The Chinese Communist Party has a long history of persecuting the nation’s Catholics. New evidence has come to light in recent days suggesting some of this persecution could be coming to Hong Kong, where — as Church Militant’s Trey Blanton explains — the communists have orchestrated a major power grab.
Troubling signs for Catholics in Hong Kong: Reuters reported Dec. 30 on a virtual meeting where State-backed clergy in mainland China urged their brethren in Hong Kong to make Catholicism more culturally Chinese — typically code for obedience to communist doctrine.
In much of China, communist authorities deface Catholic churches for failing to align with the party’s interests.
Beijing reached a secret deal with the Vatican in 2018, giving the communists power to pick bishops. The official narrative was it would ease persecution. But many believe things only got worse.
Cdl. Joseph Zen, bishop emeritus, Hong Kong: “So the situation is really, really bad — really bad. And I used very harsh words. I said they have sold our Church completely.”
Hong Kongers enjoyed a measure of freedom and autonomy for two decades, but that changed in recent years owing to the maneuverings of the Chinese Communist Party. Long a refuge for political dissidents, Hong Kong saw massive pro-democracy rallies in 2019 and early 2020, with protesters opposing an extradition bill and other measures they feared would put them directly under the CCP.
In the wake of this, a question lingers: Could the religious persecution seen throughout much of China be coming soon to Hong Kong?
A number of Catholics played prominent roles in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. One of them, Catholic convert and media tycoon Jimmy Lai, is behind bars for his role in opposing the CCP’s influence.