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July 3 (Asia Today) — A possible visit by Pope Leo XIV to North Korea will depend largely on Pyongyang’s attitude and the state of relations between North Korea and the United States, a senior South Korean cardinal said Friday.

“The possibility of Pope Leo XIV visiting North Korea depends on the position of the North Korean authorities,” Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik told reporters in Seoul. “Relations between North Korea and the United States are the most important factor.”

“If even a small door opens, it could become an opportunity to expand relations,” he said. “I hope that time comes soon.”

You, 74, is prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Clergy. He spoke at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea offices in Seoul’s Gwangjin district while visiting South Korea for his summer vacation.

President Lee Jae Myung invited Pope Leo to visit South Korea during their June 15 meeting at the Vatican.

Lee asked the pope to attend World Youth Day, which will be held in Seoul from Aug. 3-8, 2027. The possibility of a papal visit to North Korea was also discussed.

You said he had felt strongly after Leo’s election in 2025 that the new pope could play a role in promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

“When Pope Leo XIV was elected last year, I had a strong intuition that he would do something for peace on the Korean Peninsula,” You said.

“When I shared that hope with him, he replied, ‘I hope that happens as well,'” the cardinal said.

You said conditions inside North Korea would have to change before a papal visit could realistically take place.

“There are Protestant ministers, Buddhist monks and Russian Orthodox priests in North Korea, but there is not a single resident Catholic bishop, priest or nun,” he said.

You said Catholics live in North Korea and some foreign diplomats posted in Pyongyang are also Catholic.

Having one or two resident priests at Jangchung Cathedral in Pyongyang could help create an atmosphere more favorable to a papal visit, he said.

North Korea officially recognizes the Korean Catholic Association and maintains Jangchung Cathedral, but the Holy See does not have formal diplomatic relations with Pyongyang.

Appointment of another Korean cardinal

Asked whether Pope Leo could appoint another South Korean cardinal, You said the decision rests entirely with the pontiff.

“A cardinal’s role is to advise the pope,” he said. “The appointment of cardinals is entirely at the pope’s discretion.”

You noted that Leo has not yet announced his first appointments to the College of Cardinals and said an announcement could come soon.

The Catholic Church in South Korea has produced four cardinals.

Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, who died in 2009, became South Korea’s first cardinal in 1969. Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk died in 2021.

Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, the retired archbishop of Seoul, and You are the two surviving South Korean cardinals.

Attention has focused on Archbishop Peter Soon-taick Chung of Seoul as a possible future cardinal because he leads the country’s largest archdiocese and serves as president of the local organizing committee for World Youth Day Seoul 2027.

During his Vatican meeting, Lee conveyed the Korean Catholic community’s hope that a serving cardinal could be appointed to a diocese in South Korea.

The pope responded that he would give particular consideration to South Korea’s circumstances if he appoints new cardinals, according to the presidential office.

Preparations for World Youth Day

You said the Vatican and the South Korean Catholic Church are making steady progress in preparing for World Youth Day.

The gathering is expected to bring Catholic young people from around the world to Seoul for religious services, cultural events and meetings with church leaders.

The main events traditionally include an opening Mass, a papal welcoming ceremony, the Way of the Cross, an overnight vigil and a closing Mass.

You called for government assistance with preparations, including more flexible visa requirements for international participants.

Some critics have questioned whether special local ordinances or government support for the event could favor one religion.

You said the economic and diplomatic benefits generated by the gathering would exceed the value of the government assistance provided.

He said he hoped the event would leave young visitors with a positive impression of South Korea.

Asked about declining religious participation among young people, You said falling numbers of priests and candidates for the priesthood are concerns throughout the global Catholic Church.

“The first thing that is important is to listen carefully to young people and open our hearts to them,” he said.

Exorcism and Opus Dei

Reporters also asked You about exorcism and Opus Dei, a personal prelature of the Catholic Church that is under the Vatican dicastery’s jurisdiction for matters involving the Holy See.

You said young people have shown considerable interest in priests authorized to perform exorcisms.

“As the examples of Jesus in the Bible show, the devil clearly exists,” he said.

He stressed that exorcism must never be connected with demands for money.

He also said priests should avoid unnecessary physical contact during an exorcism, particularly when ministering to women, because such contact could raise ethical concerns or lead to misunderstandings.

Under Catholic canon law, a priest may conduct a formal exorcism only after receiving specific authorization from the local bishop.

You also addressed questions about whether Opus Dei could receive greater prominence under Pope Leo as the church considers declining birthrates and family issues.

Opus Dei emphasizes the pursuit of holiness through ordinary professional, family and social life.

You supported the establishment of Opus Dei activities in South Korea while serving as bishop of Daejeon.

He declined to speculate about the organization’s future position under the new pope.

“It is not a question that can easily be answered in one or two sentences,” You said. “There are complex discussions taking place within the Catholic Church.”

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260703010001262

June 6 (UPI) — Pope Leo XIV landed in Madrid Saturday to begin his one-week papal visit to the country, the first in 15 years.

Leo was greeted at the airport by King Felipe VI and his wife Queen Letizia, then addressed them at the Royal Palace along with politicians and diplomats.

He acknowledged political polarization and called for an end to it in Spain and elsewhere in the West.

“I come among you to affirm, encourage and instill a renewed fidelity to the Gospel among believers, as well as a deeper reconciliation and collaboration among the various elements of this nation,” the first American pope said.

“In reality, the message of peace, which at present unfortunately strikes some as naive and others as confrontational, is welcomed by those who do not shut themselves off in preconceived ideologies, but are rather open to the truth,” Leo said.

Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Yolanda Díaz told the Washington Post that the left in Spain embraces the pope.

“The [left’s] alignment with Pope Francis was immediate: He defended Spain’s labor reform and the Episcopal Conference also supported it, something that would have seemed unthinkable 20 years ago,” she said. “With Leo XIV, that alignment deepens.”

The Spanish far-right are battling the Church, which they believed an ally. They are particularly upset over the church’s advocacy for migrants, The Washington Post reported. The left once saw the Church as complicit in the Franco dictatorship.

“The far right in Spain wants to copy the far right in the United States,” Bishop José Mazuelos Pérez, who heads a Canary Islands diocese providing shelter, food, blankets and medical care for arriving migrants, told The Post. “To go to war with the bishops over the issue of migration.”

On Monday, Leo will address the Spanish parliament, which is gridlocked. He’s expected to discuss that type of polarization, and his other visits around the country highlight differing segments of the Church.

He will have a prayer vigil with young people Saturday, then march Sunday in a traditional Spanish street procession.

On Thursday, Leo plans to visit the Canary Islands, a landing for Latin American migrants and for those arriving by sea from the African coast. He is planning to visit Lampedusa on July 4, an Italian island where migrants from Africa and beyond land.

On his flight to Spain, Leo acknowledged that he would be competing popular with Puerto Rican singer Bad Bunny, who played the Super Bowl halftime show this year, for Spanish attention. Bad Bunny is scheduled to perform in Madrid Saturday night.

Leo said that more young people are turning to the Church, looking for something more.

“If they are confronted with the question: do they want to see Bad Bunny or do they want to see the pope, I think many will see Bad Bunny,” Leo said. “But I think there will also be a few here to see the pope. And that says something.”

On Sunday, the pope will celebrate mass on the feast of Corpus Christi in the Plaza de Cibeles. There will be a Corpus Christi procession, the Vatican said. He will also meet privately with members of the Order of St. Augustine to which he belongs.

Later, he will go to a gathering of representatives of culture, arts, business and sports at Madrid’s Movistar Arena.

The Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said, “Leo XIV’s trip to Spain is a sign that, despite the secularization of society, the pope still has something to say in many areas, in Spain and in Europe, where he can play a constructive role in public debate,” Euro News reported.