died in detention, Catholic church and news sources said Monday, January 31. The well informed Catholic news website AsiaNews said 81-year old John Gao Kexian, an unofficial Bishop of Yantai, died January 24 2005 in a hospital in the city of Bingzhou in Shandong province. He had been in prison for the previous five years.
His body was reportedly cremated and buried the day following his death in the presence of police officers. No relative or faithful were allowed to attend the event, reports said.
"The Bishop died without any religious comforts and his body was not blessed," AsiaNews
claimed. It was not clear what caused his death, but AsiaNews noted that he had been in
poor health for some time. The Vatican, prematurely, reportedly announced his passing in September 2004.
EARLY SUFFERING
The bishop had suffered for his faith from an early age, Catholic sources said. As a seminary student he spent many years in a forced labor camp in Longzhen in Heilongjiang province before being ordained in July 1983 and becoming a bishop in October 1992. Whilst on a pastoral visit to some families the police arrested him and he had not been heard ever since, AsiaNews said.
His death came shortly after Catholic church sources said that another persecuted bishop, Thaddeus Guo Yingong of Datong, in mainland China, had died after a long illness. Before 1980 he spent 13 years in "re-education camps." After his release he was appointed director of Shanxi major seminary and in 1990 he was made bishop of Datong, Catholic media reported.
HUMILITY AND POVERTY
Known for his humility and life of poverty, he reportedly refused a bookcase for his many books. Bishop Guo founded the Sisters of the Sacred Heart, the first congregation established in Datong Diocese. His funeral was held last week, the Fides news agency reported. He was 88.
The plight of several other detained bishops is still unknown. In addition hundreds and
possible thousands of Christians are imprisoned throughout China, human rights watchers say. Many of them refuse to accept the Communist sanctioned denominations as the sole church of China.
While in some areas religious freedom has somewhat improved, human rights groups say that in many rural regions Communist authorities have been alarmed by the increasing number of Christians and other religious groups, for apparent fear of losing control over a rapidly changing society. Churches throughout China are known to have been destroyed in recent years.
(With BosNewsLife News Center, Stefan J. Bos, Catholic agencies)
