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North urged to allow priests
Bishop asks for basic human-rights steps
A South Korean bishop has called on the government of North Korea to allow Catholic bishops and priests to permanently reside in the Communist country.
“We urge the North Korean authorities to permit the permanent presence of Catholic priests in North Korea, to allow bishops to visit North Korean Catholics and confer the sacraments on them,” said Bishop Peter Kang Woo-il, auxiliary of Seoul and president of the Committee for the Reconciliation of Korean People, in a message issued for the 2001 Prayer Day for Reconciliation on June 24.
In the statement he appealed to Korean Catholics to continue to be active in providing relief to North Koreans suffering from famine. At the same time he asked North Korean authorities to allow the people to exercise their basic human rights so that they can freely believe in God and worship him. He said:
The entire Korean people were excited with the historic encounter of the leaders of South and North on June 15, 2000, hoping it would be the beginning of a new era on the Korean peninsula. However, during the year after the South-North Summit, we realized that the reunification of our divided country does not depend only on the desires and efforts of the Korean people.
The bishop recalled the suffering of Catholics in the past, and the repression they still endure:
Under the Communist regime about 60 Catholic priests lost their lives because of their faith in God, and a number of lay faithful died as martyrs for the same reason. In North Korea where religious freedom is not allowed there is no priest to confer the sacraments and celebrate liturgy with the Church community. This means that North Koreans are unable to experience the spiritual joy of praising God in the liturgy. Fortunately the North Korean authorities allow priests, both Korean and non-Korean, to enter to celebrate Mass at Jangchung church in Pyongyang—the only place in the whole of North Korea where Catholics can gather to pray.
For the sake of unity and reconciliation, the bishop calls on North Korean authorities to guarantee citizens their basic human rights, including religious freedom, a permanent presence of Catholic priests in North Korea, and regular visits by bishops and clergy. “Such measures will offer North Korea a good opportunity to be welcomed as a mature member of the international community,” he said.
For six years the Catholic Church in South Korea has tried—through programs administered by the Jangchung church—to help North Koreans suffering from food shortage and financial crisis, and the bishop called on Catholics to continue that assistance.
Back to Catholic World Report August/September 2001 Table of Contents