Recently, Shanghai Catholics disclosed that over the past year, the Chinese Communist Party’s restrictions on Catholic activities have been increasing, from the sale of books in church souvenir shops, inter-regional pilgrimages, to online prayers and funeral rites. On August 18, there was news that Shanghai funeral homes would stop holding Catholic funeral rituals starting this month, and cases of Xu Jiahui Church souvenir shop in Shanghai discontinuing the sale of the Bible have emerged.
Beside Xu Jiahui Church in Shanghai stands a souvenir shop that used to face the street, allowing passersby to enter without going into the church courtyard, where they sold theological books, religious icons, and other religious items. However, the situation has changed, and believers feel their faith is being suppressed.
Mr. Zhang, a Shanghai believer, told reporters that since last year, the theological books in the souvenir shop have been gradually removed from the shelves. He said, “The staff in the shop warned familiar parishioners at that time to buy whatever they wanted quickly, as everything would be gone in a while. Sure enough, shortly after, the theological books and religious items were all gone. The staff said, this was a unified requirement from the higher-ups, and you cannot find theological books in other main churches or even on Taobao.”
This year, the entrance of the souvenir shop facing the street was sealed off, and the entrance was moved inside the church courtyard. On August 1, Ms. Zhu, a believer, found that the original bookshelves had all been removed, and the Bible and the “Four Gospels” commonly used by Catholics were no longer being sold.
Ms. Zhu asked the cashier, “Are you not selling the Four Gospels anymore? Are you no longer selling the Bible?” The cashier remained silent for a moment, then told her, “No, I heard it’s the same nationwide.”
Xu Jiahui Catholic Church has also stopped receiving visitors for tours this year. Ms. Zhu mentioned that the main gate of the church has been closed, and believers have to enter through another door. She said, “I heard that other than us believers, others are not allowed to enter.”
Apart from Shanghai, similar situations have also appeared in Beijing Catholic churches. Mr. Wang, a Catholic in Beijing, told reporters that some Catholic churches in Beijing have also stopped selling the Bible. “The Catholic church I often visit no longer sells the Bible. I heard that it was a notice from the religious bureau, and they were all taken off the shelves in June.”
There was an online post circulating, revealing that in June this year, a Catholic in a suburban Beijing church attended a Mass. After the Mass, the priest informed the parishioners present that the planned pilgrimage for the parishioners to travel to other places in July could not proceed.
The anonymous parishioner recounted the priest’s words at that time, “Originally, the plan was to take the parishioners on a pilgrimage to other places in July. Now it can’t be done. There have been some new policies recently. If the parish goes on a pilgrimage together, it needs approval, which is difficult to obtain. If you go to another place without approval, the local church will have to report it.”
The priest then reminded the parishioners that under the current circumstances, some religious activities that could be carried out collectively in the past can no longer continue, and urged the parishioners to maintain their faith. Related online records have also shown content such as “If you go on a pilgrimage to another place without approval, the local church should report it” and “You can only arrange pilgrimages in small groups.”
The restrictions on religious activities imposed by the Chinese Communist Party have extended to online platforms as well.
The Chinese Catholic platform “Wanyou Zhenyuan” used to livestream the rosary prayers at the Lourdes Shrine in France every night, providing Chinese translations. Some believers revealed that since December last year, this livestream abruptly disappeared, along with the related information on the page and spiritual courses. The original network records related to this can still be retrieved.
Mr. Wu, a believer for over forty years, stated that young believers could still use VPNs to access platforms like YouTube to find relevant content, but many elderly believers do not know how to use such tools. Once the original Chinese religious platforms stop providing content, they also lose their daily connection to these religious activities.
On August 18, an anonymous believer released a message saying that they received a notification: “Starting this month, all funeral homes in Shanghai are prohibited from holding Catholic funeral rituals.”
In response to this, Ms. Shen, a Shanghai believer, told reporters that for Catholics, funerals are not just ordinary farewell ceremonies; there are corresponding religious rituals for the dying, memorializing, and burial. “If funeral homes are not allowing Catholic rituals, the impact has extended from believers participating in Mass, pilgrimages, and reading religious books during their lifetime to religious arrangements after death. This makes us feel very frustrated. How is this country regressing? This is openly trampling on religious freedom and human civilization.”