Death of jailed bishop in China concerns Vatican

ROME (Reuters) - The Vatican expressed concern on Tuesday at the unexplained death of a jailed Chinese bishop, who was quickly cremated and buried by Chinese authorities without a religious ceremony.

Han Dinxiang, bishop in Hebei province who belonged to China's underground Catholic Church, died in custody on Sept. 9.

The Vatican newspaper said he had suffered for his faith "in life and death", and estimated that he had been jailed for more than 20 years in total.

"The news of his death took everyone by surprise because there was no knowledge that the prelate was sick or suffered from any illness," L'Osservatore Romano said.

The article also expressed concern at police surveillance around Han's grave.

Pope Benedict has called for better ties with China and wants to unite all its Catholics, up to 12 million of them, divided between a state-controlled church and an underground one led by the Pontiff.

The Vatican has had no diplomatic relations with Beijing since 1951, two years after the Communist takeover.

The U.S.-based Cardinal Kung Foundation, which reports on China's underground church, said Han had spent the last eight years of his life in prison.

He was arrested in 1999 during a religious retreat, the foundation said on its Web site: www.cardinalkungfoundation.org

The Vatican newspaper said Chinese authorities moved the jailed bishop to a secret location in 2006.

"In early 2006 he 'went missing' and nobody knew where he was being held in isolation," it said.

The newspaper expressed "sadness and regret" at his quick cremation and burial, completed less than seven hours after his death.

It complained that Chinese authorities did not allow priests the opportunity to perform a Catholic funeral or give followers a chance to pay their respects.

The Kung Foundation described his quick cremation as "suspicious".