Vatican “regrets” arrest of Chinese bishop

The Vatican on Thursday regretted the latest arrest of Zhengding Bishop Giulio Jia Zhiguo by Chinese authorities, after holding a meeting on the state of the Roman Catholic Church in China. Calling Jia’s arrest “an obstacle to dialogue”, a Vatican statement said that other clergymen were also being held or under pressure because of their religious activities. A Vatican committee of Church officials and representatives of Chinese bishops which discussed Church life in communist China March 30-April 1 found that “problems are not only due to difficulties inside the Church but also to the tense relationship with civilian authorities”.