FILE PHOTO: An underground Catholic church overlooks the village of Huangtugang, Hebei province, China September 30, 2018. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
DONGLU VILLAGE, China (Reuters) - In 1996, a tiny village with a huge Gothic-style church in China's Catholic heartland of northern Hebei province was the scene of a tense stand-off between the ruling Communist Party and the faithful.
Authorities surrounded Donglu village's Our Lady of China Catholic Church, blocking thousands of pilgrims and detaining Vatican-ordained Bishop Su Zhimin, who was a member of the "underground" Church, not the state-backed official Church which did not recognise the pope's authority to name bishops.
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