Catholic Church Grows Hidden in North Korea

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North Korea
Photo by Andrea De Santis on Unsplash

Korean Archbishop: Trees sprout new shoots on every branch, every year. So too do the Catholics who are hiding somewhere in the north grow.

Photo: Andres De Santis /Unsplash

Newsroom (05/18/2022 15:45, Gaudium Press) Elder Msgr. Victorinus Youn Kong-hi, 97, Archbishop Emeritus of Gwangju in South Korea, said he believes the Catholic Church is growing in its northern neighbor, the communist, shadowy, and controlled Korea of Kim Jong-un.

Growing surreptitiously and under threat of persecution, of course.

The prelate’s statements were compiled in the book “The Story of the Church in North Korea,” a work based on 8 interviews with Msgr. Victorinus over the past year, collected by writer Kwon Eun-Jung.

Curiously, the archbishop was born in an area that is now under the rule of despotic Kim. In his interviews, Bishop Victorinus tells the story of the flourishing of the Church before the division of Korea. He highlighted the growth of social work for the poorest, such as medical care, schools, and other charitable works.

Memories that can’t be forgotten

The archbishop recounts – reliving the emotion – the day when the emergency bell rang in the Benedictine monastery and seminary of Token, near Wonsan, a city located in the center-north of former great Korea, now under communist rule. It was midnight on May 9, 1949, and the Japanese no longer exercised a protectorate over these territories.

The abbot of the Benedictine monastery and bishop, Bishop Boniface Sauer, born in Germany, was captured by the communists when Bishop Victorino was still a mere seminarian there.

His last words to the seminarians were, “As the Lord has called and as the Lord has done, we must go out to the death with countless martyrs. Now I ask you to continue in this place without me. Come back and rest in peace. We will meet in heaven.” Msgr. Sauer was martyred in prison.

The Communists then expelled the monks and seminarians from the monastery. Bishop Youn and Bishop Daniel Tji Hak Soun fled south and arrived in Seoul on January 17, 1950, where they were able to buy milk and chocolate, as well as “feel the air of freedom.” Msgr. Victorinus Youn was ordained a priest shortly afterward, in March, and then went to Rome, where he studied at two pontifical universities from 1957 to 1960.

But several times he returned north to visit his family, specifically to the capital Pyongyang, where he was reunited with a brother and sister in 1985.

He was the first bishop of the Suwon diocese in 1963, and then archbishop of the Gwangju diocese in 1973, ruling that see until 2000. He also served as president of the Episcopal Conference of his country from 1975 to 1981.

For the archbishop, the publication of the book is a dream come true. He continues to pray for the North Korean Church, as certain structures remain, and that it continues to “grow hidden, like the trees in Tokwon,” his seminary.

“Trees sprout new shoots on each branch each year. So too do Catholics growing hidden somewhere in the north,” he said.

With Crux information.

Compiled by Dominic Joseph

 

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