U.S. commission urges Vatican to give more attention to North Korea

Published: 2006-07-14

ROME (CNS) -- Members of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom met July 13 with Vatican diplomatic officials, urging the Vatican to give greater attention to human rights abuses in North Korea. But Bishop Ricardo Ramirez of Las Cruces, N.M., a congressional appointee to the government advisory board, told reporters after the meeting that Saudi Arabia tops the Vatican's list of countries of concern regarding religious freedom. Bishop Ramirez and other members of the commission were in Rome for a July 12 conference on religious freedom in North Korea. Freedom House, a research institute, sponsored the conference. At a July 13 press conference, which included three people who had escaped from North Korea, Bishop Ramirez said that, while the world is concerned about North Korea testing missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons, most people do not know the extent to which North Koreans are denied their basic human rights. "We want the whole story to be known so that there could be diplomatic pressure on behalf of so many people who are suffering so much under a very oppressive government," the bishop said.

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