HONG KONG (UCAN): The Archdiocese of Xi’an in Shaanxi province, China, has denied rumours that the three-century-old St. Francis Cathedral is facing demolition amid fears of a government move to occupy a portion of Church land. Italian missionaries built the church in 1715.
Bishop Anthony Dang Mingyan issued a statement asking people not to believe the rumours that the government plans to demolish the cathedral, which is a provincial heritage and will not be demolished.
The bishop’s statement came last week amid social media discussions about a government move to demolish the cathedral and take over some prime Church land, a source of diocesan income.
Bishop Dang said he issued the statement to stop dissemination of misleading information that the cathedral will be demolished and that Catholics need to protect it.
One social media posting showed a group of people holding a banner in front of the cathedral, which read: “The Catholic church on Wuxing Street in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, is about to be demolished and our sisters and brothers are bravely resisting to protect it.”
Paul, a parishioner, said it is actually two rows of houses on either side the cathedral, built on church land, that are actually slated for demolition. The diocese rents out the houses and the income continues to be part of its funding sources.
The houses stand on land purchased by the late Bishop Anthony Li Du’an (1927 to 2006).
The government took over the land after the communists came to power in 1949 and turned it into a public school. When the school was moved in 2005, the diocese negotiated a deal and bought the property by paying “a huge amount.”
Paul said it was “a fact” that the government wants to demolish the houses and turn them into an open park “in a clear attempt to seize the Church’s property again.”
He said, “The worst is that the diocese has now clarified the rumours instead of facing up to the problem.”
However, Bishop Dang said the demolition of the houses has nothing to do with the Church.
“We are in contact with the government. They want to beautify the streets to upgrade the city’s image. We are negotiating with the government to see how we can cooperate with the move,” the bishop said.
Another parishioner, Peter Liu, said the authorities have promised not to demolish the building until the negotiations are completed. “Since the houses are a source of funding for the diocese, the diocese cannot ignore it,” he said.
A Catholic who does business in Xi’an said the “rumours were not unfounded and that Catholics were trying to protect the Church’s rights from the authorities.”
But the businessperson, who requested anonimity, said, “The diocese rejected the rumour but did not explain why there was such a rumor, which makes people even more suspicious that they had an undisclosed agreement,” he said.
