China Bishops

The Chinese government has released an underground Roman Catholic bishop who had been imprisoned for a decade, the Cardinal Kung Foundation announced.

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Bishop An Shuxin, auxiliary bishop in the diocese of Baodai, Hebei Province, was arrested in May 1996. His only contact with the outside world after that was a visit with his elderly mother in 2000.

The foundation said the circumstances of the bishop's release are unclear, but he appeared to be under government surveillance. He has a work permit to function as a bishop and has not registered with the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, the government religious organization.

The Patriotic church is not recognized by the Vatican. Pope Benedict XVI recently excommunicated two Patriotic bishops who were consecrated without Vatican approval.