People should not lose the desire for peace despite ongoing tension between the two Koreas, bishops say
A priest leads a Holy Eucharistic Adoration at JSA Church in Paju of South Korea during the bishops' visit to the church on June 6. (Photo: Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea)
South Korean Catholic bishops paid a visit to a historic Church near the North Korean border and prayed for peace and reconciliation in Korean Peninsula as part of events to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.
A total of 18 bishops, 14 incumbent and four retired, visited the Joint Security Area (JSA) Church Panmunjeom (also known as Paju) on June 6, reported Catholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation (CPBC).
During the visit, the senior clergymen attended Holy Mass, Eucharistic Adoration and visited an exhibition with documents and memorabilia of the war.
The bishops were accompanied by some priests, nuns, staff members of the Catholic Bishops’ National Reconciliation Committee, and South Korean military officials.
The anniversary of the end of the war is a time to pray more for peace, forgiveness, and reconciliation as tensions continue to escalate between the two Koreas, said Bishop Simon Kim Joo-young of Chuncheon, the National Reconciliation Committee.
“Not as the chairman of the National Reconciliation Committee or the Chuncheon Diocese of a divided diocese, but as a citizen living on the Korean Peninsula, I hope that peace will be established at this time when the danger of war is rising,” Kim said.
He pointed out that Korean Catholics are observing June as the 'Month of Prayer for National Reconciliation and Unity' to mark the anniversary. The Korean Catholic Church designated June 25th as 'Prayer Day for National Reconciliation and Unity' at the end of the nine-day novena for peace and reconciliation.
The bishops’ visit to JSA Church has symbolic value as the church has been built with the inspiration of the Basilica of St Mary of the Angels (Italy), the birthplace of St. Francis of Assisi, the Apostle of Peace, he added.
In 1986, Pope John Paul II convened a historic summit for peace with religious leaders from all over the world in the Assisi Church. The meeting was held in the context of the Cold War, according to the Vatican’s Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.
Several peace summits have been held since then. In 1993, the meeting came amid wars in the Balkans and the Middle East. The 2022 version was held in the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attack.
The 2016 meeting, as Pope Francis said responded to “a third world war” that is “being fought in pieces.”
The JSA Church was rebuilt in 2019 as the old church built in 1958 was aging. This was the first official visit by the bishops since it reopened. Korean Catholics consider the church a symbol of peace.
Despite escalating tensions in the Korean Peninsula, people should not lose the desire for peace, said Bishop Matthias Ri long-hoon, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea.
“We can see it is a scene of tragedy, but I hope that a peaceful atmosphere will be created as soon as possible while praying for the reunification of the two Koreas or for the reconciliation of the people,” Ri said.
Bishop Peter Lee Ki-heon of the Uijeongbu Diocese, whose family lived in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, before the war remembered those families separated by the conflict.
“I think of my parents. It's a bit of a bit. I feel sorry. After coming here, I thought of separated families a lot,” Lee said.
Korea was a united country ruled by the Joseon dynasty from 1392-1910. Japan annexed Korea after the end of Joseon rule and left Korea divided into two following the end of World War II.The South sided with Western powers and a communist regime took over the North with the support of the Soviet Union and China
Efforts for unification failed due to US-Soviet disagreements, leading to the Korean War (1950-53). During the conflict North Korean forces invaded the South and retreated only after United Nations forces intervened.
The war ended with an armistice, not a treaty, signed on July 27, 1954. Technically both nations are still at war.
It is estimated four million people were killed and some 10 million were displaced by the war.
The communists persecuted and killed almost all Catholic clergy in the North, forcing Christians to flee to the South. Christians were targeted as the regime considered them collaborators of the West, church sources say.
Peace and reconciliation have been major pastoral priorities of the Korean Catholic Church for decades.
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