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Chinese Catholics warned over ‘foreign infiltration’

The warning from a top communist leader comes as CathAssist app announces a shutdown after failing to obtain a license
A painting by Osamu Giovanni Micico remembers the martyrs in the massacre of Catholics in Xiwanzi of China in the 19th and 20th centuries

A painting by Osamu Giovanni Micico remembers the martyrs in the massacre of Catholics in Xiwanzi of China in the 19th and 20th centuries. (Photo: Bitter Winter)

Published: August 30, 2022 10:46 AM GMT
Updated: August 30, 2022 11:09 AM GMT

A top leader of China’s communist regime has warned the country’s Catholic community to be alert about the dangers of “foreign infiltration.”

Wang Yang, a member of the powerful Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party and head of the parliamentary advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), made the comments during a recent meeting with leaders of the state-sponsored Catholic Church, Radio Free Asia reported.

Wang urged Catholic leaders that their faith needs to “better adapt itself into a socialist society.”

"Wang urged them to unswervingly adhere to the principle of independence [from the Vatican], resist infiltration by foreign forces and resolutely safeguard China's sovereignty, security and development interests," state-run Xinhua news agency reported on Aug. 23.

"He also called for efforts to ensure that the leadership of the Catholic Church remains firmly in the hands of those who love their country and religion," the report said.

The comments from the top leader came as a tech company running a helper app for Chinese Catholics, CathAssist, announced it was stopping operations indefinitely, citing difficulties in obtaining a license.

"Since the implementation of [new rules] on March 1, we have made various efforts to apply for an Internet Religious Information Service License," it said.

"We have taken various actions including suspending sharing, changing our name, adjusting content ... but getting a license requires a much larger reduction in functionality and content," the app's development team said in a statement on Aug. 23.

A Catholic from the northern Chinese province of Hebei told RFA that he had installed the app a long time ago, but that it stopped working two days earlier.

"[They] worked hard for several months [to get the license], but in the end, they failed, so it has been shut down," the man said, on condition of anonymity.

He said he felt lost without the app.

"I used CathAssist to listen to the priest explaining the Bible every day, as well as a lot of other Catholic spiritual content," he said. "I felt I was missing out on a lot when I found out it was no longer available."

US-based Protestant pastor Liu Yi said the app would never have been granted the license anyway.

"As far as I know, the organization behind the app was a regular company, which would have made it almost impossible to get a license," Liu said.

"Some people have told me that they require a huge amount of political censorship to get one, and if the applicant fails the political tests, the license won't be issued," he said.

"The purpose of the license is to prevent individuals or other organizations to offer religious teachings online."

An observer alleged the crackdown is part of the CCP’s retaliation for the Catholic Church’s support for 2019 pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

"Beijing was very unhappy about that, and the bishop of Hong Kong was dismissed, and a pro-China priest appointed in his place," said Taiwan strategic analyst Shih Chien-yu.

He pointed out that the CCP has heavily revised some rituals and continues to force Catholics to accept them, citing the recent appearance of statues of the Virgin Mary dressed to look like Empress Dowager Cixi.

Chang Chiah-lin, a professor at Taiwan's Tamkang University, said Wang is continuing the "sinicization of religion" policy brought in by CCP leader Xi Jinping.

"Catholic leaders in China are required to be patriotic and love the party," Chang said. "They need to be ideologically very strong, to ensure the CCP can control the whole of the Chinese Catholic church through its leaders."

"It would actually be very difficult to infiltrate the Catholic Church in China," he said.

The comments from observers come days after the state-backed Catholic Church in China held the three-day 10th National Congress where they made vows to practice their faith in line with the socialist policies of the CCP.

Bob Fu, president of the US-based Christian rights group ChinaAid, said the CCP under Xi Jinping is making all-out efforts to subjugate all religions under the communist ideology.

"There are couplets on the door [of churches] telling them to obey the party and follow the party, rather than God, or even the Pope," Fu said. "Inside, there is also a portrait of Xi Jinping."

He also criticized the Sino-Vatican Agreement of 2018 over the appointment of bishops in China.

"The Vatican struck a secret deal with China, thinking they were helping the church, but they were actually harming it," he said. "Disappearances and kidnappings of clergy are still happening, and it's getting worse."

"The Sino-Vatican agreement has politicized the Church, and ... it was a betrayal of the Church," he said.

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2 Comments on this Story
THERESE
I lived in Beijing and attended the International Christian Church there. Only foreigners and green card holders from the States were allowed to attend. I'm shaking my head over the Vatican being in cahoots with the Chinese gov't. As a Catholic, I saw exactly how that would end...and it has. Shame on the pope for listening to ridiculously bad advice. He put the lives of Chinese Catholics in jeopardy.
JOHN PAYZANT
It's good to be aware because -you never know- just in case something comes along!
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