Authored by Nina Shea, a senior fellow and director of the Center for Religious Freedom, the October report examines the repression faced by these bishops since the 2018 China-Vatican agreement on bishop appointments.
The report highlights how the Chinese government targets Vatican-approved bishops who oppose Communist Party control. These bishops have endured detention, surveillance, forced disappearances, indefinite imprisonment without trial, and reeducation. Many resist joining the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPCA), which mandates allegiance to the Communist Party and independence from the Vatican.
Beijing has enforced policies like the “Sinicization” of religion, which reinterprets religious doctrines to align with party ideology. The Vatican has raised concerns, noting that the agreement, originally aimed at resolving episcopal appointments, has failed to improve religious freedom. Instead, Beijing has detained bishops and appointed others unilaterally, further undermining the Vatican’s influence.
