This is the message of the president of the bishop's conference on the visit of Pope Francis to Korea taken from Asia News.
Dear brothers and sisters,
In
two days,[ pope arrived today] Pope Francis will pay an apostolic visit to Korea. The Holy
Father will join in the young men and women participating in the 6th
Asian Youth Day. At the Mass for the beatification of the 124 Korean
martyrs, he will also inform the whole world of the witness of our
ancestors in faith, who willingly sacrificed themselves for truth.
From
the fact that a Pope as the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church has
never personally participated before in any event of the Asian Youth
Day, I may humbly presume that Pope Francis cherishes an intention to
invite and encourage every single Asian Catholic youth to become a
messenger who communicates the Good News of the redeeming Lord to the
Continent of Asia, even though young Asian Catholics belong to a very
small faith community, just a handful minority in this vast continent.
It
is also an ecclesiastical practice that a papal delegate presides over
the Mass for beatification, when it is celebrated at the local Church.
Nevertheless, Pope Francis visits Korea to personally preside over the
Mass for the beatification of the 124 Korean martyrs. I guess he
wants us to recall the fidelity and faithfulness of the martyrs who
sacrificed their lives for truth, especially now when we live a life
swamped in the stream of materialism and relativism.
Today
our society agonizes over many problems. In other words, our nation is
suffering from diverse bitter elements: long-standing de facto cold war
between North and South Korea; international conflicts between neighboring countries in Asia; rapidly widening chasm of disparity in
wealth in spite of the continual improvement of positive economic
indicators; failure of government crisis management system revealed by
the Sewol ferry disaster; the scandal of the inhumane physical and
psychological violence and abuse in the army, which have become an
everyday routine in barracks.
As
Pope Francis usually approaches first those who suffer from their life,
I believe that he as the Successor of Saint Peter will bring the Gospel
of comfort and hope to heartbroken Koreans. The apostles of the early
Church used to be on missionary journeys. In the history of the Church,
St. Paul the Apostle is known to make the longest missionary journey for
the communication of the Gospel, paying a visit to many local churches
in person. His visits aimed at, first of all, the communication of the
Word of God, and, secondly, the manifestation of his encouragement and
support for the local churches sharing in their difficulties, so that
they could get on their feet again overcoming despair. Pope Francis will
communicate the Word of God to us, as it is desperately needed in our
present situation. He will also proclaim the divine love and hope to
those who suffer from their life, as he looks and listens to them
sharing in their difficulties in person.
The
Holy Father in my opinion chose Korea in the Far East as the first
destination of his apostolic visit to the Continent of Asia, because he
wanted to pray together with us for the peace of the Korean peninsula as
well as for this continent in whole, sharing in our most cherished
desire. He will leave for a country located in the other side of the
earth, even giving up his summer vacation, which should not be
disturbed, when his advanced age is duly respected. I hope that we can
embrace with each other in the spirit of tolerance and harmony in full
accord with the 'love and hope', which the Holy Father wants to
communicate to us. In this regard, I also hope that the seeds of
reconciliation and peace will sprout vigorously on this land.
I
want to invite you all to join in the warm welcome with one accord for
the Holy Father as a distinguished guest. On the other hand, it would be
much appreciated, if I can acquire your generous understanding for the
inconvenience, which will be developed from the big gatherings and
events during the apostolic visit.
I
also would like to urge the government and the National Assembly to do
their best for the speedy legislation of the so-called "Special law on
Sewol ferry disaster", which will guarantee a proper investigation as
well as a rigorous follow-up measures in regard to the Sewol ferry
disaster, in deference to the desire of the bereaved families of the
victims, who are now going on a hunger strike at the Gwanghwamun Plaza.
May the peace of God be with all men and women in Korea in abundance.
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