BEIJING, JULY 21, 2002 (Zenit.org).- Five adults and 25 children were arrested in southeastern China for engaging in religious activities, police reported today.
One of the adults, Sister Chen Mei, 28, was sentenced Thursday without a trial to 15 days in jail for giving catechesis in the village of Dongan, in the Lianjiang district of Fujian province, police said.
The other four adults received an official warning from the authorities and were released the day of their arrest, as were the children, ages 10-16, who received the catechesis.
In a statement, the Cardinal Kung Foundation accused the Communist authorities of violating the fundamental right to religious liberty and requested the release of Sister Chen Mei, as well as of Catholic priests and bishops detained in Chinese prisons.
ZENIT - The World Seen from Rome
21. juli 2002