Religion Roundup
Priests Fly to North Korea for Mass and Visit
Associated Press
September 23, 2008
SEOUL, South Korea - A group of Roman Catholic priests from South Korea has flown to North Korea to hold a rare Mass in the communist country.
South Korean officials said the Mass was scheduled Monday afternoon as part of a five-day visit.
The 96-member delegation included priests and other South Korean Catholics.
The North Korean capital, Pyongyang, once was a center of Christianity in Korea. But the U.S. State Department reported last week that "genuine religious freedom does not exist" in North Korea.
The communist nation has one Catholic, one Russian Orthodox and two Protestant churches.
An independent report released Monday urged the United Nations and international nuclear negotiators to more strongly confront what's described as North Korea's dismal treatment of its citizens.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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