(Wenzhou, China – July 4, 2025) In Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China’s underground Catholic Church is facing increasingly severe persecution from the authorities. Previously, such repression often took the form of fines, but it has now escalated into arrests of clergy and Catholics under the charge of “illegal border crossing.” The fundamental aim of this shift is to force underground Wenzhou Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin to “transform,” that is, to join the state-controlled Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, thereby placing the Catholic Church under the absolute control of the Chinese Communist Party, rather than under the higher authority of religious faith.

Religious Persecution Escalates Under the Guise of “Illegal Border Crossing”

According to AsiaNews, in recent weeks Wenzhou authorities have arrested several priests, nuns, and parishioners who traveled abroad in 2024, charging them with “illegal border crossing.”

What makes these accusations absurd is that these pilgrims merely participated in religious activities abroad. Authorities, however, labeled their trips as “disguised travel” and used this as justification for arrests, a clearly fabricated accusation intended to pressure the underground Church in Wenzhou.

By forcing bishops to “transform,” the state’s true intention to control religion is quite evident.

For years, Bishop Shao has been detained multiple times, often “taken on trips” during Easter or Christmas to prevent him from publicly celebrating Mass. This year, Sanjia Catholic Church in Wenzhou was fined after Bishop Shao presided over a Mass there. In March, he was again fined and arrested for presiding over a Mass, the pressure has worsened this year.

Authorities have reportedly told Church members, “As long as your Bishop Shao ‘transforms,’ the rest of you will be fine.”

If arrested clergy accept leadership by the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association and its principles of “independence and self-governance,” they will be released. Otherwise, they face the risk of formal prosecution. This blatant threat is no coincidence.

According to sources, the division between Wenzhou’s official and underground churches dates back to the early 1980s, stemming from the choices made by missionaries. The “official” and “underground” groups each developed separately, and both have large followings.

Wenzhou is now the largest diocese in Zhejiang, with about 180,000 – 200,000 Catholics, 46 official priests, and over 20 underground priests.

Aside from one or two “outsider” priests who joined the official Church (one “transformed” in May), the rest remain loyal to following Bishop Shao.

The authorities’ demands reveal the Chinese government’s fundamental aim when it comes to religion: not about regulating religious activities, but thoroughly domesticating and subordinating it to the Party’s political will.

Sources pointed out that underground Catholics are not unwilling to register or obey the law; instead, the government demands they abandon their longstanding fidelity to conscience and accept the control of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. Once that line is crossed, they fear that there will be escalating political demands that conflict with their conscience, such as mandatory ideological meetings and political studies that would ultimately erode their faith from within.

Even sites for religious activities and the relatives of underground priests have become targets of repression. One priest said: “We want to follow and act according to our conscience, not the Party’s political will.”

The “Iron Triangle” and the Struggles of the Catholics

The Diocese of Wenzhou is the largest diocese in Zhejiang Province. Wenzhou (Zhejiang Province), along with Mindong (Fujian Province) and Fuzhou (Jiangxi Province), form the so-called “Iron Triangle” of underground Catholic resistance in southeast China.

Following the 2018 provisional China-Vatican agreement on bishop appointments, and the forced “demotions” of Bishops Guo Xijin (Mindong Diocese) and Peng Weizhao (Jiangxi), as well as the forced “transformations” of the Dioceses, pressure on the Diocese of Wenzhou has reached unprecedented levels.

Since April this year, repression by authorities has escalated across the board. Meeting places of underground Churches have been shut down, priests summoned individually, and even family members of clergy have been threatened. Public employees are told they’ll lose their jobs if they don’t pressure relatives to “transform.” Many underground priests have been forced from their “regular venues,” and estimates suggest around 90% of underground prayer sites have been closed.

Catholics are facing a complex and painful situation. Some were interrogated merely for reposting online news about the detention of Bishops. One individual, repeatedly threatened though not prosecuted due to lack of evidence, the entire process left him deeply shaken physically and emotionally.

This intense pressure is physically and psychologically draining and leaves the Catholics feeling uncertain and afraid.

A Plea to the Vatican and Pope Leo XIV

In the face of ever-tightening state control, underground clergy and Catholics express hope for recognition and support from the Vatican and the new pope.

They note that although the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association claims doctrinal loyalty to the Pope, in practice it operates independently, even failing to publicly mourn Pope Francis at his passing. One underground priest said, “Not even an obituary was published. Everything is led by the government.”

“They even claim the (Chinese Catholic) Patriotic Association ‘saved’ the Church and launched a new era of evangelization. They see no value in the power of the Holy Spirit or the blood of martyrs. Pope Francis saw our suffering but never affirmed our stance. His ambiguous posture, even tacit acceptance of the Patriotic Association, causes us great pain.”

Another priest added, “We know the government interferes in Church affairs. We do not want to comply, but we have no choice but to do so. To ‘transform’ means accepting atheist control without a bottom line, banning children from church, and preventing young people from receiving catechism classes. However, to refuse means continued oppression.”

“The Vatican remains silent, yet actively promotes opportunists from the official Church within the global Church. When Catholics see such ‘success,’ they ask us: ‘Is it still meaningful to hold on?’ But we follow our conscience. We hope Pope Leo XIV will recognize the meaning of our perseverance.”

The Wenzhou authorities’ use of “illegal border crossing” charges to persecute the underground Catholic Church is aimed at total control over religion, turning faith institutions into tools of state ideology. This not only violates religious freedom, but challenges human conscience and dignity.

(Based on a report from AsiaNews)

(Reported by Special Correspondent Gao Zhensai of ChinaAid)