Shanxi, Datong Diocese (Followed by eight signatures)ġ. With this joint declaration of ours we hope that you can respect the right of the Church, respect every person: this is a bottom line that cannot be overtaken. As believers, we know that the future decides the present. All these things make us worried and dissatisfied. The church is forced to accept the guide of the Chinese Government. The freedom of the faithful to attend our meetings is opposed. The cross of our church and even the whole church has been demolished. As a community of believers, we are even more concerned with the freedom of speech, since it cannot be separated from freedom of religion: without one there cannot be the other! But, it is not possible to take away our freedom and right because we have a different faith. Obviously, many statements and proposals of the Government, we must not necessarily agree upon and accept, some of them we even oppose. What is worth of our concern is the freedom of religious faith since it is a fundamental human right, that cannot be violated, forbidden or taken away. Because of it, we cannot sit down silent without any concern, even more we cannot stand by with folded arms. These facts have a close relationship with our community of believers. The events that happened today around us, we suppose that everybody has already paid attention to. At present, according to the "Guide of the Catholic Church in China" there are 14 priests at the service of the communities of the faithful. Msgr Guo spent 10 years in forced labor during the Cultural Revolution. Msgr Thaddeus Guo Yingong, who began his pastoral ministry there in 1990, was the last bishop and died in 2005. Since 2005, the diocese of Datong has been without a bishop. These include the question whether by chance the Vatican, desiring diplomatic relations with China, has abandoned the persecuted Christians, using them as "scapegoats". They also seem to ask for help (perhaps from Vatican authorities) to solve the "painful dilemmas" in which they find themselves. Rome (AsiaNews) - A group of faithful from the Diocese of Datong (Shanxi) has issued an open and signed letter, denouncing the growing oppression of the government towards the Christian community, after the launch of the new regulations on religious activities: destroyed crosses, destroyed church, meetings reduced to the minimum, impossibility in obtaining religious books.
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