Top Vatican official says celibacy, homosexuality not cause of abuse crisis
- Dec 14, 2019
Christianity is virtually outlawed in North Korea, where dictator Kim Jong Un is the subject of a personality cult that treats him like a god. This is what North Korean defectors told The Associated Press about the ways North Koreans maintain their beliefs.
North Korea’s treatment of Christians could become a bigger issue if North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s expected second summit with U.S. President Donald Trump produces significant progress, and if Pope Francis follows through on his expressed willingness to take up Kim’s invitation to visit North Korea.
If we reframe the pope’s Christmas ‘Urbi et Orbi’ address not as a policy speech but a pedagogical exercise, then the lack of originality makes sense.
On Christmas day 2018, Pope Francis prayed that a sense of fraternity may overcome violent conflicts raging around the world.
South Korea’s president thanked Pope Francis for promoting peace and dialogue on Wednesday as he arrived in Italy for a papal audience, where he’s expected to extend an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for Francis to visit.
The Vatican has no immediate comment on a statement from South Korea’s presidential office that the North Korean leader wants Pope Francis to visit officially.