China: Pressure on Catholics Escalates

By Human Rights Watch

Click to expand Image The Xishiku Catholic Church, in Beijing, China, May 9, 2025. © 2025 Andy Wong/AP Photo A decade into President Xi Jinping’s “Sinicization” of religion campaign, Catholic communities across China face tightened ideological control, strict surveillance, and travel restrictions. The 2018 Holy See-China agreement on bishops has helped the Chinese government to pressure underground Catholic communities to join the official church.The Holy See and other governments should press Beijing to end the persecution of Catholic communities and respect the rights to freedom…

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