Catholics in China Face Growing Restrictions on Religious Practice

Catholics in Shanghai say the Chinese regime has tightened restrictions on religious activities over the past year, affecting everything from the sale of Bibles and religious books to pilgrimages, online prayer broadcasts, and Catholic funeral rites.According to a Shanghai Catholic’s documentation of how the regime has been further restricting Catholic activities in the past year, the latest measure came on Aug. 18, prohibiting funeral homes across the city from conducting Catholic funeral rites starting this month. The documentation was posted on X on Aug. 19 by prominent overseas Chinese dissident and citizen journalism account @whyyoutouzhele.The report follows a series of restrictions that Catholics say have increasingly limited their ability to practice their faith.At Shanghai’s St. Ignatius Cathedral, one of the city’s best-known Catholic churches, the religious goods store has stopped selling Bibles, prayer books, and theology-related materials, according to local Catholics.Several Catholics spoke to The Epoch Times on condition of anonymity out of fear of reprisal.A Shanghai Catholic, surnamed Zhang, told The Epoch Times that theology books began disappearing from the store last year.“Staff at the store reminded fellow believers at the time, ‘If there is anything you want to buy, hurry up and buy it. After a while, they will all be gone,’” Zhang said. “Sure enough, not long afterward, the theology books and religious items disappeared.”Restrictions on Religious PracticesThe restrictions appear to extend beyond religious materials.St. Ignatius Cathedral has also stopped admitting visitors for sightseeing this year, according to a church attendee surnamed Zhu. She said the cathedral’s main entrance has been closed and worshippers must enter through another entrance.“Apart from our fellow believers, other people cannot enter,” she said.Similar reports have emerged from Beijing. A local Catholic, surnamed Wang, told The Epoch Times that some Catholic churches in the capital have also stopped selling Bibles.“The Catholic church I often go to no longer sells the Bible either,” Wang said. “I heard it was a notice from the Religious Affairs Bureau, and everything was taken off the shelves in June.”Restrictions have also affected organized pilgrimages between regions.According to the Aug. 19 X post, back in June, a Catholic attending Mass at a church on the outskirts of Beijing was told by a priest after the service that a planned July pilgrimage could not go ahead.The parish priest told worshippers that new policies require approval from the authorities for such pilgrimages, and it is very difficult to obtain, according to the post.The priest subsequently reminded parishioners that some religious activities that had previously been possible as group events could no longer continue under the current circumstances and encouraged them to maintain their faith.The restrictions have also extended to online religious activities.The Chinese Catholic platform previously livestreamed the Rosary from the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France every evening with Chinese-language translation. Catholics said the livestream suddenly disappeared in December last year along with information related to the broadcasts.A Catholic who has practiced the faith for more than 40 years, surnamed Wu, told The Epoch Times that younger Catholics can still use virtual private networks and other tools to access religious content on platforms such as YouTube, but many older believers do not know how to circumvent China’s internet censorship.Once Chinese-language Catholic platforms stop providing such content, he said, older Catholics lose an important avenue for participating in religious activities.Funeral Rites Also AffectedThe latest restriction concerns Catholic funeral rites.According to the same social media post, starting this month, all funeral homes in Shanghai may no longer hold Catholic funeral rites.A Shanghai Catholic, surname Shen, told The Epoch Times the issue was significant because Catholic funerals have religious rites associated with the end of life, memorial services, and burial for believers.“If funeral homes do not allow Catholic rites, the impact has already extended from believers attending Mass, going on pilgrimages, and reading religious books during their lives to religious arrangements after death,” Shen said.These recent accounts from Catholics in Shanghai and Beijing suggest that restrictions on Catholic practice are affecting not only what churches can sell or where believers can worship but also organized religious travel, online spiritual activities, and religious rites surrounding death.Zhou Yu contributed to this report.