Bibles banned from 2008 Olympic village

Chinese officials have announced athletes who compete in the 2008 Beijing Games will be banned from having Bibles in their Olympic village housing, and even visitors are being warned not to bring more than a single Bible with them when they come to China. According to a report from the Catholic News Agency, Bibles will be among the list of "prohibited objects" for athletes at the Beijing housing complexes being built now for the thousands of athletes expected to participate. "According to the Italian daily La Gazzetta dello Sport, organizers have cited 'security reasons' and have prohibited athletes from bearing any kind of religious symbol at Olympic facilities," the report said. "The Spanish daily La Razon said the rule was one of a number of 'signs of censure and intolerance' towards religious objects, particularly those used by Christians in China," the report said. "Currently in China five bishops and 15 priests are in prison for opposing the official [government-run] church."