Reds Accuse Bishop Of

" Spying ,f
By Fr. PATRICK O'CONNOR
Accused by the Japanese during the war of espionage and collaboration on behalf of Chinese Reds, Bishop Ignatius Krause, of Shuntehfu in Hopei Province, And a number of his priests are now being held by Chinese Communists on the fantastic charge of having served as " Japanese intelligence agents."
The Bishop, six priests and one nun have been imprisoned, while one priest and eight nuns have been detained. They constitute the entire personnel of Polish missionaries in Shuntehfu.
The fantastic accusation against the Bishop and his priests appeared in a Communist English-language propaganda release, eight weeks after the missionaries first were imprisoned, obviously intended to counteract Amer:can and European Press reports of the current persecution of religion in Communist-held areas of China.
"FULL CONFESSION" The Communists' Press release alleges the priests " have made a full confession of their crimes of using those positions as Catholic missionaries as a mask for Japanese intelligence activities and concealing war prisoners to prepare violence against the local democratic (meaning Communist) government."
What the alleged confessions specify is not stated. It is known for certain that the Reds resorted to torture and beatings to extract " confessions of guilt " from these missionaries. but as far as is known these cruelties have failed in their purpose.
"PROOFS VAGUE"
All the "proofs" offered in one Communists' story are vague, and some obviously are false. The only statement bearing on espionage that is charged is that a Polish missionary in 1938 received a " special document" from the Japanese Army " to organise intelligence work." The document is not quoted and its nature is unspecified.
The only document obtained by the Bishop, who evidently is the Polish missionary mentioned, from the Japanese, was a travel permit issued that year when he came from
the United States to China. My definite information is that the Japanese at about that time jailed two Polish priests, tried to kill another, and destroyed two chapels, and by face-slapping and frequent questionings, manifested suspicion of these missionaries.