ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - Cardinal Yeom: Bishop You to the Congregation of the Clergy is "a great gift"

Tuesday, 15 June 2021 local churches   holy see  

Seoul (Agenzia Fides) – The fact that the Bishop of Daejeon, Lazzaro You Heung-sik, was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy by Pope Francis is "a great gift for Korean Catholics and for the faithful from all over the world", says the Cardinal.
Andrew Yeom, Archbishop of Seoul, in a congratulatory message, expresses the joy of the entire Korean Catholic community which, he recalls, is celebrating the Jubilee of the 200th anniversary of the birth of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon, the first native Catholic priest and patron Saint of Korea.
In the text of the message, sent to Fides by the Communications Office of the Archdiocese of Seoul, the Cardinal says: "I sincerely hope that he can assist the Holy Father Francis in fulfilling his duties with his deep spirituality and his exceptional communication skills", thanking the Pope for having appointed, for the first time in the history of the Church, a Korean bishop to lead a Vatican Dicastery. Matthias Young-yup Hur, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Seoul, notes that "the appointment came as a surprise. The Catholic Church in Korea has experienced rapid growth and is playing a prominent role in the universal Catholic Church. The task given to Bishop You Heung-sik is, for our Church, an opportunity to renew the missionary attitude of providing support to those in need". According to statistics published annually by the Korean Bishops' Conference (CBCK), the number of Catholic faithful in South Korea at the end of 2020 was 5,923,300. Bishop Lazarus You Heung-sik, 69, was appointed Prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy on June 11 and received the title of Archbishop. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 15/6/2021)


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