Human Rights Watch reports escalating state repression of underground Catholics in China under Xi Jinping’s Sinicization campaign.
Newsroom (16/04/2026 Gaudium Press ) Human Rights Watch has accused the Chinese Communist regime of intensifying pressure on independent Catholic communities that operate outside the state-controlled church system. In a report released on April 15, the global rights organization said Beijing is using ideological control, surveillance, and travel restrictions to force underground Catholics to join the official, government-run Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association.
The crackdown, according to HRW, stems from President Xi Jinping’s decade-long campaign to “Sinicize” religion—a policy launched in April 2016 that demands churches, mosques, and temples align their teachings with Han-centric Chinese culture and Communist Party ideology.
Vatican Accord Enables Repression
Central to the report’s findings is the 2018 Provisional Agreement Regarding the Appointment of Bishops, negotiated between the Holy See and Beijing. The accord—intended to resolve a long-standing dispute over bishop appointments—has, according to HRW, served as a framework for the authorities to tighten control over Catholics in China.
“A decade into Xi Jinping’s Sinicization campaign and nearly eight years since the 2018 Holy See-China agreement, Catholics in China face escalating repression that violates their religious freedoms,” said Yalkun Uluyol, HRW’s researcher on China. He urged Pope Leo XIV to revisit the pact and press Beijing to end persecution and intimidation of underground churches, clergy, and worshipers.
While the agreement allows the pope to veto candidates proposed by Beijing, HRW noted that the text has never been made public. Despite alleged violations—including Chinese authorities appointing bishops unilaterally—the Vatican has renewed the pact three times, extending it through October 2028. Pope Leo XIV, who succeeded in 2025, has approved Beijing’s five episcopal appointments since taking office.
“An Intelligent Weapon” Against the Underground Church
Interviews with nine individuals abroad—each with firsthand knowledge of Catholic life in China—paint a bleak picture. Government demolition of churches, removal of crosses, and harassment of clergy have become commonplace, witnesses told HRW. One participant described the 2018 agreement as “an intelligent weapon to legally destroy underground churches,” as decades-old bishops die under pressure and their replacements are chosen by Beijing.
Many underground Catholics said they felt betrayed not only by the Chinese government but also by the Vatican. “Members of those communities are used to persecution,” said a religious freedom expert who has interviewed dozens of Chinese Catholics since 2018, “but now they feel like the Vatican is also coming after them.”
A priest living overseas warned that older underground bishops are passing away without successors: “Those communities may survive with their priests for a while, but in the long run, underground Catholics in China will be gone.”
Expanding Surveillance and Ideological Control
According to HRW, ideological control has intensified in official churches as well. The organization cited arbitrary detentions, disappearances, torture, and house arrests targeting underground bishops and priests. Two previously persecuted bishops, Joseph Zhang Weizhu and Melchoir Shi Hongzhen, are now recognized by Beijing. Others—such as Augustine Cui Tai and Thaddeus Ma Daqin—remain under house arrest and barred from ministerial duties.
Meanwhile, James Su Zhimin, aged 94, and Xin Wenzhi, 63, have been forcibly disappeared. Two more bishops, Vincent Guo Xijin and Peter Shao Zhumin, remain under confinement. HRW stated that these repressive tactics contravene international human rights standards and laws.
Lack of Transparency and Accountability
The Chinese government refuses to allow independent researchers inside the country and reportedly punishes citizens who speak to foreign media or rights organizations. HRW said it reviewed official documents and government press articles to corroborate its findings, sending a summary to Beijing and the Holy See on April 7. Neither side has responded.
In its concluding remarks, Human Rights Watch called on China to end the persecution of millions of Catholics and respect the right to freedom of belief. The report warns that if current trends continue, the underground Catholic communities—some of which trace their roots to the earliest days of Christian missions in China—may vanish under the weight of state repression and political control.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from UCA News
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