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Article: Catholicism in North Korea survives in catacombs.(ALL THINGS CATHOLIC)
- Article from:
- National Catholic Reporter
- Article date:
- November 10, 2006
- Author:
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For Western Catholics who sometimes despair of keeping the faith in a secularized world or passing it on to their children, Fr. Paul Hwang might offer a bit of perspective: Try it in North Korea sometime.
The country's microscopically small Catholic population--estimated at 3,000 by the government, 800 by the local church--has no resident priest, no access to the sacraments, no possibility of overt catechesis or faith-sharing, and can't even engage in simple gestures such as the sign of the cross in public without fear of surveillance.
Hwang, a South Korean, said he is certain there is no Catholic Mass being celebrated anywhere in the North--even ...