On November 12, Chinese authorities arrested a Catholic priest, Father Yang Jianwei, and ten seminarians in a village near Xushui City in Hebei province, according to a report from Cardinal Kung Foundation. No indication has been given as to the reasons for the arrests. On November 15, six of the seminarians, who were not from the area, were released and sent to their homes. The other four, along with Yang, remain in custody.
These arrests, along with several others in recent days, come at a time when religious freedom in China has been prominently featured in the international news. Glenn Penner, spokesman for The Voice of the Martyrs Canada, said he was encouraged when he heard U.S. President Bush stressing the need for religious freedom in China during his recent visit to the country. At the same time Latin American evangelist Luis Palau was also visiting China as a guest of the Chinese government and made some rather controversial statements questioning religious persecution in China. To read Glenn Penner's response to Palau's remarks, click here. Also check out his November 11 weblog on international trade on countries like China.
Ask God to give Yang and the students the strength in Christ they will need to remain joyful in their suffering. Pray that those in prison would be protected from harm, that their practical needs would be met, and that they would be released soon. Ask the Lord to give them boldness to speak the truth in love, even to their persecutors. Pray that the eyes of the free world will be opened to the fact that persecution is a serious problem in China and do everything possible to support religious freedom there.
The Voice of the Martyrs has a number of books and DVDs on the church in China available on our online resource catalog. For more information on the persecution of China's Christians, click here.
Population
