the seven sorrows of china

8/14/2019 The Seven Sorrows of China

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THE SEVEN SORROWS OF CHINA1

By Mark Miravalle

China. A land of mysteries. Typically associated with force and fear in the minds of the West for the

last 50 years, China now seems to be putting forth a new face. But who is the real China of the

twenty-first century?

Recent feedback from the press and certain decisions made by the world seem to indicate that China

has taken a new direction towards greater openness, greater freedom, greater respect for the human

person. After all, Beijing has been selected as the place for the 2008 Olympics. Would the

International Olympic Federation grant China the honor of hosting the worlds Olympics if they

were still blatantly oppressing women by forced abortions and sterilizations, and if the police were

still hunting down and persecuting Christian clergy and lay people?

What about the international business community? Beijing and other huge Chinese cities have

become the focus of international trade. Western businesses dont hesitate to visit Chinas

Communist capital, and in fact have enough trust in the Government to establish long-term business

partners and manufacturing plants there. Economic success cannot be the only reason for the Wests

new rush to do business with China. There must be some significant democratic progress there,

right?

And what about common Westerners visiting China purely for the motive of vacationing? Beijing

has recently blossomed as a tourist attraction, with hoards of Americans and Europeans going to the

Great Wall and other Oriental wonders. This would never have happened in the 1980s when Reagancontinued the strong Cold War front against a Chinese dictator who dressed in military attire. Now

the president of China dresses in Western business suits, speaks about peace and dialogue, and

President Bush warns Taiwan not to be too aggressive in its relationship with China, instead of the

other way around. Something big must have changed between then and now.

1 This article was excerpted from The Seven Sorrows of China, Queenship, September 2007, and is

available from Queenship Publishing at 1-800-647-9882, www.queenship.org., or P.O. Box 220,

Goleta, California, 93116, U.S.A.

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Because I have a few friends doing some beautiful works of mercy with abandoned Chinese

orphans, I decided to take a quick trip to China and see for myself, starting with a quick one-day

visit with them, and then traveling to several other provinces by plane and by train.

I would like to share with you my brief experiences of China, not as one who has any true expertise

in the complexities of the Chinese situation, but rather in the same way that a friend might introduce

you to another person that they had recently met.

The narrative that follows is based upon the testimonies of real persons and on first hand

experiences by trustworthy sourcespeople who have risked their freedom and even, in some

cases, their lives to bring them to you, so much did they want them known and understood by

Western minds, and felt with compassion by Western hearts. Names have been changed, locations

left out, and specifics at times covered in more general expressions in order to protect those who are

already so much afflicted. The following true events make up the seven sorrows of China.

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The First Sorrow:

Dang Yi Wei - Abandoned Son of Communism

As we were finishing Morning Prayer with a Litany to the Precious Blood of Jesus, the chapel door

flew open, and "Marie" announced in words too quick for most of us to understand, "Yi Wei hasnt

breathed for several minutes." Moments later, after rushing to the hospice, we found Marie in tears

holding the lifeless body of little Yi Wei, who, after a year of intense suffering with multiple daily

seizures and eight near-death experiences, had finally gone home.

The full effects of Chinas devastating "one-child policy" is little understood in most Western minds

and hearts. Communist Government officials and Population Police construct and enforce the

general mandate that a Chinese couple can have only one child. Each province and district is

granted a certain quota of children by the Government. Local authorities must utilize Population

Police to ensure that the local quota is not exceeded, otherwise local authorities pay the price with

their jobs. More often than not, babies pay the price for the maintenance of the quota with their

lives.

The socio-psychological effects of the one-child policy lead to seeking the "best possible child,"

since one is all you get. This has led to the abortion of countless girls, as the culture values boys

more. And if gender justifies abortion, then certainly any form of physical disability is also seen as alegitimate occasion for the abortion remedy. When it comes to cases of severe medical illness or

physical defect, then generally little or no concern enters the picture. Abortion is considered the

only common-sense solution.

In cases when the special needs situation of the child does not appearin utero, when the truth of

their physical or mental disability manifests itself after birth, numerous parents abandon their

children to federally run orphanages. When abandoned "orphans" (orphans is a bit inaccurate in the

traditional understanding of the term, as the parents are oftentimes both alive and well) are found to

be gravely ill with little or no hope of survival, they are sometimes placed in back rooms and simplyleft to die by starvation in absolute isolation.

Marie, a young volunteer, witnessed the tragic reality of these innocent "undesirables" while

working in a privately run orphanage in China. With little more than raw determination and great

faith, she opened an infant center for the physically and mentally impaired children that even the

orphanages had rejected. Loving, caressing, affirming these suffering children became her work of

the angels (in a way similar to Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta), in an effort to send each child

out of this world and into the next with a spiritual mothers love. This is authentic "death with

dignity," as opposed to the abuse of the term by euthanasia advocates.

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Some poor families have no true desire to give up their seriously infirmed child, but at the same

time have no possible means of getting the child the necessary medical attention needed, as the

Peoples Republic offers their people no health care service. Hospitals, including emergency rooms,

must be paid in full upfront, otherwise they provide absolutely no treatment, regardless of the life-

threatening nature of an illness. Some brave people have also provided necessary medicalintervention with life-saving effects for many children confided to their care. But more often than

not, the situation for the child is terminal.

Dang Yi Wei was one such case. Brought to those same brave people shortly after his birth, Yi Wei

(pronounced,Eway) would experience multiple seizures a day. Within a few months, the little

baby would experience approximately 60 seizures a day. Yi Wei would stare off into the distance as

these terrifying seizures racked his body.

Yesterday, when I first met Yi Wei, a volunteer held the infant over a pot as he vomited during one

of his seizures. This morning, Yi Wei died.

Dang, the infants surname, was given to him, as is the case for most of his brother and sister

orphans at the Government-run orphanages, since they are designated children of the state. Yi Wei

was an abandoned son of Communism.

After praying prayers of Christian burial we brought Yi Weis body to the hospital to obtain a death

certificate.

In China it is illegal to die out of the hospital. This makes it more difficult to get a document ofdeath, which is necessary for mandatory cremation. China mandates cremation for all citizens,

except for a few minority groups like Muslim believers.

Foreigners face greater difficulty when trying to obtain a death certificate, and so a Chinese woman

friend joins us at the hospital and carries in the little body while we wait in the car. In a rather

unusual routine, someone enters the hospital asking for emergency help for the infant (even though

the infant is obviously already dead). The emergency room official then issues the death certificate.

After about an hour, the woman returns with the childs body and the certificate. She quips that theER official tried to direct her to the pediatrics department for infant care, but our friend insisted that

the documentbe granted in the emergency room and the certificate witnessed.

The ER official finally returned to the crematorium. No mortician middleman in this case. The

family does all. We continue on.

We arrive at the crematorium, and bring the baby and the certificate to one official, who then leads

us to higher-ranking officials. The higher officials gather in confab because the baby did not die in

the hospital, and the certificate says he did. Finally, "permission" for the mandatory cremation is

granted, and the fee of slightly under 100 dollars is paid. The little diapered body is placed on a

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long stone slab, which mechanically extends out from the wall, and then slab and body recede back

some 25 feet into wall for the cremation process. They tell us to return in 40 minutes.

We walk through the cemetery, praying the Rosary for Yi Weis soul, which is already assured

Paradise by virtue of his Christian baptism. Foreigners publicly praying the Rosary in a Chinese

cemetery creates a bit of a spectacle for the workers doing cemetery building and repair and who

are not accustomed to seeing public forms of devotion. Technically, it is illegal to conduct any form

of worship outside buildings not approved for such by the Government.

We offer the sorrowful mysteries for Yi Wei and for the plight of the Chinese people under

persecution: For the lonely, that the agonizing Jesus in the garden will console them. For those

Catholic clergy and laity who continue to be physically beaten and tortured in Chinese prisons, that

the scourged Jesus will be their strength. For those unjustly condemned due to the errors of the

mind that could cause such a tragic violation of universally accepted human rights, that the

Crowned Lord will give them hope. For those falling under the weight of their seemingly

unbearable crosses of forced abortions, loss of freedom, jobs, and homes for having a second child

and the like, that Jesus carrying the cross will help them carry theirs. For all the thousands of people

who were buried in that cemetery and who never heard the name of Jesus, that the Merciful Christ

(who hears all prayer out of time) will save their souls and guide their purification in Purgatory.

Two small Oriental lions border most of the cemetery plots, which had an incense pot placed in the

center. A recent Chinese Catholic convert explained to us that most Chinese do not believe in God

but are still extremely superstitious. They offer incense to their deceased relative as a protection

against being haunted by them, or from their ancestors causing bad things to happen to them. Fear

of ghosts and evil omens are the source of the incensing ritual, according to the convert. They dont

believe in God but do believe in some preternatural force that can harm them. Another recent

Catholic convert adjusts this perspective by saying people know in their heart that God exists, but

often will not admit it. They believe the souls of their loved ones continue, but they dont know how

or where. This is why the fear factor enters, which leads to their superstitious fear of ghosts and bad

events happening if they neglect the honoring of their dead. There are festal days during the year in

which many middle-generation Chinese still follow the traditional practice of laying out foods and

gifts for their departed ancestors to appease them. I asked one of the converts about the younger

generation and their beliefs. This 26-year-old convert (who has been Catholic for three years) then

said that the first response to her conversion to Catholicism from her university peers was that she

was crazy. Later, as the convert witnessed to her friends about Jesus and the Church through Bible

stories and her own newfound peace of mind, her friends changed their response to "I think your

faith in Jesus is a good thing."

Another volunteer who had taught as an English professor in a Chinese university in another

province, shared other stories of the foul fruits of the one-child policy. When beginning to teach one

English class, she noticed a student who also had a younger sibling in the same class. When she

asked how this was possible with the one-child policy, the student responded: "My mother got

pregnant and went away to have my little sister. When my mother returned with the second baby the

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Population Police came to our house, took everything in our house except the table, took off the

front door, and removed all the windowswe were left with nothing, except the house and the

table." In other cases, families were not so fortunate. When they returned from the hospital with the

second baby, they found their house burned to the ground. Still worse were the families where the

mother went to the hospital to deliver the second baby, and the medical attendant, after examiningthe woman, returned with a needle and injected her abdomen with poison and killed the unborn

baby.

Sadly, the one-child policy has even penetrated the psychological recess of Chinese family life. The

same English instructor told me about one of her star students whose grades were always at the top

of her class. One day, she scored rather poorly on a given exam, and immediately had a nervous

breakdown. She was removed from the class and brought to a mental institution.

The instructor explained,

Its the one-child policy. These kids already have so much pressure on them to achieve and

to be "number 1" as part of their culture. But now they are the only one! They have to be

successful for the family honor thing, but now they absolutely must succeed to support their

mother and father. They are the only source of financial support for their parents in their old

age. And this, along with no belief in God, no recognition of themselves as good in

themselves, as created children of God, and no affirmation of being good, whether they

achieve or not, from their parents. No wonder students are having nervous breakdowns."

Too much pressure from parents, from school, from society, and no reliefnot from family, not

from country, and not from a relationship with God. All depends on your one child.

After 40 minutes, we are invited back into the rear section of the crematorium, where we are

brought to the slab where Yi Weis ashes lie. The worker quickly sweeps the small pile of ashes into

what appears to be a metal dustpan, with little care and no visible respect. He brings the open-faced

dustpan down the hall to a place where the ashes are placed into a bright yellow silken sack, which

is then placed into an outer red silken wrap. Two fake gold coins are put in the sacks, presumably to

assist the deceased gain entrance into his next habitat. Yi Weis sacred remains will be transported to

a Catholic cemetery for his bodys final resting place.

In the Communist mindset, this was the death of just another insignificant crippled child who couldnever be productive for the state, the family, or for national honor. From Heavens perspective andfrom the perspective of those assisting the child in his final moments, a baptized member in Godsfamily returns home in victory, never to have another seizure. Yi Weis body was caressed andkissed by the tearful co-workers who had cared for him for the past year. Marie, who suffers the

breaking of a mothers heart at the death of Yi Wei, and at the death of each precious childprovidentially entrusted to her care (15 children have already died in her arms), cradled his body inthe car en route to the hospital and exclaimed in tears, "Im happy because the Chinese co-workerswere so sad." Indeed, the transcendent dignity of the human person has been restored in the heartsof the few native Chinese who have chosen to care for the most innocent and the most rejected oftheir own people.

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pregnant, I thought maybe marriage could shelter me, even though we had differences, but

he began to see the problems between us and knew that marriage was not an option for us.

Laura and her husband, Lawrence, helped me a lot. My pregnancy was a secret at first. I

couldnt tell anyone. I felt sick and wanted to throw up everything. I had always been a good

student, a good girl, but now. My family was still introducing me to other men, men in

high positions. Sometimes I think if I just give up and have an abortion no one will know,

but Laura and Lawrence told me marriage without love is not good.

Eventually the secret got out, little by little. Many friends, even Christian friends, were

telling me to get an abortion. They said I could just ask for Gods forgiveness afterwards.

But then another friend, an American, told me of a place I could stay in X during my

pregnancy.

I asked for time off from work. A pregnant woman can get six months off from work, so I

asked for time. My boss asked me why I needed so much time off. I had to tell her the truth.

She was a friend. She was so surprised. No one thought I was that kind of girl to sleep with

a man before marriage, because I am very traditional. Because I am not married, my boss

tried to get me to go for an abortion. She was frightened for me. Finally I was tired and I

said, "Okay, tomorrow I will have an abortion." She persuaded me because she said I could

have such a bright future. She said things like, "You are just a child," and, "It will be a

secret."

After I said okay, I went home. I did not want to think about the abortion. I watched TV. I

refused to think about it. I told myself to be quick; if I delay, I will surely change my mind.

Around 10 oclock at night, I called a friend. She is not a Christian. I told her that I would

have an abortion the next morning. She was surprised and said, "Four months, what a pity."

Then I cried and cried. I cried so hard, I think the people downstairs must have heard me. I

prayed to God, "Please dont let me have an abortion. Im weak but you are strong. Please

give me a miracletomorrow I cant get an abortion. No matter what, please stop the

abortion from happening. Stop me! Stop me!" I then called the babys father and said, "The

baby is moving now, it is very hard to get an abortion." His response was, "You are nave,too simple. Consider the future! It will be very hard." He said only this. He wanted me to get

an abortion.

My boss asked me to wait at home. She would come to pick me up and take me to the

hospital. But the next day, the hospital called herthere were no beds available, and so it

was not possible to go in for an abortion! I was so happy! I went to the office and said, "I

dont want to have an abortion anymore. God answered my prayerits a miracle and I love

this baby!"

Many people think I want to keep this baby because of Laura and Lawrence. They think I

dont want to disappoint them. But really, I love this baby.

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My boss took me to the home of a single mom to show me how hard a life it is. She helps

this mother by buy rice and vegetables for her. She wanted to change my mind, but I said, "I

want to keep this baby." I knew God would help me.

That afternoon, though, my boss informed my older sister of my situation. My sister said I

should get an abortion. She is married, has one daughter, and has had many abortions. My

sister came from her home, far away. She cried and cried. She told me to have an abortion

she said it only hurts for a moment and then you forget all about it. My sister is six years

older than me and is like my mother. She always took care of me. She said to me, "When I

heard that you were pregnant, I wanted to hit you. But now that I see you I want to hug

you." She loves me. I looked so pathetic and was wearing dirty clothes. I had no energy to

wash my clothes. Now I was very troubled.

Laura and Lawrence called and encouraged me to run away. I said it was too hard now to

run away. I told them I didnt think I had any choice; my sister could not sleep at night.

What was I to do? They said they could not sleep either and would continue praying for me.

The next morning Laura came to my apartment. My sister was very angry at her because she

knew that Laura wanted to persuade me to keep the baby. The three of us went to visit

another American woman who has adopted two Chinese babies. My sister softened a little

when she met Anne, and especially after meeting her adopted babies. My boss then called

and asked if I was coming to work, so I went into the office. My sister called my parents and

told them to come force me to change my mind. My sister did not tell them yet that I was

pregnant, only that something was wrong. They were very worried.

When I returned from work they were all waiting for me, my parents, my sister, her

husband, and now they all knew that I was pregnant. Laura came with me. She just wanted

to help support me. I was so nervous! I couldnt think anymore, my brain stopped working. I

didnt know what would happen. When my mother saw me, she started to cryshe fell

down to the ground, and my father hit me, kicked me, and slapped my face. Laura was

sitting next to me. My sister told her to go home: "Its our familys trouble, we dont need

you!" But Laura said "I wont go." She sat so close to memy father hit me and then hit her

as well. I didnt realize that he was hitting her, my hair was pulled down, and I was looking

down. My father was so angry and was shouting, "You are a shame! We paid so much

money to get you into university!" (I am the only one from my village to go to university).

"Just go die! Look what you have done!"

My mother was crying and crying. Suddenly she knelt down before me (in China, only in

very hard times does a mother kneel before her child) and said, "If you dont get an abortion

I will commit suicide in front of you." In my childhood my mother tried many times to

commit suicide, so I really believed she would try to do this. Finally I said quietly, "Ok, I

will get an abortion. Please stand up." She calmed down. Laura wanted to go home; maybe

she was disappointed in me. I asked her to stay. We went out to a restaurant for dinner.

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Everyone went because they thought everything was settled. Now they felt bad for treating

Laura so poorly.

Before going to the restaurant though, my brother-in-law called the babys father. He said

my one chance for not having an abortion is marriage. But the babys father kept telling him

that we have broken up and there was no chance for marriage. Laura was trying to convince

him to just say yes, even if he didnt mean it, so that I wouldnt have to get an abortion. But

he refused.

After dinner Laura went home and prayed. That night my parents slept with methey were

afraid that I would attempt suicide or run away during the night.

The next morning I was very angry because I realized that I would be killing my baby that

day. I yelled at my parents, "You are so weak. You only care about your face, about what

others think of you! You say I dont love youyou want me to get an abortion but let it be

known that I dont want to have an abortion! Im only doing this because of you!" My

parents said, "If God punishes you, let the punishment fall on us."

We went to the hospital around 11:00 a.m. There were so many girls waiting to have an

abortion, so there were no beds free. My sister said, "See, so many people are here to have

an abortion. Its no big deal."

The doctor did an exam and found that I had a vaginal infection. She said that I needed to

first get rid of the infection. The abortion would take place within the next two days. Lauracalled me later that day, thinking I had already had an abortion. I asked her if she thought

God would accept my baby. She said yes, but sounded so depressed. When I told her the

abortion hadnt happened yet, she jumped for joy! She said there was still time, I could run

away. But I told her I was too tired. I had already given up. I was in the bathroom when I

was talking to her, talking very quiet so no one would hear me. Laura was begging me to

choose life and save my baby. But I was too tired. She said, "Do you still pray that God will

grant you a miracle?" I said yes.

The next morning the nurse came and pressed on my belly very hard. I was reallyuncomfortableI felt like trash. They all knew I would have an abortion, so they dont

cherish my baby at all. She spoke only one word and smiled, "Your belly will get a shot." I

jumped up "What! Why?" She thought I was nervous and simply said that I would

understand when it happened. I was very upset then. I thought my baby would die by a pill,

peacefully. But now I realized the baby would feel pain. I was very upset and angry. I was

shouting at my mother then: "I have a way to keep this baby. Why do you force me to have

an abortion? Why? I am always obedient to you and always listen to you! But now Im

doing what I dont want to do! I only listen to you. Why did you give birth to me? It would

be better if I had not come into this world!"

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My mother cried. But I began to think of how I could get away. I lay down in the bed, and

the nurse gave me IV antibiotics. I was worried that the medicine might hurt the baby. I felt

so confused. I was in the hospital to kill my baby, but was worry about whether or not he

was going to be healthy. A Christian friend called me and I asked her advice. She said I

should try to keep the baby and asked why I had given up. Then Annes friend sent me amessage. She had a friend who could come talk to my mom. I said no, it was no use. My

mom would not talk to anyone. That night, I got another message. Two friends were in the

hospital waiting for me to help me escape. They sent me a message to let me know they

were there and would wait as long as I needed. They also let me know that many, many

people were praying for me just then. They were waiting by the elevator for me.

My mother was sleeping in the same bed as me, because she was afraid I was going to run

away. Finally my mother fell asleep. I wrote a little note for my mom, "For two days I have

been waiting for this baby to die and it is so hard. I know it is Gods will that the childshould live because today I prayed that if the abortion did not happen today, I would take it

as Gods will. Should I choose my family or my baby?"

I wasnt wearing muchjust thin hospital pants and a thin sweater. I had my cell phone and

my ID card. I grabbed a cucumber and said to my roommates, "I slept too much today, Im

going to walk around a little." I did not want my roommate to wake up my mother. I walked

out casually, eating my cucumber. My two friends were waiting by the elevator. The elevator

was not coming, so we ran for the stairs. My heart was brokenwhat about my mother? We

ran down six floors, got in a taxi and ran. I was so scared, I thought I could not sleep that

night, but God let me sleep until six oclock the next morning. I stayed at the house of an

American sister.

There were people all over the world praying for me that night. I was frightened, but after

two days I left for X. I heard from others that my family was okay. I have not spoken to

them yet, but sent them a letter to let them know that I am okay.

During the last week of June, Elizabeth gave birth at home to a beautiful baby girl. After recounting

her story to me, Elizabeth mentioned that she was thinking of names to name the baby. The

religious sister who had helped Elizabeth was also with us and jumped into the conversation with

the suggestion that "Perhaps Dr. Miravalle might have a good name for the baby." Embarrassed and

on the spot, I confirmed that I thought it was the proper right of a mother to name her own child,

and how she shouldnt feel pressured by anyone elses suggestion. The suggested name, "Mary

Elizabeth" then popped out of my mouth. Elizabeth, because her baby deserved to be named after

her mother who had so heroically fought, risked all, and offered all for her life. "Mary," because the

mother of Jesus likewise offered all and suffered all in union with her Son for the redemption of the

world, and because Elizabeth had already lived parts of the life of the Sorrowful Mother, called by

Gods mysterious Providence to share in a unique, unprecedented way in the suffering of her child.

Elizabeth responded to this possibly presumptuous suggestion with the response, "Mary Elizabeth,

yes, I like that name. I already have been thinking more of Maria, Jesus mother in these last days. I

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The Third Sorrow:

Abortion Without Conscience: The Indoctrination of a Nation

The individual accounts of the brutality of the one-child policy and its effects on the noble Chinese

people are never-ending. One new Chinese convert recounts her terrifying fear while hiding under

the bed as the Population Police were at the front door. Another young convert from a distant

province testifies how her motherwhile she was pregnant with herjumped the wall of her

backyard and fled from the Population Police.

A Catholic missionary describes more of the process of the one-child policy: A certificate of

permission is required to have a baby in a Chinese hospital. The government tells you how many

children you can have and when. In the city, married couples are limited to one child. In the farming

regions a family, if the first child is a girl, can sometimes be permitted to try for a boy as a second

child because of the need for boys on the farm. Even in this case, the government will control when

they can try for the boy, with the requirement that it be at least five years after the first child. The

Government also uses psychological pressure to keep the policy. If a couple in the country have

only one child, then this child will probably be able to have two children. The policy varies from

region to region.

A couple must go to the hospital with their permission certificate to deliver their child. If they arriveat the hospital without the permission certificate, hospital officials contact the Population Police. At

this point, the Police decide, based on the circumstances of the family and the history of the couple,

what is to be the fate of the family. The child will be injected with poison on the spot. Or the couple

will be fined and their home burnt down. Or the couple could lose their jobs, and in some cases,

cause the loss of their employees jobs (one teacher told me that if his wife didnt abort her second

child, he and the school principal would both lose their jobs). One Protestant woman refused to

abort her second child and lost her own job at the hospital she worked at. Still another possibility is

that the child does not receive official recognition that it exists and does not receive the "Chinese

Social Security Card." The child therefore is not technically a citizen, nor can he or she go to schoolor participate in any right of a citizen. One remedy is to try to find a retired and sympathetic

midwife who can deliver the child at home. This saves the babys life, but does not guarantee his

registration.

Themissionary went on to give an example of one poor family from a village in Province M: One

married couple from a very poor village in the countryside in M had LuLu, a girl, and in the

countryside it is permitted to try for a boy if the first child is a girl. So the parents had Xiao Chuan,

a boy. All was fine until they had a third child, a boy. At this point, village officials or family

planning people came and destroyed the little shack they were living in and tore up their vegetableplot. They had nothing. So they sent LuLu and Xiao Chuan to work on local city streets for an uncle

who was selling fruits and vegetables (depending on the season). LuLu and Xiao Chuan would

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work from early morning til late at night. When they were discovered, a foreign friend tried to teach

them a few things there on the street. LuLu would work hard all day and then late at night would

return to her aunt and uncles apartment, where her aunt would receive a massage from LuLu. The

little girl would get up very early and go to bed very late, and all her wages were given to her aunt.

The foreign friend later received permission from the aunt and uncle to put both of these children in

school. Subsequently, LuLu quit because, having been away for so long, she found it too difficult.

Xiao Chuan has continued until now, getting excellent grades in elementary school. I pray to find a

benefactor to fund his middle school.

The examples go on and on. But the most alarming, the most depressing, the most

copernicanrevelation of all that I have been exposed to (including the yet more grisly examples to

follow), is the repeated refrain that the great majority of the people in China have lost any concept

that there is anything at all wrong with having an abortion. It is considered less significant than a

flu shot, a minor procedure like going to the dentist, a simple solution to a simple problem that

doesnt merit any soul searching for any alternative plans. China has become a nation who without

conscience aborts their own future generations. And this is Satans ultimate victory here. Is this

conscience loss regarding the transcendent dignity and inherent right of human life to be blamed

exclusively on atheistic Communism? Have not the recent influences of Western morals of secular

humanism, materialism, hedonism, and ultimately unmitigated egoism, also contributed to this

Chinese terrorism of the womb? In any case, the combination amounts to self-inflicted Chinese

genocide, which so saddens the God that creates and loves the ethnical uniqueness of China.

New macabre manifestations of this conscienceless abortion mentality include the recent opening of

five restaurants in the region of X, which began serving "fetal soup" at the price of 300 Yuan

(approximately $40) a bowl! Recent medical publications have praised the exceptional health

benefits for the consuming of "fetal remains" (this jargon allows them to overlook what this really is

unborn baby bodies). Therefore, local entrepreneurs jumped on the opportunity to distribute this

new health breakthrough to the chosen few who could afford the price. So evil and scandalous is

this fetal soup trade that the Government shut down the Web sites advertising the restaurants, in fear

that they would scandalize the reputation of the Peoples Republic to outside countries and

businesses.

Is it possible that the abortion holocaust and its rejection of lifes sacred dignity has also contributed

to the recent practice of "ghost wives," as recently reported in Chinese news sources? This is the

practice of providing a womans dead body to be buried with a deceased man so that the man will

have company in the "next life." Distributors of the dead bodies of women found that men were

willing to pay much more for a "new" dead body of a woman, rather than one previously preserved.

Murder of women from out-of-the-way places ensued to fill the new demand for the fresh ghost

wives.

When human life in the womb is not safe, no human life is safe. How can China regain the naturallaw dictates of conscience that tells every human heart that it is always wrong to directly kill an

innocent human being, regardless of race, religion, health, age or location, including the womb

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(historically mans most secure location, and now his most dangerous)? Through God, through

prayer, through education, and through the witness of individual heroes, saving one person, one

unborn child, at a time.

Six years ago, Mrs. Niu was evangelized by an aunt who had married into the family. She heard of

Jesus and his Catholic Church and wanted to follow in his footsteps.She and her six-year-old

daughter were baptized and brought into the Church. Her husband and in-laws could not understand

this foolishness and only grudgingly allowed it. Mrs. Niu was often reprimanded for taking her little

girl, Xiao Xiao, along with her to Church. But for Xiao Xiao, Church was a joy, and learning about

Jesus was life-giving. Her mother talks of her as though she were the greatest saint to walk the face

of the earth. She is really proud of the grace that has begun to work in her. Mrs. Nius commitment

to Christ is unquestionable. She is filled with a peace that could only come from a strong faith.

At the beginning of the summer of 2004, Mrs. Niu discovered that she was pregnant. Feeling she

could trust her husband, she told him of the new life developing within her. Rather than sharing in

her joy though, he told her she needed to have an abortion. He proceeded to tell his parents, who

were also of the opinion that she should abort. Her daughter, frightened by what all this meant, also

encouraged her to have an abortion. Feeling the pressure all around her, she was uncertain as to

what she should do.

One morning while she was struggling with this pressure, she happened across a copy of the movie,

"The Passion." She bought it, took it home, and watched it that same afternoon. After this visual

reminder of all that Jesus suffered for us that we might have life, she was determined to do all she

could to preserve the life of her little one. This movie left her with a powerful resolve to fight for

her childs life. That very night, Population Control came to her home looking for her. Her mother-

in-law had reported her pregnancy, and they were coming to verify and end it. They asked, "Is it

true that you are pregnant?" She said, "Yes it is true, and I will go in the morning to have an

abortion." That they came in the evening (and on that particular evening) rather than in the morning

was ordained by Divine Providence. For if they had arrived in the morning, they would have

escorted her to the clinic and made sure the abortion took place. But it was evening, and they felt

satisfied with her answer. And having just finished watching "The Passion" she was filled with the

conviction that she could not go through with an abortion.

After Population Control left, Mrs. Niu knew that she would have to leave home. She knew there

was no way she could carry the child to term at home. She spoke to her daughter in private and told

her that she was going to leave, but her daughter began to cry and plead with her mom. Not wanting

to be separated from her mom, she begged her to have an abortion. Mrs. Niu tried to console her

and finally told her daughter she would have an abortion to stop her from crying. But Mrs. Niu

knew that this was not really an option for her. Although she heard the pleading of her daughter in

her ears, she also heard the cry of her unborn child in her heart.

The next morning she took her daughter to school and on the way told her daughter she would gothat morning for an abortion. She explained that she would be too weak to care for her for a little

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while, and so she should go to her grandparents house after school and remain there for a few days.

Her daughter agreed, and again pleaded with her to have an abortion and not leave her.

After dropping her daughter off at school, Mrs. Niu left her bicycle near the school gate, got on a

bus and went to the local church. There she spoke with a religious sister who said she could go and

live with the sisters parents until she gave birth to the baby. The sister wrote out the address of her

parents on a piece of scrap paper and gave it to Mrs. Niu. Mrs. Niu thanked her, but knew she did

not want to go there. The sister had two brothers who were living with her parents. She felt the

house would be crowded and that she would be a burden. However, on the little piece of scrap paper

was the address of a convent in another town. Mrs. Niu decided to see if they could offer her any

help. She took a bus to the convent and when she arrived she spoke with the superior. When the

superior heard her story, she told Mrs. Niu, in complete violation of the teachings of the Church,

that she should be obedient to the law and carry out her husbands wishes by aborting the baby. But

Mrs. Niu was determined to follow Gods law and eventually was able to convince the sister thatshe was going to do everything in her power to save her baby. The sister, seeing there was no

convincing Mrs. Niu otherwise, decided to help her. A priest happened to visit the convent to give

the sisters some teachings. Mrs. Niu was introduced to him and he began to think of how to help

her. He mentioned a nice Catholic village where she could go, but then ruled that out because the

conditions there would have been a bit harsh. The priest then thought of a family where she could

stay and decided that would be the best place for her to go. He sent her to this town in early August.

The timing was perfect. Just before she left, her husband called the convent looking for her. He was

trying to track her down.

In the town she was able to help care for the babies and cook for the staff in a nearby childrens

home for several months. Although she missed her daughter terribly, she never complained about

her situation or said anything bad about her family who had betrayed her. During the first week of

November she started bleeding. She was taken to the hospital where the doctors discovered the

placenta had partially detached from the uterine wall. They sent her back to the host family, but she

was placed on complete bed rest. For the next month and a half she spent her days in bed praying

the Rosary, reading the Bible, and knitting little booties. She remained at peace through the whole

ordeal and constantly thanked God for taking care of everything. She just knew he would see

everything through, as he had taken care of them thus far.

On December 24, in the wee hours of a snowy morning, her water broke. She was still six weeks

away from her due date. She was rushed to the hospital and admitted at 3:00 a.m. Her husband, after

months of having no idea as to her whereabouts, was contacted the next day to explain the situation

to him. He was quite angry the first time he was called and hung the phone up before he even heard

about his wifes situation. Five minutes later, he was called again, and he had calmed down. He

became very concerned for both mother and child when he learned that they were in danger.

The very next day, he came to the town where his wife was. It happened to be Christmas morning.

He felt sorrow for the pressure he had placed on his wife and wanted to make sure that both she and

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the baby were now safe. He feared losing his job and the fear had made him think they should abort

the baby. But now he expressed gratitude for his wifes wisdom in wanting to keep the child.

The doctors decided that Mrs. Niu should remain in the hospital until she delivered, as her situation

was very serious. On the 26th, while Mrs. Niu was sleeping, the doctors came in to monitor the

baby. They discovered the babys heart rate was very slow. They said to the father, "If we are going

to save this baby, we need to do a C-section now! Will you sign the papers giving permission for

this surgery?" He hesitated, not knowing the full implications of what was being said to him. But

Mrs. Niu woke up when she heard "save the baby" and shouted to her husband "Sign it!!" They both

signed the papers, and she was rushed to the emergency room. During surgery, they discovered that

the placenta had completely detached itself from the uterine wall. They realized that if they had

waited any longer they might have lost both mother and child. The C-section was performed, and

the baby was safely delivered. They were able to present Mrs. Niu with her newborn son, 1.7 kg

(3.7 lbs). They held the baby up to her and told her to kiss his little head before they sent him off tothe Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The NICU at that hospital was full, so the newborn was

transferred to another hospital, where he grew in size and health.

The husband was so happy that both were safe and that he now had a son. Once the baby was

delivered and he could see that both were well cared for, he returned home. One week later, the

mother-in-law called. She was crying on the phone and kept saying how sorry she was for trying to

force her to abort the baby. Mrs. Niu responded with generous Christian forgiveness, as the mother-

in-law kept repeating, "Thank you for having the baby."

The baby was in the hospital for 10 days. He was not completely out of the woods when he was

released, but was in stable condition. Mrs. Niu was very vigilant in her care for him, and he got

stronger and larger with each passing day. As Chinese Spring Festival approached, Mrs. Nius

desire to return home got stronger and stronger. She was ready to be with her family again. She

announced that she would return home for New Year. But she was advised to wait a little longer for

the sake of the baby. She finally agreed to wait.

Later that day her husband called her with the frightening news, "Dont come home!" The police,

expecting her to come home for Spring Festival, were waiting for her at her door. Once again, she

felt the hand of God watching out for her and protecting her and the baby. Her daughter, still

missing her terribly, found a family member to take her to her mom to spend the Spring Festival

with her. After Spring Festival ended, Mrs. Niu, the baby, Xiao Xiao, and the aunt all made their

way back home. They did not return to Mrs. Nius home, but to another city not far away, where she

can stay safely for a while. Everyone is presently well and thankful.

Ironically, the Mandarin Chinese linguistic character for the word "good" is the symbolic

representation of a mother next to her child safely present. The Communist Government would do

well to remember that it is good to protect, and not to destroy, the mother-child relationship if it

truly seeks good for its people.

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The Fourth Sorrow:

A Broken Body: The Church in China

What is the real story of the Catholic Church in China? Are persecutions of bishops, priests, and

faithful loyal to Rome easing up, as would be expected by a government that purports to be granting

more religious freedom as part of its new "democratic approach"?

On June 30, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI released a rare papal documenta letter not for the entire

Catholic world, nor to a continent, but to an individual country: To the Bishops, Priests,

Consecrated Persons, and Lay Faithful of the Catholic Church in the Peoples Republic of China.

Even a quick read of the document reveals that Pope Benedict has released a very carefully worded

document that on the one hand calls for the true fidelity and obedience appropriate for a local

church in communion with the Catholic Church universal, and at the same time deals with an

unusually complex and sensitive set of circumstances.

Some of the serious issues which led the Pope to issue a specific letter to China include: the lack of

normal diplomatic relations between China and the Vaticans Holy See; the involvement of the

Government in the internal affairs of the Church; the tensions and divisions within the Church, due

in large part to the existence of a "Patriotic Church" established and sustained by the Government,which does not recognize the ultimate authority of the Pope, particularly in regards to the

appointment of bishops; the status of the Chinese Bishops Conference; and the ongoing violations

of freedom for Chinese Catholics who have remained in complete fidelity to Rome at the price of

great personal suffering, persecutions, fines, imprisonment, and in some cases, torture and death.

The Holy Father, while offering profound spiritual insights and exhortations about the supernatural

faith and hope that must sustain a Church under persecution, also puts forth some specific directives

for Chinese shepherds and their flocks which, without some understanding of the complex situation

of the Chinese Church, may be difficult to understand. He has defended the right of religiousfreedom for Chinese Catholics and has called for fidelity to the Bishop of Rome for all Catholics,

but has given permission for the faithful to receive the sacraments at Government-associated

Patriotic, or "Open," churches when grave inconvenience prevents access to a local church under a

bishop approved by Rome. He has delegated to the bishops great pastoral latitude in seeking to

address the complex spiritual and pastoral problems that come from a divided, largely uncatechized

Church, whose clergy and religious oftentimes lack proper theological and spiritual formation (due

in greater part, once again, to the intervention of the state). At the same time he has declared the

Chinese Bishops Conference to be invalid, because of the prevailing influence of Patriotic bishops

and the absence of any participation from most underground bishops.

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How should the inspired teachings of Pope Benedict be properly understood and applied amidst

bewildering divisions and ongoing persecutions experienced daily by the Church in China?

We must begin with a few distinctions. The following distinctions and their true case examples

(with pseudonyms) regarding the present state of the Chinese Church were provided by some

Catholic missionaries with unquestioned loyalty to the Holy Father, with decades of experience in

Asian missionary work, and who has uncanny connections to reliable Catholic information sources

throughout this expansive nation.

The present status of bishops can be summarized into three categories:

1. Vatican-Approved "Underground" Bishops

These are bishops appointed by the Holy See and who were consecrated by other bishops who were

validly consecrated and are in communion with the Pope. This category of bishops is not approved

by the Government (hence "underground). The Government consistently persecutes these bishops,

specifically through the agencies of the Religious Affairs Bureau (RAB) and/or the Public Security

Bureau (PSB). Underground bishops are typically under constant surveillance and consistently

imprisoned or detained in isolation without warning, for anytime from a few days, to six months, to

several years, and oftentimes without any reason beyond their refusal to join the Patriotic Church.

One underground bishop commented that most of his fellow underground bishops have spent

approximately 20 years in combined time of imprisonment or isolated detention.

Bishop Gao of Yantai, Shandong, after many years in prison and in poor health, died in prison inJanuary 2005. Another underground bishop was told by the attending physician who went to

examine and remove Bishop Gaos body that the body, and particularly the limbs, exhibited a

darkened color which the doctor believed was indicative of death by poisoning.

Another underground bishop, Bishop A, spent 13 years in prison, most of those years working under

great physical duress at a forced-labor camp. During his prison time, he received more than 300

fellow inmates into the Church.

Before great Church feasts like Christmas and Easter, the RAB and PSB will frequently come andtake the underground bishops away so that they are separated from their faithful. One underground

bishop was admitted to surgery, and during his recovery in the hospital he was abducted by the

police and brought to an undisclosed location for several weeks.

During their forced detainment, efforts are made to indoctrinate them against their uncompromised

loyalty to Rome, and they are promised large sums of money, cars, and assignments to important

cathedrals in influential cities if they will simply agree to an alliance with the Patriotic Church.

Financial support is given by the Government for the physical upkeep of Patriotic cathedrals and

local churches, whereas church buildings within underground dioceses are not supported, and aresometimes toppled to the ground by the Government. The Government forbids any foreign financial

assistance for underground bishops and their dioceses.

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2. Government-Appointed "Patriotic" Bishops without Vatican Approval

These bishops are officially approved by the Government and are normally consecrated by other

patriotic bishops, but without Vatican approval. They are often used by the Government to promote

Government agendas.

One example of an official patriotic bishop is the recently deceased bishop of Beijing, Bishop

Michael Fu Tieshan, who was known to have an active role in the Central Government as well as

his ecclesiastical authority within the Beijing diocese (located within the capital of Communist

China).

3. Government-Appointed and Consecrated Bishops with Subsequent Vatican Approval; Vatican-

Appointed Bishops with Subsequent Government Approval

Some bishops were originally appointed by the Government without Vatican approval, consecrated

by other patriotic bishops, but at some later time requested and obtained approval from the Holy

See. Still other bishops were originally Vatican appointed, but later also received Government

approval.

At present, approximately 80 percent of all bishops in China have Vatican approval.

In many instances, these bishops who have accepted Government approval as well as Vatican

approval are pressured by the Government to compromise or betray their allegiance to Rome by

participating in illegal consecrations of bishopssome are offered large sums of money and someare kidnapped and forced to attend these ordinations. Others are punished for their non-cooperation

by Government refusal of building permits, salaries withheld, constant surveillance, and other forms

of harassment. Pope Benedicts letter reminds Vatican bishops that while Government approval

does not in itself constitute a violation of loyalty to Rome, that it cannot, however, lead to any

concrete compromise of Church teaching and obedient communion with the Holy Father. This is

often a most challenging balance to live day by day under a proudly professed atheistic Communist

regime.

Recently, two Vatican-approved bishops were kidnapped and forced to attend a Patriotic bishopsconsecration, which was not approved by Rome. On the day before the illicit consecration one

bishop, Bishop B, pretended to go jogging, and then just kept running and escaped. When this was

discovered, 10 policemen were assigned to guard the other bishop, Bishop D. He attempted to

contact the proper Vatican authorities, but in the end was forced to participate in the Patriotic

episcopal consecration.

With this degree of division within the ranks of bishops due to the unjustifiable state invention of a

parallel church, structured but intrinsically severed from its divinely instituted means of unity in

Peter, one can imagine the level of confusion, frustration, and suffering of faith that is experiencedby the Catholic clergy and laity. The Heart of Jesus is pierced by this division in his Body, as his

beloved Chinese Catholic disciples must daily experience his own broken Body.

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Priests, religious, and seminarians also have acute experiences of the Church suffering in China.

In terms of loyalty to Rome and the teaching Magisterium, official or Patriotic priests and

seminarians vary widely, some being very loyal to the Government party line and others in total

union with Rome and the teaching Magisterium. A missionary religious sister offers a few examples

of the complex situation for priests and religious:

A few years ago, a Government-staged illegal consecration of several bishops took place in

Beijing. There are two seminaries in Beijingthe Beijing Diocesan Seminary and the

National Patriotic Seminary. All the seminarians were required to attend the ordination. All

the seminarians from the National Seminary refused to attend, some locked themselves in

their rooms. They were severely punished, the ringleaders dismissed from the seminary, and

the remaining seminarians subjected to weeks of reindoctrination. Prior to this incident, the

Government had been pushing for the Beijing Diocesan Seminary to combine with the

National Seminary.

In the Cathedral city of another diocese, the Government announced that an illegally

consecrated bishop would visit the Cathedral and say the main Mass. The priests were all

opposed and refused to say Mass with the illegal bishop. The Government put on the

pressure. The priests resisted. Finally, the illegal bishop ended up saying Mass by himself at

a very early Mass, rather than at the main Mass as originally intended by the Government.

Seminarians at one seminary in China always had an enormous crowd at the seminary for

Christmas celebrations. They began preparing for this in September. Some prepared Bible

skits for the children who would be present, others prepared catechetical teachings for the

youth and adultsthere was something for everybody. This event at the seminary became so

popular that thousands of people were coming. So, one Christmas, the Government forbid

the seminary and seminarians from advertising the event by placing posters on any

buildings. So the seminarians resorted to an ingenious remedy. They advertised the event by

sending up a hot air balloon with the dates and times that could be seen throughout the

region.

In another instance, a new bishop was going to be consecrated. He had both Vaticanapproval and Government approval. Usually when a bishop is consecrated, the decree from

the Vatican appointing the new bishop is read publicly. But, in this case, the Government

refused to give permission for the decree from the Vatican to be read in public. The

consecration ceremony, scheduled for the morning, was about to begin and the problem still

wasnt solved. Hundreds of people were waiting patiently. Still, the priests were at

loggerheads with the Government. In the evening, still no solution was arrived at since the

Government forbid the reading of the Vatican decree. Finally the priests went to a

neighboring church where the faithful processed after the consecration (which was held in a

public building), and the Vatican decree was read there from the pulpit.

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In another similar instance, the consecration of a bishop with Vatican approval took place

very early before the officials got up, and the Vatican decree was read publicly. By the time

the officials arrived, the consecration was over.

One priest is known to have been arrested and severely beaten, including being stomped on

his chest resulting in broken ribs and having to be hospitalized. He has always escaped, one

time when going to the toilet, one time from the hospital, etc. These arrests are because of

pressure from the Government for him to join the official, or Patriotic, Church.

Another priest was severely beaten on the head by the police and has suffered headaches for

several years as a result.

Underground priests live on the run going from house to house, subjected to arrests and

beatings. Often they are unable to lead a regular life of daily prayer, spiritual reading, etc.

Often their formation has been clandestine and deeply inadequate. In many instances, they

find themselves in circumstances very detrimental to chastity. For example, when they stay

in private homes, the husband works during the day while the wife is often at home. They

have no salary and are dependent on contributions from the lay faithful.

There has also been a beautiful example of friendship between underground and official (or

"open" Patriotic Church) priests. In one parish in a certain province, two underground priests

were arrested and made to serve in the official parish where two official priests were in

residence. The unofficial, or underground, priests were blood brothers as well. Eventually,

one of the underground priests was sent off to the seminary for more formation. His brother

was left in the parish. He became good friends with the parish official priest and pastor, who

was very loyal to Rome and the Magisterium. The underground priest wanted badly to

escape and the pastor deeply understood his desire to be with his own and minister to them.

But if the underground priest were to escape with the official priest in residence, the

Government would suspect some collaboration. So the official priest took a trip to the

countryside to visit a convent of sisters. He carried a small package that contained the

belongings of the underground priest who was planning an escape that same day. Along the

way, he mailed the package. The underground priest escaped through the collaboration of

the official priest.

Tragically, many Patriotic priests are largely unfamiliar with the Churchs teaching with regard to

abortion and birth control. Until recently, most of them, if not all, had never heard of Pope John

Paul IIs Encyclical The Gospel of Life. Many Patriotic Church priests and sisters recommend

abortion.

Religious women also fall under two categories: official and unofficial, or underground. Official

church religious women generally receive some support from the local church or the Government.

For 50 years, their formation was extremely insufficient. Today, they are able to send some sistersabroad for further study. They assist parish priests, especially in catechesis. They work very hard

and serve well. Some of them care for orphans, run medical clinics, eye clinics, etc., as a means of

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subsistence. One drawback, however, is that many of the Patriotic church sisters have heard

Government propaganda for so long and have not heard the truth about the preciousness of human

lifemany will counsel abortion if they are confronted with a potentially difficult pregnancy. As

the same missionary sister recounted:

At a pro-life seminar, some Patriotic Church sisters said that a foreign priest came and told

them that it was okay to abort the handicapped. So they had been doing this at their clinic.

In one diocese out west, a Patriotic church sister performs abortions at a small clinic in front

of the church.

Some women confronted with a crisis pregnancy have gone to the Patriotic Church sisters or

parish priests for help. In many cases, they are given the same line as the statethey are

told to have an abortion. There is great need in China to spread the pro-life message and to

be prepared to follow this up with concrete services, especially to those women in need.

Unofficial or underground sisters continue to have an extremely difficult time. They have no means

of livelihood except maybe a little vegetable patch and a few donations from the laity. Their

formation has also at times been lacking due to Government persecution. Their life is very

precarious, and they do not know from one year to the next how they will survive or what their

future holds. As one Catholic missionary related:

One group of sisters in one diocese lived safely in one place for a year or two. Then the

police came and chased them away. They went somewhere else and the pattern continued.Every two or three years they would be chased away. At one location, the police confiscated

their habits and all their religious items. Some of these sisters make cloisonn rosaries which

are purchased by faithful in the U.S. They are most grateful for this assistance, without

which they would not be able to survive.

Prayer, support, love, is what the Church in the West should be pouring into the Church in China.

Their broken body is ours, because it is Christs.

This morning, I am traveling on a fast train through provinces in this huge Chinese country, en routeto a privileged meeting with an underground bishop. After a preliminary call a few days ago to a

contact person for the bishop, the bishop agreed to meet with me at great personal risk to himself.

Typically, bishops who refuse to have any cooperation with the Government-run Patriotic church

are forbidden to speak to foreigners, receive outside financial aid, and have experienced a long

history of abductions, imprisonments with extended terms of solitary confinements, and hard labor.

They are also under near-constant surveillance by the Religious Affairs Bureau and the police.

Exactly how this meeting is to take place, I am unsure.

Although I have an extended train ride to the general area where the bishop lives, I cannot usepublic transportation for the last hour of travel, as officials will notice me. The bishop and those

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assisting him have arranged that a driver will pick me up from the train station and drive me for the

final hour of the journey.

As I begin Morning Prayer on the train, I am happily shocked to discover that today, July 9, is the

optional memorial of the Chinese martyrs canonized by John Paul II in the 2000 Jubilee Year! From

the seventeenth century to the present day, Chinese Catholics have suffered numerous occasions of

violent persecution. In 2000, John Paul II canonized 120 Chinese Catholics and foreign

missionaries martyred from 1648 to 1930. St. Augustine Zhao Rong (+1815) was one of the 29

priests, including six bishops, martyred in this group.

I cannot help but think that I am soon to meet in person a bishop who ranks in the company of the

other Chinese bishops, priests, religious, and laity whom we invoke on todays feast. Bishop C, like

most all underground bishops, is greatly loved by his faithful flock, and has repeatedly shown his

willingness to offer his life for Jesus, for the Vicar of Jesus in Rome, and for the Church of Jesus in

its fullness without compromise.

When I arrive at the train station, I am met by a woman who instructs me that I will be taking a taxi

somewhere, and I should say nothing about the bishop or anything Catholic in the taxi. She also

informs me that there are cameras all over the station and to say nothing. I follow her to the taxi

station.

We ride to the outskirts of this city and stop on the side of a gas station. There is a car and a driver

waiting there. We get into the black car with darkened windows and ride in a new direction. My

translator asks if it is OK to speak freely and the woman, who we find out is a religious sister,

responds yes, we may speak freely.

During the car ride, the sister explains that Bishop C has spent over fifteen years in prison or some

form of isolation, as is the average for most underground bishops. Because he refuses to join the

Government-influenced Patriotic Church, he is routinely taken away to prison without notice.

As we arrive at an extremely poor village (even for third-world standards), I am taken down a

primitive dirt road. We arrive at a building. The bishop will meet us there. The house of meeting is

humble. We are taken to a location where the underground prayer groups often meet. After a fewminutes, a man of simple attire walks in. It is the bishop. His face beams with humility and a gentle

smile as walks over to greet us. He immediately displays a trust in us, as we have been introduced

by a reliable source as true supporters of the Holy Father and our Chinese underground brothers and

sisters. Indeed, he has risked his freedom and perhaps even more for this meeting. Frankly, my eyes

begin to tear as I kiss his hand. He radiates the lowly presence of a saint.

We sit with the translator, a young and relatively new convert, whose eyes also fill with tears in the

presence of this holy man. Before we begin the interview, I thank the bishop for this honor that

words cannot describe, and ask for his blessing that the Holy Spirit will guide our brief timetogether. We kneel, he blesses us, and we begin.

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MM: What would you like the Catholics in the U.S. and the West to know about the

situation of the Church here, and what would you like us to pray for?

Bishop C: Pray for our Catholic faith here, faithful to God, to Rome, to the Holy Father.

Pray for Chinese freedom. China does not have freedom of faith. You can have freedom in

your heart, no one can control it, but if you express these convictions outside it is hard. They

will try to control you.

Pray also because much of our laity and clergy are kind of focused on earthly things, and not

on God.

Even though we have many difficulties here, if we can trust totally in God, we can solve all

our problems. When we can do nothing for outside freedom, we can do something in our

hearts to obtain freedom.

There is a bad tendency regarding faith in our times. The commitment to faith has fallen in

recent times, compared to the 1980s. All of society is tending this way. People pray little

they dont do any sacrifices and faith gradually declines. People just want to pursue

happiness in this world. This is much worse than the Government harassing us.

MM: What is the reason for this decline in faith?

Bishop C: People just want to enjoy earthly things, and they dont want to pray or suffer. It

is the happiness of their body that they pursue.

MM: But what do you believe is the cause for this new attitude?

Bishop C: Some influence from Western countries, which not only affects China but

Western Catholics also. So even worse than the Government are these secular influences.

Mary, through many of her messages, has clearly decried the present state of the world, and

what we should be doing about it.

Are you familiar with some of Our Ladys descriptions of the Chinese Government in her

modern messages? This is an accurate portrayal of our Government.

MM: In some of her messages, she identifies Chinese Communism as the Red Dragon in the

Book of Revelation.

Bishop C: Yes, this, I believe, is an accurate understanding of our Government. In Heaven

there is a kind of fight between Mary and the Red Dragon. In China, here is the sharpest

point, the climax of the battle. So if we are united to Mary, to be with Her, we will never be

afraid of this Red Dragon. We should not be afraid of the Red Dragon, but we should be

afraid of ourselves, the danger of ourselves falling down in our faith. So we must listen and

pray more to Mary. This is the only way to save the Chinese Church. To pull down the

Communist party is not the only way to save the Church. We must seek their conversion,

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and Mary can convert them, she can convert their hearts. Like St. Paul, who converted from

a killer of the disciples to become our advocate for Christ.

MM: Have you heard of a movement to encourage the Holy Father to proclaim Our Lady as

the Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix of all graces, and Advocate as a new dogma, so the world can

know they have a Spiritual Mother?

Bishop C: Yes, I know of it. This is contained in the messages of Mary.

MM: Your Excellency, what is your opinion of the new letter of Pope Benedict to the people

of China?

At this point in the interview, the bishop receives a call on the cell phone at the same time the driver

enters the room. The bishop must leave immediately. He excuses himself and leaves with a peaceful

haste. The sister comes in and lets me know that her contact has called and informed her that the

police are arriving at his residence. They are afraid that they have come to take the bishop away

again and ask me to please pray for his protection. The sister puts her head down in prayer and I

begin to pray, with a return of tears for what new dangers might be awaiting him.

A half hour has passed. I cannot help but wonder if our meeting had anything to do with the abrupt

visit by the police. I also begin growing anxious as to how I may have squandered the few precious

minutes with this holy bishop without getting more quickly to vital subjects, such as his

imprisonment, his view of Pope Benedicts letter to the Chinese, the one-child policy and the like.

After a few more minutes of prayer and worry, sister walks in and proclaims the news, "Thank God,

the bishop is returning!" Moments later, in walks the bishop. I let out a sigh and thank God for his

safe return. His smile of recognition for my relief remains humble and peaceful.

I ask him if he can inform me as to the reason for this visit from the police. He informs me what

happened. Although too much detail could too easily identify Bishop C, suffice it to say he was

encouraged not to publicly support or promulgate the Popes new letter. He responded to the police

visit with the courage, unwavering loyalty to Rome, and the supernatural wisdom that has made

him, along with the other underground bishops, a spiritual force that the Peoples Republic of Chinamust reckon with. In his weakness, he is so very strong.

I asked him if all underground bishops are treated this way. He answered that in general, yes, they

were. I then told him I wanted to include his over 15-year combined time of imprisonment and

isolation in my published account of this interview, but that I was afraid it would too easily identify

him. He responded that almost all underground bishops have spent at least 15 years in prison and

therefore it wasnt a problem to include the information.

With a renewed gratitude for the gift of this man and this time with him, the interview continues.

MM: Can you tell us how the underground Church operates?

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Bishop C: Yes, this happens here. Two-thirds of Vatican-approved bishops are also Patriotic.

MM: Are all Government-approved bishops forced to compromise with the Government?

Bishop C: There are two types. One is the underground bishop who later got approved by

the Government. The second type is the Patriotic bishop, who was first approved by the

Government, and then they went to Rome to ask forgiveness and to get approval.

At this point, the bishop must leave the interview to speak to an underground priest who is on the

run.

I then ask the religious sister who accompanied us here some questions about her bishop.

In light of the seemingly overwhelming obstacles to Church reconciliation and reunification, let

alone the Goliath obstacle of the Communist governments one-child policy among a myriad of

other human rights violations, we could despair for the future of Chinese Catholicism.

But there is hope, incarnate hope in the form of one David-like province of China. Today I travel by

plane over majestic mountain ranges to arrive at what can be referred to as a true Catholic region of

Chinaan area which, believe it or not, has not only to large degrees achieved reconciliation

between the Patriotic Church and the underground Church, but has also in some miraculous fashion

beaten the one-child policy in several of its villages, through a combination of courage,perseverance, and the blood of martyrs.

Province D is already known for its general lack of cooperation with the Chinese Government. The

remarkable experience of the unity of the underground and Patriotic churches into simply one

"Catholic Church" is alive and well in a number of locations throughout the province.

The blood of martyrs is the ultimate wellspring for vibrant faith, and the land of Province D is

stained red with it. A former parish priest from one village spoke with great pride of the heroic

defense of the people for their esteemed bishops and priests. During the Boxer Rebellion (1898-

1901), great numbers of Catholics were put to death in this area. The people defended their clergy

with extraordinary heroism, oftentimes at the price of their lives and the lives of their family

members.

I arrive at a holy place in this province, one which, for its own safety, cannot be described in all its

extraordinary Catholic beauty and devotion. After praying at the several devotional locations, I met

a young priest on pilgrimage from another part of the province, who informed me that he was about

to offer Mass and that I was welcome to attend. After a Mass of noble and reverent simplicity

offered by the priest, who had been ordained only three years previous, I asked him a few questions

about the unusual Catholic vibrancy of this province.

MM: Why is this province so exceptionally Catholic?

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Fr. P: [Fr. P throughout interview > Because there are so many Catholics here. There are

about x. number of Catholics and over x. priests [extremely large numbers for any Chinese

region >. The priests are united under the bishop, our hearts are united. In the case of the

priests, our hearts are united. And with all the faithful, are hearts are united.

He told me he had been educated in a seminary which is operated by the Patriotic Church. I asked

him if he received any direct pressure to join the Patriotic Church there.

Fr. P: When I was at the seminary I did not feel any pressure directly from the Government,

but inside my heart I felt pressure from the Government, because the seminary is a Patriotic,

Government-run seminary.

MM: How does your diocese resist the pressures of the government to compromise the

Churchs teachings in regards to loyalty to Rome and respect for unborn human life?

Fr. P: This diocese is just great, very strong. It is such a great diocese the Government cant

do anything. They put so much pressure in other places but they cant here.

MM: What about government enforcement of the one-child policy in your diocese?

Fr. P: It doesnt happen here the same way it happens in other places. The people are too

united. They just refuse to follow the Population Police. Many families have many children.

We help each other, and we stand together. The faith is so strong and without compromise.

There are too many of us for them to control.

We are united in heart with the bishop, clergy, and faithful, and the people make many

sacrifices and pray very much. When the Population Police come to fine the people, the

people fight back and say, "We dont have the money, we cannot pay," and thats it. There

are too many of us united in faith under the Pope. Mary also protects us, and the blood of the

martyrs.

I left this village and drove a considerable distance to another location within the province. I spoke

to a parish priest whose village was also striving in Catholic faith and life. The parish was filled

with children, with many families having large numbers of children. The pastor also granted me an

interview under the condition of his anonymity.

MM: What is the relationship between the Patriotic Church and the underground Church

here?

Fr. Q: In this diocese, there is no underground Church and no aboveground Church. There is

no separation, it is all one.

MM: How did this happen here, especially in light of the division between the two that

exists throughout the vast majority of the country?

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Fr. Q: At the time of Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, the government wanted to

appear more open and make religion legal through an official Patriotic Church. But here

there has never been any separation. When they were trying to force this Open Church

situation here, all the people gathered together; they were reading the Bible together, and

praying Rosary together, and it did not happen.

The Patriotic Association is an attempted bridge between the Catholic people and the

Government. The bridge is not created by the Catholics, but by the Government. The people

that are leading in this bridge are people with the same mindset as the Government.

The Patriotic Association is guided by the Government and listens to the Government. That

is how you get a separation of the two. The Patriotic Association does exist here, but with

very few members. They call the bishop and say this or that, and if they tell the bishop to do

something that is okay he will do it. If it is not okay, something not according to the faith,

then he will not do it.

MM: But why is it different here? In most other provinces, if the bishop doesnt do what the

government says, they take him away.

Fr. Q: This is a very special situation. China just has a lot of different situations. Because

here there are so many Catholics in the area and so many priests, we just stand together and

the Government lets us go our way.

So the local Government has never had any problem with us praying for the Pope in theMass, or the Rosary, or any other time. The Government has never demanded that we join

the Patriotic Association. The Catholics are not giving the Government any trouble, so since

the people dont give the Government any trouble, the Government does not give them any

trouble.

The Church is also doing works of mercy, they are doing things for the people, so the

Government lets them do the work.

MM: Again, there are other places where the Church is helping people through works ofmercy, but the Government continues to persecute the local Church. Why the greater

freedom of the Church here?

Fr. Q: If you want to be Catholic, you have to have a straight line to the Pope and if the

Government does not demand that we do anything different than that, that is just the way it

is. If there is a division in that straight line from Pope to Catholic then you are no longer

Catholic, so you have to have that straight line!

From the beginning of the local Patriotic Association, a small group organized by the

Government, they followed the good ideas and vision of the bishop. They cannot control,

because everything here is done according to the Church. Our Church has always been free,

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not like in other places. No, here from the very beginning, all the time the Church is open, it

is connected with the Government, but with no suppression and no compromise.

A final commentary on the extraordinary situation of the Church that exists in parts of Province D,

as well as in isolated parts of other provinces, comes from a religious sister who originally migrated

from Mongolia to this province. Her comments comprise a succinct summary of why the Church

local in these select regions has beaten the local government:

We are united. Our people fight back and refuse the one-child policy. We tell them we have no

money, and we do not pay the fines. We stand together, as many Catholics, with the Holy Father and

for life. We fight with our faith, with sacrifice, and with the Rosary. The people pray the Rosary in

groups, united with our priests and bishops. Families have larger families because the clergy and the

people stand united, and we are too united, there are too many of us, for them to enforce their

policy.

The formula for Catholic success, though admitting of a variance in concretely applying them

according to local circumstance, appears consistent: 1. An uncompromised loyalty to the Holy

Father; 2. Unity of heart among bishop, priests, and laity in living orthodox faith and pro-life

practice to sacrificial and heroic degrees; 3. Tapping the supernatura

the seven sorrows of china

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