A priest member of the National Reconciliation Committee in a column of the Catholic Times writes about the problems in searching for peace on the Korean Peninsula among the citizens.
"Father, Sister, please don’t do this!" It happened on a spring day last year when the COVID-19 situation was not a prominent news item. Priests and nuns participated in the Peace Campaign to End the Korean War as members of the National Reconciliation Committee. They were in front of the Seoul Cathedral getting signatures. One woman passing by could not just ignore the situation. Crying and entreating those gathering the signatures obviously also a believer: "North Korea should denuclearize first" before declaring the end of the war.
When conducting the National Reconciliation School, a major activity of the National Reconciliation Committee, we often run into a barrier called "South-South conflict." Just as you have to look into an affected area to heal a disease, lectures deal with the realities on the peninsula because opinions on the cause and solution are sharply divided among believers. However, we cannot turn away from the hostility and fear of this divided land.
Even though Jesus’ disciples were divided and often quarreled, we were able to understand the meaning of reconciliation and peace through the death of the cross. The "South-South conflict" can also be a journey to understand the peace of Christ.
The peace of Christ is not 'peace' without conflicts, where the strong are oppressed or the weak are silent. Rather, it may be closer to a process in which each other changes by understanding the conflict we face.
Mahatma Gandhi of India, who awakened the value of nonviolent resistance in an era of injustice, emphasized that we must be wary of violence even in the moment of seeking justice and truth. "The pursuit of truth must not be violence to someone's enemy, for what appears to one person as truth may appear to another as an error. Instead, with patience and compassion, we must keep ourselves away from error."
With the beginning of Lent, and the coming presidential election we will choose the future of our country. Economic development is important, but the writer hopes that choices will be made for a more just and peaceful society.
The belief that one is right is important, but he hopes that a democracy in which different opinions are respected is maintained. Let's pray together as believers who do not lose patience and compassion in a divided world.
