John Han Dingxiang (; May 17, 1937 – September 9, 2007) was an underground

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

bishop of

Yongnian Yongnian is an District (PRC), urban district of the city of Handan, Hebei province, China. It is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Yongnian. History During the middle ages, the region was known as Ming Prefecture (Hebei), Ming Prefect ...

, a division of

Hebei province Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, and ...

, in China. Han was detained for much of his ministry for his loyalty to the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

as opposed to the Chinese government-controlled Roman Catholic Church.

Early life

Han Dingxiang was born on May 17, 1937 in

in northern China. In 1960, Han was sentenced to and served 19 years in a Chinese

labor camp A labor camp (or labour camp, see spelling differences) or work camp is a detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor as a form of punishment. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons (espec ...

during the rule of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...

. It is not known whether his sentence was related to religious activity.

Catholic Church

Han was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in 1986. He was elevated by the Vatican to the Bishop of Yongnian Diocese in 1989 just three years later. Han recognized the

pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

as head of the Chinese Catholic Church, not the government in Beijing. The Chinese government requires that all members of Christian denominations register and worship in state sponsored churches. By law, Christians of all denominations must worship in state-registered churches. Chinese Catholics, such as Han, who recognize the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

as head of the Church must worship in underground churches, often called

house churches A house church or home church is a label used to describe a group of Christians who regularly gather for worship in private homes. The group may be part of a larger Christian body, such as a parish, but some have been independent groups that see ...

. The Chinese government allows Chinese Catholics to recognize the

as a

spiritual leader Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrine Doctrine (from la, Wikt:doct ...

. However, the government rejects the notion that the Vatican alone has the authority to appoint bishops. The Chinese government often appoints its own bishops to its state controlled Catholic Church. Bishops appointed secretly by the Vatican must practice underground or risk detention and arrest. Han Dingxiang was detained on eleven separate occasions during his tenure as Bishop of

. Han last arrest took place in November 1999. Han was reportedly caught leading a

religious retreat The meaning of a spiritual retreat can be different for different religious communities. Spiritual retreats are an integral part of many Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, Christian and Sufi communities. In Hinduism and Buddhism, meditative retreats are ...

for Catholic nuns in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei. Han was still under

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if ...

or other forms of detention stemming from his 1999 arrest at the time of death in 2007. He had served over eight years and had been kept in several locations, including a housing complex for Chinese police and their families. Han Dingxiang died on September 9, 2007 at a hospital in China while still in police custody. He was being treated for an undisclosed illness, which was reportedly

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, malign ...

. His family had only recently been notified about his poor health. Han was reportedly

cremated Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...

and buried just six hours after his death. The

Cardinal Kung Foundation The Cardinal Kung Foundation is a not-for-profit Roman Catholic organization based in Stamford, Connecticut. Founded in 1994 by Joseph Kung, nephew of the late Cardinal Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei, the foundation monitors the treatment of Catholics in C ...

, a Catholic monitoring group based in the United States, urged the Vatican to investigate Han's death.

References

External links

Los Angeles Times: Pro-Rome Chinese bishop is reported dead
{{DEFAULTSORT:Han, Dingxiang 1937 births 2007 deaths Chinese prisoners and detainees Deaths from lung cancer Deaths from cancer in the People's Republic of China 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in China