On Friday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in met Pope Francis, presented him with a cross made from barbed wire, and urged him to visit North Korea. Moon, a Catholic, was in Rome for the G20 summit of world leaders and held private talks with the pope for about 25 minutes, the Vatican said. The cross Read more
Kim Jong-un has spoken of how he would “ardently welcome Pope Francis” if Francis were to agree to visit Pyongyang. His invitation is seen as a gesture designed to highlight peace on the Korean peninsula. South Korean President Moon Jae-in will relay Kim’s desire to host a papal visit when he visits the Vatican later Read more
The new apostolic nuncio to South Korea, Monsignor Alfred Xuereb, will be working towards improving relations between North and South Korea. He will also actively encourage peace initiatives in the region. Monsignor Marco Sprizzi has been in charge of the Nunciature in Seoul since the retirement of Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Osvaldo Padilla last year. He Read more
The Vatican’s former representative to the United Nations says Pope Francis is closely following the situation between the United States and North Korea. The two countries are trading insults, with North Korea threatening to send four missiles into the sea off Guam, as a response to President Donald Trump’s escalating rhetoric. “The only way forth Read more
South Korea can be sure of Vatican support in reconciling differences with North Korea. “You are always welcome,” South Korea’s Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-jong was told when he asked if President Moon Jae-in could visit. Last month Moon, who is a practising Catholic, sent Archbishop Kim to the Vatican on his behalf. Kim is South Read more
A society where morality and human rights matter; where corruption is expunged; where there is a “president for the people”; and where there’s hope for a reunited country. These are among the expectations South Koreans have for their new president, Moon Jae-in. In a congratulatory message from the Korean Bishops’ Conference, Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-joong Read more