One of the Journalist writing for the Catholic Paper has an open letter to past President Kim Dae-jung which I will translate freely.
President Thomas More!
You now enjoy happiness in the bosom of our Lord who was your strength each time you came came close to death . You are now with the Lord you loved and trusted and I have no doubt that you are enjoying heavenly joy.
Looking back over your life it was one of shame and glory. 5 times you faced death, 6 years you were in prison, 55 time you were confined, 10 years you were in exile. You experienced all the ups and downs that life has to offer.
"Without me knowing it under the bed covers I was calling God and crying unreservedly."
In 1981 in February confined in the Cheongju prison these are the words that you wrote with tears. Before you became a great political leader you were a believer with a broken heart.
But all this suffering and frustration could not break your noble will and make you give up your dreams. Mr. President, all this adversity you were able to overcome with your conviction and belief in democracy and love of others
I remember 1998 you will possibly not .It was the 25th anniversary of your return from death and we had a Mass of thanksgiving. I was a raw recruit as a journalist and I was covering the story. I was meeting the leader of the nation and my heart was fluttering with anticipation, I can still remember the words you used.
"I have come close to death on 5 different occasions. On this occasion we remember when I was kidnapped in Japan and was on the ocean and was to be killed. I saw the Lord. The Lord will help our people and as President I will do everything to answer the expectations of the people."
President Thomas More , we are now sending you off with tears of pain. We saw our Cardinal Kim leave us who was a great star.We are in prayer and united together praying for your eternal peace. Seeing us now as we are should make known that your life as a politician and as a believer was not for naught.
You have taken the example of our loving and forgiving Lord to do the same after the many times that you faced death and imprisonment. This is what made you a great politician and an example of what a believer should be.
It is not possible to list all that you have done. In the 55 years since the first formal meeting between the South and North you have tried hard to wash away the animosity and resentment. You are the first to have received a Nobel Peace Prize, you gave us reason to be proud. You as President did your best to do away with the death penalty and worked for the pro-life movement.
You have spent your life zealously and with sacrifice for democracy and the
reconciliation with the North and it is now our time to continue this work that you started. We have seen your forgiveness and love, the desire for harmony between our people and we will take your example to make this a reality . Please take the hand of Cardinal Kim and pray for us.
Lord, give your servant Thomas More you have called to yourself , eternal peace.
Kim Dae -jung has been compared to Nelson Madella, they were both able to forgive after suffering much. It is a great example to us who have difficulty forgiving even in small things.
