BEIJING - Authorities in southeastern China detained a Roman Catholic nun and 30 others who were attending a secret children's religious class, a U.S.-based church advocacy group said.
An official in the village of Dong'an in Lianjiang county on Monday said a group of villagers were detained last Friday for "attending an illegal religious activity."
The official would not say how many people were detained or identify members of the group, but said some children had attended with their parents. Most of those detained have since been released, said the man, who refused to give his name.
In a statement released during the weekend, the Stamford, Connecticut-based Cardinal Kung Foundation said that in addition to the nun, those arrested comprised of 26 students under age 18 and four chaperones.
All except the nun, identified as Sister Chen Mei, were released a day after the raid. Mei remains in the Lianjiang county detention center in Fujian province, said the group.
It said the raid took place Thursday on a private home in Dong'an where the class was being held in secret.
A spokesman at the Lianjiang county detention center said around 30 people had been detained last Friday in relation to underground religious activity, but refused to disclose any details. Local police refused to comment.
The foundation said the religious class was organized by members of the underground Roman Catholic church in China, which rejects the authority of the government-sanctioned China Patriotic Catholic Association.
Beijing insists that the Catholic Church in China follows government orders — rather than the pope's — in such matters as the selection of bishops. But many worship in underground churches, which the government deems illegal.
Beijing and the Vatican broke formal relations in 1951, when China's new communist rulers kicked out missionaries and forced Catholics to sever ties with Rome.
China claims about 4 million Catholics practice in the official Church. Independent groups claim millions more worship in the underground church.
In its statement, the Cardinal Kung Foundation accused Chinese authorities of intimidating and harassing young Catholics in order to pressure them and their parents into abandoning the underground church and joining the Patriotic Association.
China's officially atheistic communist government tightly restricts all religious expression. Believers are organized into state controlled religious institutions and police are used to break up underground groups.