph Kung.