Cardinal Lazzaro You Heung-sik (73), Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy, said he had prayed for former President Yoon Suk-yeol but could not change things by his own power. Speaking about the failure of the December 3 illegal martial law attempt, he suggested it meant that God had answered the prayer.

Appearing on MBC <Questions by Son Seok-hee> on the 12th, when Son Seok-hee asked whether he had also prayed for former President Yoon Suk-yeol, Cardinal You said he prayed that Yoon would live rightly himself and, because he had the role of president, that he could carry out that role well. He added that he realized he could not change things by his own power and prayed that, since God is love and almighty, God would change the heart of the former president.

When Son asked, “Did God not answer the prayer?”, Cardinal You said, “We look at the present, a month, or a year, but He (God) sees our long life; therefore patience is needed when we pray.”

Cardinal You continued, “For example, looking at this situation, if a helicopter had taken off just 30 minutes earlier (during the December 3 illegal martial law attempt), we do not know how the result would have turned out. And if our soldiers had interfered a little more actively, the result would have changed,” and added, “God sometimes answers my prayer immediately, sometimes later, and sometimes I feel that He leads us onto a good path even before we pray.” It sounded as if he meant that the failure by Yoon to impose martial law was, in the end, because God had answered the prayer.

In response to Son Seok-hee's question about how he views the phenomenon in which some Protestant churches in Korean society have grown strong by combining with far-right political movements, noting that a Korean American who claimed election fraud had recently visited and was using Protestantism as a foothold, Cardinal You also answered that religion connected with power and money should be eliminated as quickly as possible.

Cardinal You said, “When the church engages with politics, it is not engaging in politics itself, but in human dignity and human life,” and pointed out, “Yet these people even form political parties.”

Cardinal You said, “To judge whether it is the right path or not, I look at two things. One is whether political power is involved, whether there is a desire to grasp more power. The other is whether money is involved. If it is tied to power and money, it must be eliminated immediately, as quickly as possible.”

Cardinal You said, “However, even if there is a political intention, if one has good intentions and has no power and no money, one can move forward as much as one wishes,” and added, “In such a case, it is good to encourage and help. The church is striving to do so.”

Cardinal You relayed that Pope Francis, who passed away in April, said in his lifetime, “Pray for politicians. Without praying for politicians, one has no right to criticize politics,” and added that politicians are very important to him.

Appointed Prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy in June 2021, Cardinal You was created a cardinal on May 29, 2022, becoming the fourth cardinal in the history of the Korean Catholic Church.