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The Zhengding Missionary Murder is an incident in which nine Catholic priests were kidnapped and killed in Zhengding, Hebei province, China on October 9, 1937.
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During the Sino-Japanese war, troops of the Japanese empire progressed to take in the city of Zhengding. Up to 5,000 local residents sought refuge from the local Bishop, Frans Schraven. Of those 5,000, it is estimated that 200 young women were amongst those seeking refuge, who were thought to be at risk of being abused as comfort women.
The clergymen initially resisted the Japanese troops demands and were later abducted and according to reports burned alive. Besides Frans Schraven, those who died were Fathers Gerard Wouters and Antoon Gerts (Netherlands), Father Thomas Ceska (Austria with Croatian heritage), Fathers Lucien Charny, Eugene-Antoine Bertrand, André Robial (France), Brother Wladislaw (Poland) and Anton Biskupits (Slovakia).
The heroic act of the Bishop and his priests has led to calls for his beatification and canonisation as patron saint for sex abuse victims.
Nantes France Diplomatic Archives
Nantes France Diplomatic Archivess have stored official documents dated 13 February 1938 which Japan embassy staff in Beijing, Morishima Morito, addressed to Francis Lacoste of the French Embassy in Beijing. The documents reports investigation results which the Japanese government made, and explains detailed and concrete measures which the Japanese army took for protecting the Missionary. In addition, the crime is affirmed to be due to Chinese military straggler. Not to Japanese soldiers. And it says "We have not found evidence to overturn the results even after the investigation was continued. Therefore, the Japanese government can not bear the responsibility for the incident."
General documents in Nantes Archives
A Dutch priest entered the local three days after the incident. Circumstances that he heard from employees has been recorded.”A dozen robbers were all wearing a Japanese military uniform. Rather than a regiment hat, they were wearing a felt hat. (snip) They talked that they were Manchus of "Red Beard", in other words bandits, and wanted the money to go back to the country.”