The popular Catholic app Hallowbased in the United States, has been removed from Apple’s app store in China for allegedly presenting “illegal” content, according to Alex Jones, founder of Hallow.
Jones posted on social media Monday afternoon that the app “just got kicked out of the app store in China.”
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“Praying for all Christians in China,” he added.
Hallow is a prayer app that provides Catholic devotional content in audio format. Since its launch in 2018, Hallow says the app has been downloaded more than 14 million times “in more than 150 countries.” In February, the hallow discharges They briefly topped the App Store, in all categories, for the first time.
Jones told EWTN News’ CNA in an email sent Tuesday, July 16, that the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) informed him that Hallow was “considered an application that includes content illegal in China and therefore must be withdrawn,” without providing further details.
He commented that the number of users of the Catholic application in China was in the thousands, although they do not have exact figures. According to A studythe number of Catholics in China peaked at 12 million in 2005.
“We will continue to try to serve our brothers and sisters in Christ in China as best we can through our website, web application, social media content, but primarily with our prayers,” Jones said.
He declined to speculate on the timing of the CAC action. However, this week a new audio series on the life of Saint John Paul II was launched on Hallow, Witness of Hopewhich mentions the saint’s resistance to communism.
China’s communist government is officially atheist, although some “official” religions, including Catholicism, are tolerated. The Catholic Church in China is divided between the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association (CPA), which is controlled by the government, and an “underground” Catholic Church that is persecuted and loyal to Rome.
In 2018, the Vatican signed a controversial agreement with the Chinese government on the appointment of bishops, which China has repeatedly challenged by appointing loyalists to episcopal positions.
The Chinese government has long exercised strict control and surveillance over the Internet and social media in the country and also pressures believers to conform to the Communist Party’s ideology. Among other things, Chinese law requires that religious education and places of worship be officially approved and registered by the government.
This is not the first time the CAC has used Chinese cyber law to pressure the removal of religious apps. In 2021a digital Bible company removed its app from the Apple App Store in China, while Apple itself removed a Quran app from its store, at the request of Chinese officials.
In April, citing national security concerns, the CAC also extended its censorship beyond religious apps, ordering Apple to remove WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram from its app store. These are three of the most popular messaging applications worldwide, known for offering private and encrypted communications.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published inCNA.
Jonah McKeown
Jonah McKeown is a writer and podcast producer for Catholic News Agency. He has a master’s degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has worked as a writer, radio producer and videographer.