The Saint Jerome Press of Wichita, Kansas: Remembering the Suffering Church in China

Where We Stand:

Catholic Bible Production in China

In response to cost and competitive pressures, many publishers are producing Bibles in China.  Saint Jerome Press cannot with good corporate conscience, produce Bibles in a country where Roman Catholic clergy are regularly arrested and jailed, and government-sponsored persecution of Roman Catholics continues.

Ten million of China’s estimated 15 million Catholics are Roman Catholics who, in order to remain loyal to the Holy See, must practice their faith underground.  It is widely reported that hundreds of Roman Catholic clergy have been imprisoned, are under strict government surveillance or are missing altogether.  The remaining one-third of Chinese Catholics are part of the government-sanctioned Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA), which has no formal ties to the Vatican.  The practice and membership of the CCPA is closely monitored and regulated.

We encourage all Bible consumers to make their own decisions regarding the origin of the Bibles they purchase.  Saint Jerome Press will continue to offer the highest quality Bibles at the best possible prices, and will only produce Bibles in countries where all people are allowed to freely practice their faith.

Saint Jerome Press

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Pope asks prayers today for Chinese Church
http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=6423
At the close of his Regina Coeli audience on Sunday, May 23, Pope Benedict XVI asked the faithful to remember a special Day of Prayer for the Church in China, to be observed on Monday, May 24, 2010.

Update

News Chinese authorities demolish parish June 10, 2010 Government authorities in Ordos City, a city of 1.6 million in northern China, demolished the city’s only parish on June 7 in order to make way for a larger road. Authorities also handcuffed the parish priest and a lay leader. The parish had been registered with the government and was not part of the underground church; the local Inner Mongolian bishop has been approved both by the Holy See and by the Communist government. One source told UCA News, “How could the government demolish the church secretly in the middle of the night and cause the ‘disappearance’ of our Church leaders while talking about social harmony?” Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window. Authorities raze city’s only Catholic church (UCAN) Ordos City (Wikipedia)