VZCZCXRO7797
RR RUEHGH
DE RUEHCN #0016/01 0260839
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 260839Z JAN 10
FM AMCONSUL CHENGDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3700
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 4423

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000016 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/CM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV CH
SUBJECT: SW CHINA CATHOLICS:  PRIEST SHORTAGE AND GOVERNMENT CONTROL 
 
REF: 05 CHENGDU 548 
 
CHENGDU 00000016  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (U) This cable contains sensitive but unclassified 
information - not for distribution on the Internet. 
 
 
 
¶2. (SBU) Summary:  Luo Xuegang, a Catholic priest in Sichuan 
Province's Yibin city, recently told Consul General that the 
Yibin diocese has a 135-year history and more than 40,000 
believers.   Luo said that although the Yibin diocese has 22 
Catholic churches and places of worship, it has only eight 
priests and one (94-year old) bishop.  Luo provided specific 
examples of active government control of the Catholic Church in 
Sichuan, while making general statements before our FAO handlers 
that downplayed the government's role.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
A Priest Describes the Catholic Church in Yibin 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) Over a January 7 lunch that included representatives 
from the Yibin Foreign Affairs Office (FAO), Luo Xuegang told CG 
that Yibin has over 40,000 Catholics who are led by eight 
priests and one bishop.  (Note: A 2007 Yibin College Journal 
article noted that Jesuit missionaries arrived in Sichuan in the 
1640s; by 1702, French missionaries of the Missionary Society of 
Paris were preaching and making converts in Yibin.  In 1946, the 
Yibin diocese had 28,000 Catholics in a population of 7.6 
million.  The diocese had 26 foreign missionaries, 36 Chinese 
assistant clergy, five foreign monks, 45 Chinese monks, 60 lay 
preachers, 100 religious centers, and one clinic with 80 beds. 
The Yibin diocese is now led by 94-year old Bishop Chen, who is 
recognized by both the Vatican and the leadership of the 
Catholic Patriotic Association in Beijing (reftel).  Bishop Chen 
was ill during our visit to Yibin, so we could not meet him. 
End Note.) 
 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Catholic Diocese of Yibin includes the cities of 
Neijiang, Zigong, and Luzhou, which together have a total 
population of about 15.5 million people, according to Sichuan's 
official statistics.  Luo said that Yibin diocese has 22 
Catholic churches and places of worship, although he did not 
explain what constituted a place of worship.  He briefly 
mentioned family churches, but he did not say how many existed 
in and around Yibin.  Luo may not have been including family 
churches in his total count of Catholic churches.  The religious 
atmosphere in Yibin, according to Luo, is one in which believers 
of different faiths, from Taoism, to Buddhism, to Catholicism 
coexist harmoniously. 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) Luo said that Yibin had a shortage of priests and, in 
some cases, one priest had responsibility for more than one 
church.  He stated that churches have enough bibles for 
believers, many of whom live in rural areas.  Luo went on to say 
that churches offered training to the rural believers whose 
knowledge of the Catholic faith was "not high quality." 
 
 
 
Attempts to Show Government's Hands-Off Approach 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Luo, at different points in the conversation, 
emphasized that the government had "limited" involvement with 
the establishment and operation of the Catholic Diocese of 
Yibin.  He said that the number of believers in a given area was 
the criteria used to determine if a new church should be built. 
Luo said that the government did not get too involved in the 
operation of legal churches, but did provide "support" to them. 
He also said that the Chinese people enjoyed freedom of 
religion.  (Comment:  Luo may have felt the need to emphasize 
the government's non-interference in religious activities 
because members of the Yibin FAO were present at the lunch.  Or, 
he may have been frankly conveying his perception of the 
relationship between the Catholic Church and the government.  CG 
did not have an opportunity to talk with Luo without the FAO 
near at hand, however.  End Comment.) 
 
 
 
CHENGDU 00000016  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
Statements Suggest Strong Government Involvement in Activities 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) In contrast to Luo's general statements about religious 
freedom, he repeatedly provided specific examples that showed 
extensive governmental oversight and involvement with the 
Catholic Diocese of Yibin.  He said that men who study to join 
the priesthood must pass a test administered by the government 
before becoming a priest, although Luo did not say how this test 
differed from the church-administered test.  Luo further said 
that the government would not allow too many small churches.  He 
claimed that small churches would lead to "disorder" and were 
more difficult for the government to manage.  In another example 
of direct government involvement, Luo noted that the Yibin 
government had shown great interest in refurbishing the bishop's 
office building.  The government has pledged to make the office 
building one of the best buildings in Yibin.  The Sichuan 
provincial government around 2004 or 2005 provided 20 million 
RMB to rebuild the Sichuan's Catholic Theological College in 
Pixian, although Luo could not remember the date exactly.  All 
men in Yibin who seek to become priests must study at this 
college.  Luo stated that since 2005, Sichuan's government has 
increased its support to Catholic churches. 
 
 
 
Father Luo Biographic Information 
 
--------------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶8. (SBU) Luo said that his father, mother, and many of his 
relatives were Catholics.  He entered Sichuan Catholic 
Theological College in 1984, and became a priest in 1991.  He 
recently transferred to Yibin to help Bishop Chen.  Luo told CG 
that he has traveled through the rural areas of the Yibin 
diocese, and is now focused on building churches and training. 
He expressed an interest in other religions during the course of 
the lunch conversation, and said that he had recently attended a 
seminar hosted by the International Taoism Association that had 
attracted participants from a number of areas including 
Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. 
BROWN