Chinese authorities have arrested the coadjutor bishop of Wenzhou, China, and local faithful say it is to prevent him from taking possession of the diocese after the death of Bishop Vincent Zhu Weifang.
AsiaNews, the Rome-based missionary news agency, said police took Coadjutor Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin out of the diocese in early September. Under canon law, a coadjutor would take over the diocese when the bishop retires or dies.
AsiaNews reported that Bishop Shao was taken to northwest China "on a trip". The diocesan chancellor, Fr Paul Jian Sunian, was escorted by police to Yunnan, and another priest was held in a hotel.
