Hong Kong (UCAN): Su Tianyou, the nephew of Bishop James Su Zhimin of the unofficial Church in Baoding, Hebei province, has appealed for information about his whereabouts. The bishop has been missing for 23 years.
 
“His whereabouts are unknown and I don’t even know if he is alive or not. I am upset with tears every time I think of this 87-year-old man. Please pray for him,” Su said.
 

HONG KONG (UCAN): Bishop Vincent Guo Xijin, now auxiliary bishop of Mindong, has indicated that there is uncertainty as to whether he will concelebrate Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday unless he agrees to state policy on the Catholic Church in China
 
The former bishop of Mindong, was asked to step aside by the Vatican in favour of the government-recognised Bishop Vincent Zhan Silu—one of seven formerly excommunicated bishops—following the Sino-Vatican provisional agreement of 22 September 2019.
 

Pope Francis issued his message to the Catholics of China and the universal Church shortly after the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China signed a provisional agreement on the appointment of bishops.  

Ying Fuk-tsang
 
From 2014 to 2016, the Chinese Communist Party conducted a systematic campaign of cross removals in Zhejiang province, the most populous Christian area of China in terms of the percentage of the population. The epicentre of Christianity there is the city of Wenzhou, known as the Jerusalem of the East.
 

VATICAN (CNS): The Catholic Church in China registered 48,556 baptisms in 2017, according to a February 15 report by Fides, the news agency of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples.
 
The figures are likely incomplete, given the difficulty of procuring data from Catholic communities in the rural parts of China, report said.
 

by Michel Chambon
 
In the past few weeks, rumours have spread about a possible agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China. In an uncommon move, the Vatican has even asked two bishops from the unofficial Church to shift aside for two official bishops initially appointed by Beijing.
 

HONG KONG (SE): Joseph Cardinal Zen Ze-kiun, the former bishop of Hong Kong has not spared efforts and words to explain how Vatican officials do not understand the true nature of Chinese leaders and that their rush will harm the church in China. 
 
His recent meeting with the press at the Salesian Mission House, Shau Kei Wan, on February 9 highlighted that China does not respect religious freedom and worry that Pope Francis may involuntarily betray the underground side of the Catholic Church in China.