SEOUL (UCAN) - Pope John Paul II could visit North Korea only when the communist country recognizes the Church's presence and allows resident priests there, according to Catholic bishops in South Korea. Archbishop Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk of Seoul said he expects the pope to visit North Korea only when religious freedom there is guaranteed. "The papal visit to North Korea could be possible when the North Korean government recognizes the Church's presence," he said in a June 26 interview with the Seoul archdiocese-run Pyonghwa (Peace) Broadcasting Corporation. Citing the pope's visit to Cuba in 1998, he said the papal visit there was possible because of the "substantial number" of Catholics in that country. On the other hand, "the North (Korean) people are not familiar with such terms as Church and faith. Nobody knows how many Catholics there are in North Korea, and also it has no Catholic priest," explained the archbishop, who apostolic administrator of Pyongyang diocese in North Korea.
Before the pope could visit Pyongyang, the archbishop of Seoul would have to go there to prepare for a papal visit, he stressed. However, Archbishop Cheong added that a pastoral visit to Pyongyang by himself "as a religious leader" is not possible under current circumstances in which "religious freedom is not guaranteed" in North Korea.
He said that he is considering a humanitarian visit to the North "if the North Korean government invites me." He added that he expects the socialist regime of North Korea to handle the religion question "very prudently." According to the Korean bishops' Committee for the Reconciliation of Korean People, North Korea now has only one Catholic Church, in Pyongyang, and some 3,000 Catholics without a priest.
In 1945, when Korea was divided, there were some 55,000 Catholics including three bishops and some 80 priests in the North. Half of them came to the South, but others went missing, according to the committee.
Auxiliary Bishop Peter Kang Woo-il of Seoul, president of the committee, agreed that the pope's pastoral visit to North Korea could only be realized when the North allows Catholic priests permanent residence.
"The Church should have two components at least - clergy and laity. But there is not a clergyman there," Bishop Kang said, noting that China has many priests. The North Korean government has to promise that it will allow Catholic priests to live there in the near future before the pope could make a visit, he told the Seoul archdiocese-run weekly "Pyonghwa Shinmun" June 19. He added that Archbishop Cheong should visit Pyongyang to make arrangements for the reception of the pope.
Abbot Placid Ri Tong-ho, apostolic administrator of Hamhung diocese and the Tokwon Abbey Territory, both in North Korea, told UCA News June 20 that the pope's pastoral visit to North Korea would be difficult to realize in the near future because North Korea has no "official" Catholic Church. The Benedictine abbot said he hoped that the pope could visit North Korea as soon as possible to foster peace and reconciliation on the Korean peninsula.
Meanwhile, Pope John Paul has formally received an invitation to visit North and South Korea, the Vatican Press Office said June 17. South Korean Ambassador to the Holy See Andrew Bae Yang-il handed the invitation to Archbishop Jean-Louis Tauran, Vatican secretary for relations with states, the Vatican office said.
South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, a Catholic, announced June 16 in Seoul that North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-il had agreed during their summit in Pyongyang June 13-15 to invite the pope to the North.
UCAN 30. juni 2000