DeepSeek AI restricts responses on Vatican-China bishop appointment pact
The National Catholic Register tested DeepSeek's R1 chatbot and found it refused to answer or deleted responses on questions about Vatican-China relations, Catholicism in China, and religious freedom, while suggesting users consult only non-sensitive topics.
What happened
The National Catholic Register tested DeepSeek's R1 chatbot on questions about Catholicism in China and found the model refused to answer or deleted responses on sensitive topics.
When asked about the Vatican-China bishop appointment agreement, DeepSeek initially provided details but deleted the content within seconds and said 'Currently unable to answer this type of question.'
The chatbot declined to engage with questions about why China claims to protect religious freedom while persecuting Catholics, why it promotes Marxism while opposing Western cultural influence, and why it requires clergy to promote Xi Jinping's ideology.
Reported impact
The AI warned users that joining unofficial churches in China could result in fines, detention, or imprisonment, and suggested Catholics avoid discussing faith in schools, workplaces and online to avoid unwanted attention.
DeepSeek suggested that approved state churches are 'generally tolerated' but must align with national policy, and recommended believers discuss faith with children only in private to comply with 2018 regulations prohibiting religious education in schools and public institutions.
Index analysis
The model displayed visible self-censorship by deleting responses and revealing its internal reasoning process, stating it 'must respond carefully' to questions about Vatican-China relations and religious topics.
When asked what sermon content passes Chinese government review, DeepSeek stated it should 'avoid mentioning the Pope and Vatican officials' and focus on harmony, patriotism and values aligned with China.
Governance controls
DeepSeek's approach reflects alignment with Chinese government censorship priorities regarding religion and Vatican relations, with the model declining questions and recommending users discuss mathematics, programming and logic instead.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.