Human Rights Giant's Humble Confession

Cardinal Stephen Kim revealed his inner feelings, as noted in this week's editorial in the Peace Weekly, when he said: "for love to go from the head to the heart took 70 years." This journey from head to heart is the spirituality of the fool, he blamed himself for taking so long to move closer to the pain of those who were poor.

The Cardinal often mentioned that we need to be food for the soul of those in need if we are to establish a humane society. Sharing in the suffering and sadness of others will be the 'food' we share with them. These last wishes of the Cardinal will be enshrined in the legally incorporated foundation, " Fool's Sharing Fund."

The hope is that there will be many 'fools' that will care enough to share what they have to create a better society. It requires, the editorial concludes, in having love go not only from the head to the heart but from the heart to our hands and feet.

To help make the transition from good intentions to active participation easier, the Diocese has enlisted the help of the figure skating star Stella Kim Yu-na as its goodwill ambassador. And efforts will be made to select from among the different systems of sharing the best one to ensure a country-wide campaign, transcending religions, regions and race. By September of each year all the money that has been raised will be used. There will be no amassing of funds and there will be transparency in their use.

Cardinal Cheong, on the day the fund was established, said, " We will do our best to bring about a small part of the society that Cardinal Stephen Kim dreamed was possible."