Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Pope Francis kisses a baby as he arrives for his weekly general audience, in St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)

VATICAN CITY (AP) — 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.

President Moon Jae-in meets with Francis on Thursday. He spends Wednesday meeting with Italian leaders and attending an evening "Mass for Peace" in St. Peter's Basilica along with the pope's top diplomat, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state.

Moon signed a broad agreement with Kim last month meant to reduce military tensions on the peninsula. Moon's office has reported that during the summit, Kim said the pope would be "enthusiastically" welcomed in North Korea — a message he is due to deliver at Thursday's audience.

In an article in the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, Moon praised Francis for his promotion of dialogue and said he hoped that the Korean peace initiative could also help the Vatican forge relations with the North.

"In recent months, the pope's prayer and blessing have given the Korean people great encouragement and hope on the path to peace," Moon wrote.

"In recent months, the pope's prayer and blessing have given the Korean people great encouragement and hope on the path to peace," Moon wrote. He noted that when he traveled to Pyongyang in September for the summit, he was joined by a Korean Catholic bishop to try to improve relations between the church in North and South.

North Korea strictly controls the religious activities of its people, and a similar invitation for then-Pope John Paul II to visit after a 2000 inter-Korean summit never resulted in a meeting. The Vatican insisted at the time that a papal visit would only be possible if Catholic priests were accepted in North Korea.

Francis, however, has taken a less-absolutist approach in the Holy See's diplomacy, as evidenced by the recent deal over bishop nominations signed with China, North Korea's closest ally. Previous popes had refused to cut a deal with China's communist leaders, who allow religious practice only in state-sanctioned churches.

The Vatican's priests were expelled by North Korea long ago and state-appointed laymen officiate services. Estimates of the number of North Korean Catholics range from 800 to about 3,000, compared to more than 5 million in South Korea.

Following an unusually provocative run of weapons tests last year, Kim has been on a diplomatic offensive since the start of this year, which included the meeting with Moon and one with President Donald Trump.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

President Donald Trump meets South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
President Trump offered a vibrant demonstration of the kind of worst-case scenario Pope Leo may have had in mind about the collapse of critical thinking.
Kevin ClarkeMay 22, 2025
In his first appointment of a top-level official of the Roman Curia, Pope Leo XIV named Sister Tiziana Merletti, a canon lawyer, to be secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
“We were once leaders in petroleum and gas research; now we’re becoming leaders in green hydrogen and carbon capture. This isn’t just a technological shift; it’s a spiritual one.”
Gerard O’ConnellMay 22, 2025
A cardinal reflects on his experience of the conclave