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NEWS PROVIDED BY
ChinaAid
May 29, 2025
MIDLAND, Texas, May 29, 2025 /Standard Newswire/ — ChinaAid expresses deep concern over the ongoing secrecy and consequences of the 2018 Vatican-China agreement. Since its signing, religious persecution in China, particularly against Catholics, has escalated, not diminished. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) continues to tighten its control over religious life while the Vatican remains publicly silent.
“The CCP has never stopped persecuting Catholic leaders and believers,” said ChinaAid President Dr. Bob Fu. At least ten bishops and priests are imprisoned or missing. Churches are still being destroyed. Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin vanished after being penalized for conducting Mass without state approval. Meanwhile, the Vatican’s silence has left China’s underground Catholics feeling betrayed.
A recent incident on March 23, 2025, illustrates this brutal reality. In Shanxi Province, Chinese special police raided a Catholic prayer site during Lent. Faithful worshippers were assaulted, with one father of three left in a coma. The priest and others were arrested. Surveillance in the region has since intensified.
The Vatican-China agreement has also enabled the appointment of government-aligned bishops without the faithful’s consent. Just days before the election of Pope Leo XIV, Beijing’s state sanctioned Church installed two new bishops, further undermining ecclesiastical autonomy.
This repression extends beyond Catholics. Protestant house churches, including the renowned Early Rain Covenant Church, have been forcibly closed. Pastor Wang Yi remains imprisoned for preaching the gospel. Uyghur Muslims continue to endure mass internment, forced labor, and religious persecution in East Turkistan (Xinjiang).
The Church must choose: silence or solidarity.
ChinaAid respectfully urges Pope Leo XIV to:
• Reconsider and withdraw from the secretive Vatican-China agreement.
• Publicly defend persecuted believers in China, Hong Kong, Tibet, East Turkistan, and Taiwan.
• Refuse to legitimize the CCP’s campaign of religious repression.
Now is the time for courage. The persecuted do not need appeasement; they need truth, hope, and bold advocacy.
Contact: Anita Chang, Spokesperson of ChinaAid at media@chinaaid.org | www.ChinaAid.org
SOURCE ChinaAid
