11/13/2019 China (International Christian Concern) – Bishop Vincenzo Guo Xijin of Fujian is currently being pressured and pursued by the Chinese government to sign documentation associating himself with an “independent Church”.
This is part of a broader appeal of Chinese officials against underground Catholics which targets the separation of Catholics from the Vatican and therefore the universal Church. By associating themselves with an independent Church, they are no longer recognized as Catholics.
Authorities are offering church leaders official government recognition of their work in response to the signing on to the independent church. With over 90,000 Catholics in the Diocese of Mindong, at least 80,000 reportedly belong to the unofficial church. Authorities are attempting to leverage the predicted submission of Bishop Guo Xijin as a way to weaken other’s resistance against the government.
Source: ICC www.persecution.org
