The canceled trip comes amid growing concerns that Beijing is tightening control over Hong Kong’s Catholics and pushing for pro-China appointments.

A pro-Beijing priest who was about to travel to Rome as part of an effort to have him installed as an auxiliary bishop of Hong Kong has canceled his trip after news of his visit was leaked to the media.

Father Peter Choi Wai-man, 66, a vicar general of Hong Kong with close links to the communist authorities in China, was due to visit the Vatican with Cardinal John Tong Hon, an emeritus bishop of Hong Kong, and meet Pope Leo XIV on Saturday.

Father Choi and Cardinal Tong were to be part of a party of 12. A source for the Church in Hong Kong told the Register on Saturday that the tickets had been bought and that they were “coming with an agenda.”

However, the same source told the Register Oct. 2 that the visit had been canceled at the last minute after news of their visit was leaked to the press.

The Italian Catholic online daily La Nuova Bussola Quotidiana reported Sept. 27 that Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau-yan of Hong Kong had been lobbying Pope Leo XIV to have Father Choi appointed.

The report speculated that during a Sept. 2 private audience with Leo XIV, Cardinal Chow had advocated for Father Peter Choi to be appointed as a new auxiliary. Although Hong Kong already has one, in Auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, Beijing and Hong Kong’s rulers view him as too critical of the regime.

News of the cardinal’s latest lobbying efforts was part of a concerted effort to have him installed, led by Cardinal Chow, who last week was criticized for boldly defending China’s relationship with the Church in Hong Kong, and downplaying religious freedom restrictions in the territory at a time when observers said those controls were in fact intensifying.

The Diocese of Hong Kong is currently not under the jurisdiction of the Church in China, but Beijing has shown its desire to control it as part of a broader political push. “Sinicization” projects in Hong Kong are increasing and attempts are being made to integrate government-mandated patriotic education into religious schools amid other signs of encroaching Chinese control over the Church in the region.

The Register had asked Cardinal Tong and Father Choi Sept. 29 to comment on their reported travel plans and the purpose of their Rome visit, but the cardinal did not respond by press time, and the Diocese of Hong Kong replied on Father Choi’s behalf to say that they did “not comment on personal itineraries.”

Cardinal Tong, who has been criticized in the past for his appeasing position toward Beijing, is reportedly understood to have backed Father Choi in 2019 as his successor as Bishop of Hong Kong after the sudden and unexpected death of Bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung, who had succeeded Cardinal Tong in 2017.

The cardinal and other pro-Beijing officials in the Vatican and Hong Kong saw Father Choi as a potentially effective interlocutor between the Church and China and preferred him to auxiliary Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing, who had defended pro-democracy protests in 2019. But Cardinal Chow was instead appointed over Father Choi and Bishop Ha.

Father Choi has led ongoing formation initiatives for clergy and laity in the diocese. In 2022, then-Bishop Chow appointed him to head an ad-hoc working group to strengthen lay leadership in the diocese. He is also known for his work in ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue.

But the priest’s critics contend that rather than a bridge builder, he would be a promoter of Beijing’s interests. Young clergy and lay faithful in particular view Father Choi as too sympathetic and friendly toward the Chinese Communist Party, and allegedly supplies information to Beijing on internal Church issues.

Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, who was bishop of Hong Kong from 2001 to 2009, once called Father Choi a “pro-Beijing hawk” and an enemy of those opposing China’s influence. The cardinal, known for his outspoken criticisms of Chinese rule, said that to have Father Choi appointed bishop of Hong Kong “would be a catastrophe” for the Church in Hong Kong and “spell disaster for decades to come.”

The Register asked Father Choi to respond to these accusations, but he had not responded by press time.

Meanwhile, further limits in Hong Kong on religious freedom are also emerging. The latest sign is that political prisoners, including the Catholic pro-democracy activist and media tycoon Jimmy Lai, are having to deal with slated new restrictions barring pastoral visits.

The restrictions are being proposed at a time when Lai, who has been in custody since 2020, has experienced several health issues. Most significantly, the new rules will give the authorities powers to prohibit specific prisoners from meeting specific religious personnel and lawyers.

“The law is clearly aimed at lawyers who are not only handling the case but also helping deal with personal matters,” the Hong Kong Church source said.

He added, “In addition, the rules grant the authorities the power to ban social visits, although this does not seem to have been put into effect so far.”