Pope taps South Korean to head Vatican office for priests
Pope Francis has tapped a South Korean bishop to lead the Vatican office responsible for the world’s 400,000 Catholic priests
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Pope Francis has tapped a South Korean bishop to lead the Vatican office responsible for the world’s 400,000 Catholic priests, in the second major appointment of an Asian prelate to the Holy See during his papacy.
Monsignor Lazarus You Heung-sik, currently the bishop of Daejeon, replaces the retiring Cardinal Beniamino Stella as prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, the Vatican said Friday.
You's appointment follows Francis’ 2019 decision to bring Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle to Rome to head another important Vatican congregation, Propaganda Fide, which is responsible for the church in the so-called mission territories of Africa, Asia and elsewhere.
Asia is increasingly seen as the future of the Catholic Church. Along with Africa, it is the only region in the world where numbers of priests, seminarians and religious sisters have shown continual growth, amid steady declines in Europe and the Americas.
You, 69, accompanied Francis on his 2014 visit to South Korea, the first of several Asian pilgrimages the Argentine pope has made.
Recently Francis authorized a Vatican investigation into Stella’s clergy office, presumably to be completed before the handover to his successor. In Friday's announcement, Francis told Stella, 79, to remain in his job until You is installed.
It’s the second Vatican department Francis has subjected to an external assessment upon the retirement of its leader. Francis ordered an investigation into the Vatican’s liturgy office that until recently was headed by conservative Cardinal Robert Sarah. Recently Francis tapped Sarah's No. 2, British Bishop Arthur Roche, to succeed the Guinean cardinal.
Francis has been overseeing a process of reform and financial transparency in the Holy See bureaucracy, leading up to the expected publication of a new governing constitution laying out the organization and mission of the Vatican's various departments.