Catholic Patriotic Association
The Catholic Patriotic Association (simplified Chinese: 中国天主教爱国会; traditional Chinese: 中國天主教愛國會; pinyin: Zhōngguó Tiānzhǔjiào Àiguó Huì), abbreviated CPA, is a state-managed nationalistic organization of Catholicism in the People's Republic of China. It was established in 1957 after a group of Chinese Catholics met in Beijing with officials from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the Religious Affairs Bureau. It is the main organizational body of Catholics in China officially sanctioned by the Chinese government.
| Catholic Patriotic Association | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Catholic |
| Polity | Association |
| Region | China |
| Founder | State Administration for Religious Affairs |
| Origin | 1957 |
| Merged into | United Front Work Department of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party |
| Catholic Patriotic Association | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 中國天主教愛國會 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 中国天主教爱国会 | ||||||||||
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The organization is not recognized by the worldwide Catholic Church. The organization is controlled by the United Front Work Department (UFWD) of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party following the State Administration for Religious Affairs' absorption into the UFWD in 2018.