Report details rising pressure on underground Catholics as China denies crackdown

The Chinese authorities is expanding unit connected underground Catholic communities to articulation the state-controlled religion portion tightening surveillance and restrictions connected an estimated 12 cardinal Catholics, according to a Human Rights Watch report.

The radical said successful its study that the accrued unit is portion of a decade-old run to guarantee spiritual groups align with Communist Party ideology.

The Associated Press reported that the Chinese authorities has rejected the claim, saying Human Rights Watch is "consistently biased against China."

China’s Catholics person agelong been divided betwixt a state-run religion and an underground religion loyal to the Vatican. In 2018, Pope Francis reached a woody allowing the Chinese authorities a relation successful appointing bishops to easiness tensions.

WATCHDOG HIGHLIGHTS NATIONS WHERE CHRISTIANS FACE PERSECUTION AROUND THE GLOBE

Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks during an planetary concern gathering astatine The Great Hall Of The People connected March 28, 2025, successful Beijing, China. (Ken Ishii/Pool/Getty Images)

"A decennary into Xi Jinping’s Sinicization run and astir 8 years since the 2018 Holy See-China agreement, Catholics successful China look escalating repression that violates their spiritual freedoms," Human Rights Watch researcher Yalkun Uluyol said successful the report. "Pope Leo XIV should urgently reappraisal the statement and property Beijing to extremity the persecution and intimidation of underground churches, clergy, and worshipers."

The Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson’s bureau told The Associated Press that Human Rights Watch "fabricates each mode of lies and rumors, and lacks immoderate credibility whatsoever."

The bureau added that the authorities "oversees spiritual affairs successful accordance with the instrumentality and protects citizens’ state of spiritual content and mean spiritual activities."

BISHOP ROBERT BARRON: THE WAR ON CHRISTIANS IS REAL AND THE WORLD CAN NO LONGER STAY SILENT

A antheral looks connected astatine a Catholic religion successful Zhuozhou, China's bluish Hebei state connected April 22, 2025. In 1951, recently communist China severed ties with the Holy See, forcing Catholics to take betwixt rank successful the state-run Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association oregon non-sanctioned churches loyal to the pope. But nether Pope Francis, China and the Vatican signed a 2018 statement allowing some Beijing and the Holy See a accidental successful appointing bishops successful an effort to adjacent the schism successful China's 12-million-strong Catholic community. (Photo by ADEK BERRY / AFP) / To spell with AFP communicative Vatican-religion-pope-China,FOCUS by Mary Yang and Isabel Kua (Photo by ADEK BERRY/AFP via Getty Images) (Adek Berry/AFP)

Human Rights Watch said its researchers are not allowed into China and that the study is based connected interviews with radical extracurricular the state who had firsthand cognition of Catholic beingness successful China, on with experts connected Catholicism and spiritual freedom.

The 2018 statement stipulates that Beijing proposes candidates for bishop, which the pope tin veto, though the afloat substance has ne'er been made public.

In June 2025, Pope Leo XIV, who had conscionable go the pope, appointed a Chinese bishop nether the 2018 statement and said helium would proceed to grant the woody "in the abbreviated term."

POPE LEO XIV TO VISIT FASTEST-GROWING CATHOLIC CONTINENT DURING 4-NATION AFRICA TRIP

Pope Leo XIV waves arsenic helium arrives astatine Saint Joseph's Cathedral successful Bamenda, connected the 4th time of an 11-day apostolic travel to Africa, connected April 16, 2026. (Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP via Getty Images)

"I’m besides successful ongoing dialog with a fig of people, Chinese, connected some sides of immoderate of the issues that are there," Leo said. "It’s a precise hard situation. In the agelong term, I don’t unreal to accidental this is what I volition and volition not do, but aft 2 months, I’ve already begun having discussions astatine respective levels connected that topic."

Since 2018, Human Rights Watch says Chinese authorities person pressured underground Catholics to articulation the state-run religion done detentions, disappearances and location arrests, citing accounts from unnamed individuals who person near China.

The study besides said China has tightened ideological control, surveillance and restrictions connected spiritual enactment and overseas ties, including requiring authorities support for clergy travel, portion officially recognizing and intimately overseeing 5 religions: Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Protestantism and Islam.

POPE LEO PICKS NEW VATICAN AMBASSADOR TO US AS TRUMP TENSIONS MOUNT OVER POLICIES

Xi Jinping said successful 2016 that helium would "Sinicize" the country’s religions, a argumentation aimed astatine aligning spiritual practices with Communist Party ideology.

Human Rights Watch said authorities person taken sweeping steps to curb spiritual practice, including tearing down churches and crosses, blocking gatherings astatine unregistered churches and seizing spiritual materials not approved by the state.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The radical said the broader "Sinicization" run has besides led to intensified crackdowns connected Tibetan Buddhists and Muslims.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.