In 1927, Korea was under Japan's oppressive colonial rule. During this harsh period of suppression, on April 1 of that year, a handful of young laypeople founded 'The Catholic Church Bulletin', the predecessor of the Catholic newspaper.
Korea, enjoying the joy of liberation, once again encountered a national tragedy. With the Soviet and American armies stationed in the South and the North, the Korean Peninsula was caught in the middle of a conflict between the great powers, and the tragedy of the 6.25 War, a fratricidal war, broke out.
The Catholic Church Newspaper, which resumed publication on April 1, 1949, after 16 years, was suspended again for six months due to the outbreak of the war. In the 814th issue, reissued on November 10, an editorial declared anti-communism the proper attitude of Catholics.
In July 1953, while the armistice of the Korean War was in progress, citizens protested against it in Jongno-gu, Seoul, demanding unification through a northward advance.
“We cannot help but emphasize the anti-communist spirit to all Catholics and patriotic compatriots around the world. 1. Atheism is our enemy. All ideologies that deny, doubt, or are indifferent to the existence of God, regardless of the name they use, are our enemies. 2. Materialism is our enemy. Those who over-respect material things and over-evaluate science, those who examine history only from a material perspective and seek to subordinate human freedom, and those who ignore the human soul and deny truth as if they have discovered the newest principle and confuse the trend of the system are our enemies...
If we criticize communism and countries that believe in communism, with the spirit mentioned above, we will develop a belief in the thorough annihilation of them. "This is the fundamental reason why we are fighting the North Korean puppets now. The time for Christian love for our compatriots has already passed. Now, Christ’s justice must come first."
The Catholic Newspaper, along with Catholic Youth and Kyunghyang Magazine, which resumed after liberation, were seen as media outlets that fervently promoted the Catholic Church's anti-communism in Korea. However, the wariness and critical and hostile attitude toward communism were the positions of past popes and the Vatican.
As Karl Marx stated, “Religion is the opium of the people. " Communism viewed religion as an obstacle to social change. Past popes have continuously warned of the dangers of communism, and Pope Leo XIII, who issued the encyclical Rerum Novarum in 1891, pointed out the evils of capitalism that communism was causing and expressed a clear opposition to the communists' violent revolutionary line.
In 1917, a communist state was born in Russia, and the oppression of Christianity became a reality. Pope Pius XI criticized communism, which advocated class struggle and the complete abolition of private property, and even described atheistic communism as an “epidemic.” Pope Pius XII (1939–1958) was a staunch anti-communist pope. He consecrated Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He approved the “Blue Army (World Apostolate of Fatima)” that followed the will of Our Lady of Fatima to oppose the Soviet Union’s “Red Army.” He encouraged prayers for Russia’s conversion and world peace.
The Korean Church’s Strong Anti-Communist Line, Catholic Church Newspaper, and Other Media Lead the Way.
Regretful for the Historical Mistake of Ignoring the North Korean Church, Which Suffered from Oppression.
When our country was liberated from Japanese colonial rule, the Catholic Church strongly criticized communism. Accordingly, the Korean Church also followed the universal church’s critical stance on communism. However, the Korean Church began to express its anti-communism in earnest after the Soviet Union occupied North Korea, and the Church suffered great damage as a result.
The communist regime in North Korea implemented land reform in March 1946, the year after liberation. The Catholic Church, which already owned a considerable amount of land, was bound to suffer significant damage. A representative example is the Benedictine Order located in Deokwon, Hamheung, which had all of its land confiscated except for the monastery garden and some building sites. As a result, it was forced into a desperate situation where it was difficult to make a living. Kyunghyang Magazine reported the situation at the time as follows: “...Looking at Deokwon, it is falling into more and more poverty. The entire monastery and the 47 seminarians are all starving due to the food shortage. ⋯The war between Catholicism and the devil has begun.” (Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, 1947, Kyunghyang Magazine)
Now, the Catholic Church in Korea called the communist forces “devils” and declared that the war against the devil had begun. The media outlets published by the church were at the forefront of this anti-communist line. In particular, the Catholic Youth, which resumed publication in April 1947 after liberation, is a representative example. More than half of the articles published until 1950 were related to anti-communism.
The Catholic Youth specifically described Korea as a place where the struggle between capitalism and communism, the two major camps, was taking place, expanding its meaning to world history and portraying it as a proxy war between the Vatican and the Soviet Union. This logic appears in many editorials and articles in the Catholic Newspaper in almost the same form.
The fight against communism extends to the spirit of martyrdom. Church leaders emphasized the struggle against communism and “appealed to ordinary believers to join the fight against communism with the spirit of martyrdom.” The Catholic Youth states the following in an article titled “Rejecting Bolshevik Communism”:
“The power of darkness, the devil who curses God, has resisted God, so not only all of us who have received the name of Christ, but also all of those who believe in God must unite and entrust our final victory to God, trusting in His protection, and respond to this challenge.”
The anti-communist line of the church spread not only to South Korea but also to North Korea, and the hostile relationship and conflict between the North Korean communist regime and the church became more severe. In particular, the North Korean regime’s oppression of the church became increasingly stronger. Priests and monks were arrested or exiled one after another, church buildings were closed, and property was confiscated.
In the South Korean church, the anti-communist struggle in the name of God took precedence over all other values. Even considering the limitations of the times, the Catholic Church's blind anti-communism cannot help but be the subject of critical reflection in terms of its reflection on the reality of national division, its indifference to the suffering of the North Korean Church, and its lack of efforts for national reconciliation and unity.
The Korean War that finally broke out and the resulting national division remain the most painful wounds of our people to this day. And North Korea has become the so-called ‘silent church’.
