Govt tears down crosses from Catholic church in China
Local officials were seen removing crosses from a church in a new footage, captured by a priest.
ADVERTISEMENT
According to International Christian Concern (ICC), the incident happened on Friday, March 9, 2018, at Shangqiu Catholic Church South Cathedral in Henan Province.
It all started when an unidentified group stormed into the church and shut off the electrical power.
The police were immediately alerted. Unfortunately, things only got worse as the police seized phones and locked out the priests and nuns.
ADVERTISEMENT
Afterward, crosses, including a large rooftop cross, were removed from the building in a raid that reportedly lasted for about five hours.
Everything was captured by Father Francis Liu, who shared a video on Twitter.
The crosses were reportedly returned a day later on March 10, 2018.
“They claim that the local authorities had a misunderstanding so they put the crosses back!” a source said.
ADVERTISEMENT
However, Ucanews reports that only three crosses were replaced, with smaller ones. The authorities took down six crosses.
Reactions to Govt tearing down crosses from churches in China
This incident has been condemned by a lot of watchdog groups.
ICC Regional Manager Gina Goh said: “The crackdown on churches used to be targeted mostly at underground communities, but we are now seeing increasing assaults and harassment on state-sanctioned churches as well.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“Please pray for the Church in China to persevere despite growing persecution,” he added.
China Aid also criticised the government’s “campaign of hatred against Christianity.”
“This type of extreme act will not weaken the growth of Christianity in China, nor will it bring any positive impact to Xi [Jinpings]’s regime.”
This is the government’s latest attempt to persecute Christians, as the faith is seen as a challenge to its authority.
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng
Recommended articles
You should avoid boat rides for these 5 reasons
How to save a life by doing CPR during an emergency
Avoid these 3 common mistakes when cooking fried rice
Okin biscuits and 9 other snacks millennials loved as children
How 1 woman became first lady of 2 different countries — she married 2 presidents
How parents, teachers can recognise when a child is being bullied
It's illegal to publicly celebrate your birthday in this country
Here are Dagrin's 10 best rap verses on the 14th anniversary of his death
Police arrest Borno teenagers caught trying to set IDP camp ablaze
ADVERTISEMENT