The marvelous dividends of the recent Vatican apology to China (papal script courtesy of the Vatican Secretary of State) just keep piling up - and they are all rotten.

       On February 11, 2002 CWNews reported that a committee of Chinese religious activists has released a detailed, 141-page report disclosing that the Red Chinese regime has recently "killed 129 people and arrested nearly 24,000 in a crackdown on Christian churches that operate outside government control."

       As CWN’s article on the report notes, while "the most prominent target has been the Falun Gong spiritual movement…other targeted groups span the spectrum from Roman Catholics to Buddhists to newer organizations with unorthodox views." And, according to the report "The persecution against underground Christians has escalated and originates at the highest central levels of the Chinese government." Escalated, that is, since the abject papal apology to the Red Chinese.

       The group says its proof consists of documents "showing that the harsh tactics were approved by senior leaders including Vice President Hu Jintao, who is expected to succeed President Jiang Zemin as China's next leader." CWN cites Robin Munro, a British human rights researcher who has no connection to the committee, who said "he reviewed the documents that it gathered and believed they were genuine. He said it was the biggest quantity of internal Chinese government documents that he had seen assembled by one group. ‘It paints a pretty frightening picture of the Chinese security authorities’ attempt to suppress a wide range of spiritual groups,’" said Munro.

       CWN reports that "Calls seeking comment from China's Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Public Security and the official Roman Catholic and Protestant organizations weren't answered Monday. Most government offices were closed on the eve of the Chinese New Year." Don’t hold your breath waiting for a return phone call.

       Further details of the report: 23,686 have been arrested and 4,014 sentenced to "re-education," while 63 other "South China Church" leaders (a Protestant group) "have been detained and some sentenced to up to seven years in prison. It said one was missing and may have been killed." The report also cites "statements by followers of other groups who said they suffered rape, beatings, electric shocks and other abuse."

       So - big surprise - religious persecution in Red China has only intensified over the past few months. For this the Vatican had the Pope apologize to the bloody Jiang regime?

       They should have seen it coming, for one can never strike a good bargain with the devil. And yet Vatican diplomats keep trying to negotiate with the evil one’s foremost earthly representatives. The condition of the Church in China is the great result of their useless palaver with men of blood.