Devoutly Catholic Guam celebrates Mass amid N. Korea threat
TUMON, Guam — Across Guam — where nearly everyone is Roman Catholic — priests prayed for peace as residents of the U.S. Pacific island territory faced a missile threat from North Korea.
Archbishop Michael Byrnes instructed priests in Guam’s 26 churches to offer prayers for peace between the two nations and courage for military forces on the island. He asked for prayers for “just resolution of differences, and prudence in both speech and action.”
Guam’s Catholic faithful attended Sunday Mass after several days of dramatic rhetoric between the two nuclear-armed nations. President Donald Trump threatened swift and forceful retaliation against North Korea, declaring the U.S. military “locked and loaded.”
There hasn’t been any widespread anxiety among Guam residents, even after Pyongyang vowed to complete a plan to attack waters near the island by mid-August.