China’s Communist regime is increasing pressure on independent, underground Catholic communities to join the state-controlled official Church, according to a Human Rights Watch report. Source: UCA News.
Under President Xi Jinping’s “Sinicisation” of religion campaign, which began in 2016, places of worship and religious teachings are expected to reflect Han-centric Chinese culture and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) ideology, the report published on Wednesday stated.
The 2018 Provisional Agreement Regarding the Appointment of Bishops between the Holy See and China, which ended a decades-long dispute over the appointment of bishops in China, has facilitated repression of Catholics in China, it noted.
“A decade into Xi Jinping’s Sinicisation campaign and nearly eight years since the 2018 Holy See-China agreement, Catholics in China face escalating repression that violates their religious freedoms,” Yalkun Uluyol, HRW China researcher, said.
“Pope Leo XIV should urgently review the agreement and press Beijing to end the persecution and intimidation of underground churches, clergy, and worshipers.”
The Chinese government does not allow independent researchers into China and punishes people for speaking to foreign media or rights groups.
The New York-based rights group spoke with nine people outside the country who had first-hand knowledge of Catholic life in China, as well as experts on religious freedom and Catholicism in China. It also reviewed government documents and articles in the Chinese government press.
HRW sent a summary of its findings seeking comment from the Chinese government and the Holy See on April 7. Neither has responded.
The Chinese government has long restricted the religious freedom of the country’s Catholics, who are permitted to worship only in official churches under the government-run Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, the group said.
Most affected are the underground Catholic communities, which refuse to pledge allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party.
Under the 2018 Holy See-China agreement, Beijing proposes candidates for bishop that the pope can then veto, though the agreement’s full text has never been made public, HRW said.
The agreement has been renewed three times and is now valid until October 2028, but no pope has exercised his veto, even after the Chinese government violated its terms by unilaterally appointing bishops.
FULL STORY
Report details China’s intense crackdown on underground Catholics (UCA News)
