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VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The South Korean president on Wednesday spoke of "comforting" measures for peace on the Korean peninsula, a day before his invitation to send an invitation to Pope Francis to visit North Korea.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in is speaking to the next Italian Cardinal Angelo Comastri at the end of a special Mass for Peace on the Korean Peninsula, in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, on October 17, 2018. REUTERS / Max Rossi
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, number two of the Vatican, announced a Mass celebrated in St. Peter's Basilica for President Moon Jae-in and others, including the United States Ambassador to the United States. Vatican, Callista Gingrich, and hundreds of Korean residents in Rome.
After the "Mass for Peace on the Korean Peninsula," Moon spoke to the congregation about recent positive meetings with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
"Right now in the Korean Peninsula, historical and comforting changes are occurring," said Moon, a Catholic. "We are paving the way for a noble enterprise to ensure peace."
The two Koreas held three summits this year. Kim also held an unprecedented summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore in June, and promised to work towards the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
Moon meets the pope Thursday at noon and should forward Kim's invitation.
Kim announced to Moon his wish to meet the pontiff at a meeting last month, announced last week the South Korean presidential office. [L4N1WP2AI] The pope is expected to visit Japan next year.
In his homily at Mass, Parolin prayed for peace on the Korean peninsula. Peace, he said, must be built on "a serious commitment to justice and solidarity, to promoting the rights and dignity of the human person".
The Constitution of North Korea guarantees freedom of religion as long as it does not undermine the state. But beyond a handful of places of worship controlled by the state, no open religious activity is allowed.
North Korea, which church officials said had a Catholic community of about 55,000 people just before the 1950-53 Korean War, does not allow priests to attend. stay permanently.
Information on the number of Catholics still in North Korea is scarce. Religious agencies reported that they ranged from a few hundred to around 4,000.
The Church estimates that 11% of the southern population is Catholic.
Report by Philip Pullella; edited by John Stonestreet
