A leader of the US-based Catholic Maryknoll order has said that he hopes to set up a permanent presence in North Korea for the first time in more than 50 years, writes Jonathan Luxmoore. There have been no permanent resident priests or Religious in North Korea since the 1950-52 Korean War in which 300,000 Catholics died. Vatican sources say all known clergy have been killed or deported, and estimate that no more than 800 baptised Catholics currently survive. "Subtle changes in attitude are more important than signed documents when it comes to measuring progress," said Fr Gerard Hammond, director of the Catholic Church's National Reconciliation Centre in South Korea and of Caritas,  North Korea. "There's no visible sign of the Catholic Church or Catholics here. But we are trying to bring the Government round, showing the compassion of the Church."

Back to homepage