ABC News: Chinese Christians Forced to Worship in Secret

I found this story fascinating, as we in the west argue abut worship and philosophy (which ae important), people on the other side of the world deal with pressures we can't imagine. Here's an excerpt:

ABC News witnessed the restrictions firsthand in a heavily Christian area south of China's capital of Beijing.

There used to be a shrine in Bao Ding, China, visited by tens of thousands of Christians a year — until the Chinese government closed it and tore it down, forcing many worshippers underground.

Deep in the countryside just after sunset, ABC News found a 110-year-old Catholic church revered by residents. Now, it is a ghostly ruin.

Many villagers were afraid to talk about it, but a man who identified himself as a lay minister said the police came suddenly in 1995, arrested the bishop and told the villagers to leave the church. Then, they closed down the church for good.

Now, like many Christians in China, they hold Mass in the middle of the night, changing locations to avoid police raids.

Tens of millions of Chinese are braving the same risk, just to practice their faith.