Rome, Italy, Mar 6, 2009 / 10:46 am
Eighty five year-old Bishop Leon Yao Liang of Hebei has been reunited with his diocese after being held in prison for 30 months for belonging to the clandestine Catholic Church in China.
The French ecumenical association Christian Action for the Abolition of Torture reported on the release of Bishop Yao, which took place at the end of January.
The bishop has received the support of organizations and people around the world, who demanded that he be released. He enjoys good health, and although he is prohibited from leaving his parish to visit and support the faithful under his care, some 1,000 people attend his Mass each Sunday.
There are still two bishops from Hebei and a priest who remain in prison: Bishop Su Zhimin, 76, of Baoding, who was arrested on October 8, 1997, and Bishop Shi Enxiang, 85, of Yixian, who was arrested on April 13, 2001, and the vicar general of the Diocese of Baoding, Father Lui Genjun, who was arrested on February 17, 2006.