“At Least 10,000 Catholics Live Their Faith in Secret in North Korea”

La Stampa-Vatican Insider ^ | Vatican Insider Staff

[marshmallow]

This is according to Fr. Lee Eun-hyung, General Secretary of the Catholic "Committee for the Reconciliation of the Korean People", who spoke to Aid to the Church in Need

“We suspect that after the long period of persecution there are still about 10,000 people who will remember in their hearts their Catholic faith.” But “I find it difficult to believe that there is an organised underground Church in North Korea,” Fr. Lee Eun-hyung, the General Secretary of the Catholic "Committee for the Reconciliation of the Korean People", said in an interview with Aid to the Church in Need (the foundation that supports pastoral action in areas where Catholics suffer persecution).

During the interview, Fr. Eun-hyung described the tragic conditions the North Korean population is living in and spoke about his travels, the last being a visit to the capital of North Korea in 2011. “On each visit I celebrated Holy Mass in the Catholic church of "Jangchung", named after the city district where it is located. North Korean believers attended. Nevertheless the North Korean authorities told me it was strictly forbidden for me and those working with me to contact the country's citizens personally.” Fr. Eun-hyung explained that the church of Jangchung was unique in that its faithful were led by a layman who celebrated the Liturgy of the Word every Sunday.” This must be true because “as far as I know” he said “there are no Catholic priests living in North Korea at present.”

When asked how many Catholics remained in North Korea, Fr. Eun-hyung said “It's difficult to say.” “The North Korean authorities told us that there are 3,000 Catholics in the country. But we don't know whether this figure is correct, or how it was arrived at.” The last time any accurate figures were obtained was back in.......

[Salvation]

For later.

[RIghtwardHo]

Brave souls for sure.