The Catholic Church has been heavily persecuted in China. According to a report from the International Christian Concern, a Catholic priest in China who refused to join the Chinese ‘patriotic’ church has now disappeared.
A parish priest who refused to join China’s state-vetted Catholic church, has disappeared in police custody last Friday.
Asia News reports that on April 3, security forces picked Father Huang Jintong up and took him to an unknown location. A few hours later, Msgr. Vincenzo Guo Xijin, underground bishop of Mindong, received a call from public security advising him to prepare clothes for Fr. Huang because he won’t be able to come home for a month.
Fr. Huang is one of the 20 priests who refuse to sign membership to the communist party’s sanctioned Catholic Church. His disappearance most likely means that he will go through political “re-education” and brainwashing sessions to solicit his agreement.
After the signing of a provisional agreement between the Vatican and China in October 2018, Beijing began to target the underground Catholics and required each priest to sign a document with which they adhere to the state-sanctioned Church, terminating relations with foreigners, halting religious education to young people under the age of 18, and limiting religious activities to within the narrow confines of churches.
Many refuse to cooperate, as signing such document signifies a betrayal to the Pope and the universal Church. Their freedom to worship would also be interfered by party ideologies. But their reluctance comes with a price. Since late last year, at least six parishes of renitent parish priests have been closed. The parish of Fr. Huang, Saiqi is among the largest and has around 5,000 faithful. (source)