VATICAN CITY (Religion News Service) Chinese police have arrested four underground Roman Catholic priests, a U.S.-based monitoring group reported Sunday (July 29).

According to the Cardinal Kung Foundation, the priests were arrested for refusing to join the state-run Chinese Catholic church and for remaining loyal to Pope Benedict XVI.

Three of the priests, hailing from the northeastern province of Hebei, were reportedly arrested July 24 by plainclothes policemen in the northern part of Inner Mongolia, where they were hiding. The priests were Liang Aijun, 35, Wang Zhong, 41, and Gao Jinbao, 34.

Another priest, Lui Tai, 50, also of Hebei province, was arrested in early July, the foundation said.

The Vatican was unavailable for comment Monday (July 30).

For half a century, Chinese Catholics have been divided between a state-run church independent of the Vatican and an "underground" church of Catholics loyal to the pope.

Christian World News, CBN.com - Just south of the Yucatan Peninsula, Christians are battling some storms of their own.

Persecution of evangelicals in the Mexican state of Chiapas has intensified this year.

At least 17 major incidents have been recorded since January.

CWN's Gary Lane recently visited San Juan Chamula.

Festivals like the Day of the Dead are customary celebrations in Chiapas. Many villages throughout this southern Mexican state require residents to pay a fee to cover the cost of the events.

But many evangelical Christians say the celebrations are nothing more than hedonistic, drunken orgies. They've refused to give of their time and treasure.

Some have seen their churches destroyed as a result.