China detains underground Catholic bishop--group

BEIJING, Aug 23 (Reuters) China detained an underground Catholic bishop today, the US-based Cardinal Kung Foundation said, the latest irritant in fraught relations between Beijing and the Vatican.

Bishop Jia Zhiguo, 73, who heads a diocese in the northern province of Hebei, was taken in after days of police surveillance.

He has already spent about 20 years in prison for his loyalty to the Pope over China's state-controlled Catholic authority.

''We do not know the reason of the bishop's arrest, nor do we know his current location,'' the foundation said in a statement. But it added: ''(A) few days ago, the Religious Bureau forcibly put a sign ''The Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association'' vertically at the side gate of Bishop Jia's church.'' China's 12 million Catholics are politically divided between ''above-ground'' churches approved by the ruling Communist Party and ''underground'' churches that reject government ties and owe loyalty to the Pope.

China and the Vatican have had no formal diplomatic ties since shortly after the Communists took power in 1949, but there have been recent moves towards a possible rapprochement.

On June 30, Pope Benedict issued a letter urging reconciliation, but said the church must have the power to appoint bishops, a policy that China rejects as interference in its domestic affairs.

The Cardinal Kung Foundation said Jia's detention, along with the arrest of Father Wen Daoxiu, also of Hebei, earlier this month, ran counter both to the spirit of the Pope's letter and to accepted principles of human rights.

Reuters AM GC1719