China has long used passport control as a tool for governance, requiring officials and sensitive sector employees to seek permission for overseas travel and report their movements. Recent reports suggest that China is now extending this control to Catholic clergy, treating them more as individuals needing close monitoring rather than just spiritual leaders. New internal rules in China now mandate bishops, priests, deacons, and nuns to surrender their passports and travel documents, allowing foreign travel only with prior authorization and mandatory reporting upon return.
The regulations, implemented on December 16, represent a significant step in Beijing’s management of religious personnel, blurring the line between religious administration and political supervision. These rules, jointly issued by the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association (CCPA) and the Bishops’ Conference of the Catholic Church in China (BCCCC), emphasize centralized management of travel documents, requiring clergy to hand over their passports and travel permits to church authorities for collective custody.
Under the new rules, clergy are not allowed to retain their own travel documents. Any overseas or cross-border travel, whether for church duties, training, conferences, or personal reasons, must receive prior approval from supervising authorities. Upon approval, the travel documents are temporarily released for visa applications. Upon returning to China, clergy must surrender their documents within seven days and submit written reports detailing their activities abroad. Unauthorized itinerary changes, extended stays, or failure to surrender documents will be considered violations subject to disciplinary action.
This system closely resembles the exit controls imposed on government officials and party cadres, where passports are confiscated to prevent defections and ensure political compliance. By applying this framework to Catholic clergy, Chinese authorities seem to view religious personnel as politically sensitive individuals rather than purely spiritual leaders.
