Priest, nun in underground Chinese church found dead in pool of blood, no suspects arrested

Priest, nun in underground Chinese church killed

BEIJING — A priest and nun who belonged to an unauthorized congregation in northern China were found slain in the hospice where they worked, a local priest said Thursday. Police have made no arrests.

The pair were found dead Tuesday at the hospice in Inner Mongolia’s Wuhai city, said Zhang Pengyao, a priest with the country’s official church. The hospice was still cordoned off by police, he said.

A report by AsiaNews, a missionary news agency close to the Vatican, said priest Zhang Shulai and nun Wei Yanhui were found stabbed to death in the hospice, which was part of the church residence. Hospice workers found their bodies in a pool of blood after the pair failed to show up for morning mass.

Wei had a stab wound to the chest. Zhang had seven knife wounds, and his body showed signs of a struggle, the report said. It was not clear where they were found in the hospice and whether the bodies were together in one room.

An officer in the Wuhai police department who refused to give his name told The Associated Press by phone that authorities had not made any arrests. He refused to give additional information and hung up.

Zhang and Wei worked in the region’s unofficial diocese. China’s Communist government allows worship only in state-approved churches, but many Catholics belong to unregistered congregations. Such “house churches” are subjected to varying degrees of harassment by authorities.

Christians worshipping in China’s independent churches are believed to number upward of 60 million, compared to about 20 million people who worship in the state church, according to numbers provided by scholars and church activists.

Zhang Pengyao said the victims’ status with the unofficial church hindered him from helping.

“Since they’re underground, our priests have concerns participating in their activities. And they’re also reluctant to contact us and do things on their own,” he said.