Chinese authorities are escalating pressure on underground Catholic communities to join the state-controlled official church, according to Human Rights Watch. The rights group released a report Wednesday documenting a decade-long campaign of detention, forced disappearance, and house arrest of bishops and priests as the government seeks to ensure all religious groups remain loyal to the Communist Party.
The escalation affects an estimated 12 million Catholics in China, who face tightened surveillance and travel restrictions.
The findings pose a challenge to Pope Leo XIV, who took office in June 2025 and signaled he would continue a 2018 agreement with Beijing that gives the state-controlled church a say in naming bishops—a role traditionally held by the pope. Human Rights Watch called on Leo to urgently review the arrangement, which has drawn scrutiny as China intensifies restrictions on the Vatican’s underground communities.
Background
For decades, China’s Catholic communities have been divided between an official state church answerable to Beijing and an underground movement loyal to Rome. Pope Francis, in 2018, sought to ease Vatican-China tensions by agreeing to a deal that gives the state-controlled church a voice in bishop appointments.
When Pope Leo XIV became pope in June 2025, he appointed his first Chinese bishop under the agreement. In a subsequent interview, Leo said he would continue the accord “in the short term.” He acknowledged the challenge: “It’s a very difficult situation. In the long term, I don’t pretend to say this is what I will and will not do, but after two months, I’ve already begun having discussions at several levels on that topic.”
Escalating restrictions
The Chinese government officially recognizes five religions—Buddhism, Taoism, Catholicism, Protestantism and Islam—and tightly supervises them. President Xi Jinping announced in 2016 that he would “Sinicize” the country’s religions, increasing Communist Party oversight and ideological control.
Human Rights Watch documented the pressure on underground Catholic communities since 2018, with authorities “arbitrarily detaining, forcibly disappearing, and subjecting underground Catholic bishops and priests to house arrest.” The report, based on interviews with those who had fled China, named no individuals subjected to detention.
Authorities have also intensified ideological control, surveillance, and restrictions on religious activities. In December, new regulations made foreign travel by Catholic clergy subject to state approval. Since 2016, they have demolished hundreds of church buildings, prevented adherents from gathering in unofficial churches, restricted Bible access, and confiscated religious materials not authorized by the government.
Government rejection
The Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson’s Office rejected Human Rights Watch’s findings, saying the group “fabricates all manner of lies and rumors, and lacks any credibility whatsoever.” The government stated it “oversees religious affairs in accordance with the law and protects citizens’ freedom of religious belief and normal religious activities.”
A detained pastor
In October, Pastor Ezra Jin Mingri of the Zion Church was detained at his home in Guangxi province along with dozens of other church leaders across China, according to his daughter, a church pastor, and organizations monitoring religion in the country. Zion Church is among the largest unregistered house churches that defy government restrictions requiring believers to worship only in registered congregations.
Last month, ChinaAid, a U.S.-based group advocating for religious freedom in China, urged President Donald Trump to demand Mingri’s release ahead of a planned May meeting between Trump and Xi Jinping.
“The Chinese Communist Party has escalated its systematic campaign to eradicate independent religious life,” said Bob Fu, ChinaAid’s president. “The United States must respond with consequences—not just concern.”