HONG KONG (UCAN): The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, the organisation set up in 1957 by China’s Religious Bureau to oversee the Church in China, condemned rumours that church gatherings were a source of the Covid-19 coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak in some northern villages.
“The spread of the rumours has seriously violated the legal rights and interests of the priests of the Catholic Church and undermined the harmony and stability of society,” said a January 7 statement from the Patriotic Association of Gaocheng district of Shijiazhuang city, the capital of Hebei province, where there has been a recent resurgence of Covid-19 infections.
The statement observed that recent postings on major social media platforms such as WeChat and Weibo had blamed gatherings of Catholic faithful and foreign priests as the cause of the virus spreading among several villages in Gaocheng. The rumours claimed that 20 days ago many European and American priests came to participate in religious activities but did not take any precautionary measures.
The statement pointed out: “It is now almost impossible for European and American priests to come to China. Even if possible, all immigrants must be quarantined in designated hotels for 14 days” and they must have a certificate with a “double negative” (antibody and nucleic acid testing) to enter the country, it said.
The spread of the rumours has seriously violated the legal rights and interests of the priests of the Catholic Church and undermined the harmony and stability of society,
“In order to protect our legitimate rights and interests, we have reported to the police in regards to the rumours of the epidemic and reserve the right to pursue the legal responsibility of the rumours,” the statement said.
Authorities locked down Shijiazhuang on January 6 after the infection began to spread rapidly in the city of 11 million people. The city had recorded 310 cases as of January 7.
To check the spread, authorities barred people from leaving the city, blocked major highways, closed train and bus stations, and cancelled all flights.
Gaocheng district reportedly completed nucleic acid testing on January 8 with 259 people testing positive.
The local Patriotic Association statement noted that there are no Catholic-run prayer venues in villages mentioned in the social media posts, including Xiaoguozhuang, Liujiazuo and Nanqiaozhai.
Hebei is considered China’s Catholic heartland as it has some 1.5 million Catholics, about one quarter of the total in China. Most belong to the unofficial Church community.
Authorities have already shut down some 155 official religious venues in neighbouring Beijing as the Covid-19 coronavirus infection spread Hebei.
Religious activities across the country were suspended last year to curb the pandemic, and religious venues have only been reopened to the public in the last few months.
