The new regulations are considered one of the toughest sets of limitations on capital punishment in the nation.

The arrest of a Chinese 74-year-old bishop was "unfortunately not an isolated case," the Vatican said.

The Catholic conference said the proposal unfairly targets the church and other private institutions.

"The budget choices of Congress have clear moral and human dimensions," the bishops said.

"These people have no alternative but to entrust themselves to human smugglers who often treat them as meat," said one human rights worker.

Bishop Robert E. Guglielmone (left) was installed as the 13th bishop of the Charleston Diocese March 25.