China Tightens Oversight on Unregistered Catholic Groups

Chinese authorities are increasing pressure on underground Catholic communities to join the state-controlled official church, according to Human Rights Watch. This escalation includes tightening surveillance and imposing travel restrictions on all of China's estimated 12 million Catholics.

The heightened pressure is part of a decade-old campaign aimed at ensuring that religious denominations and independent churches remain loyal to the officially atheist Communist Party.

Since 2018, authorities have pressured underground Catholic communities to join the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association through arbitrary detentions and house arrests of underground bishops and priests. Pope Francis sought to ease tensions with China through a 2018 agreement that allows the state-controlled church to propose candidates for bishops, which the pope can then veto.

However, the full text of this agreement has never been made public.

In a recent interview, Pope Leo XIV stated that he would continue with the agreement in the short term, emphasizing ongoing dialogue with various stakeholders regarding the situation in China. Since 2016, the Chinese government has implemented a Sinicization campaign, which involves increasing oversight and ideological control over religious practices.

This campaign has led to the demolition of hundreds of church buildings, restrictions on gatherings in unofficial churches, and limited access to religious materials.

Yalkun Uluyol, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, noted that Catholics in China face escalating repression that violates their religious freedoms, urging Pope Leo XIV to review the agreement and advocate for an end to the persecution of underground churches and clergy.