HRW Report: CCP Uses Torture and Detention to Force Catholics into State Church
A new report by Human Rights Watch reveals that the Chinese Communist Party has intensified its crackdown on China's 12 million Catholics, employing severe human rights abuses to compel underground communities to join the state-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. The report details systematic tactics including arbitrary detention, forced disappearances, torture, and house arrest targeting underground bishops and priests who refuse to align with government mandates. Based on interviews with individuals possessing firsthand knowledge of religious life in China and expert analysis, the findings highlight a broader campaign of ideological control, enhanced surveillance, and strict travel restrictions. Authorities are actively dismantling independent religious structures to ensure total loyalty to the state, effectively eradicating unauthorized spiritual leadership. This pressure campaign represents a significant escalation in the persecution of religious minorities, aiming to eliminate the distinction between faithful practice and state-approved ideology. The report underscores the dire situation for underground Catholics who face severe physical and psychological coercion for maintaining their allegiance to the Vatican rather than the Beijing-appointed hierarchy.
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HRW Report: CCP Uses Torture and Detention to Force Catholics into State Church
A new report by Human Rights Watch reveals that the Chinese Communist Party has intensified its crackdown on China's 12 million Catholics, employing severe human rights abuses to compel underground communities to join the state-controlled Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. The report details systematic tactics including arbitrary detention, forced disappearances, torture, and house arrest targeting underground bishops and priests who refuse to align with government mandates. Based on interviews with individuals possessing firsthand knowledge of religious life in China and expert analysis, the findings highlight a broader campaign of ideological control, enhanced surveillance, and strict travel restrictions. Authorities are actively dismantling independent religious structures to ensure total loyalty to the state, effectively eradicating unauthorized spiritual leadership. This pressure campaign represents a significant escalation in the persecution of religious minorities, aiming to eliminate the distinction between faithful practice and state-approved ideology. The report underscores the dire situation for underground Catholics who face severe physical and psychological coercion for maintaining their allegiance to the Vatican rather than the Beijing-appointed hierarchy.
nationalreview