Hong Kong clergy fear China could bug confessionals

Priests fear spies will be sent in to entrap them under tough new security laws enacted by Beijing

‘People might hesitate to [take] this sacrament, priests might end up in prison’

HONG KONG’s Catholics are worried that new legislation means Beijing could bug confessionals, imprison priests or send in spies to entrap the city’s clergy, with one priest saying it was “like a knife above your head”.

The fears arose as Article 23 came into force yesterday introducing a series of new and vaguely defined crimes including treason, sabotage, sedition, the theft of state secrets, external interference and espionage.

It was hurriedly passed this week by Hong Kong’s Legislative Assembly, coming on top of the 2020 National Security Law, which has already effectively stifled any dissent or opposition to China in the city of 7.4 million.

Although it has faced state pressure, so far, the church has largely avoided the kind of sweeping detentions politicians, activists and journalists have faced.

But fears have grown that the sacred Seal of Confession, a Christian doctrine that forbids priests from sharing anything confessed to them, might be threatened by a provision in Article 23.

The new law means anyone who knows that someone has committed treason or plans to but fails to report it to the police can be jailed for up to 14 years.

“People might hesitate to [take] this sacrament, priests might end up in prison, eavesdropping devices might be found in the confessionals,” one Hong Kong priest, who asked to speak anonymously, told The Telegraph.

Another priest said that there were fears of sting operations. “If the government really wanted to ... they could essentially send in some spies to confess to the priest and [if ] the priest says nothing, then they file a report saying I confessed to the priest and he did not report,” they said.

“I don’t think any Catholics would have the courage or would dare to say anything in the confessional that may potentially jeopardise the priest. But it’s like there is a knife above your head.”

Asked about the issue earlier this month, Paul Lam, Hong Kong’s secretary for justice, said it would be “very difficult to create exceptions” for the clergy.

The Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong has said the security law “will not alter the confidential nature of Confession”. But such are the fears around prosecution, that even expatriate Hong Kongers are taking extra precautions.

Roy Chan, a pastor at the Good Neighbour Church England, said some of his previously 180-strong congregation were leaving out of fear that “spies” could file reports about dissent back to the authorities. “In the last few months, some church members have become afraid, asking me not to say things in a political way or it will become more dangerous for us,” he told The Telegraph.

Mr Chan founded the church in London, Birmingham and Manchester after fleeing Hong Kong in 2020.

In a report late last year on threats to freedom of belief, the Hong Kong Watch group suggested Beijing’s hostility towards religion was likely exacerbated by the fact that many of the city’s pro-democracy activists were people of faith.

“Instead of a physical crackdown on religion in Hong Kong, the authorities’ aim is to create an environment in which religious leaders and practitioners feel obligated to self-censor, compromise and kowtow, in order to protect the basic freedom of worship that they enjoy,” the report said.