ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - “I AM THE WAY THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE”: NATIONAL BIBLE WEEK IN SOUTH KOREA 23 TO 30 NOVEMBER

Monday, 17 November 2003

Seoul (Fides Service) – From 23 to 30 November the Church in South Korea will celebrate a National Bible Week promoted by the Biblical Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference CBCK. The theme for reflection is “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”. Inviting Catholics to “read, meditate and pray the Bible in the light of Jesus Christ”, Bishop Chrysostom Kwon Hyok-ju, President of the Biblical Commission said in a message to illustrate the initiative: “The first duty of Catholics, in a situation of increasing pluralism in our day, is to refocus attention on Jesus Christ. And to do this we must re-read, meditate and pray the Bible every day ”.
“We chose this theme – the Bishop continued – because these words are an essential point of reference for the faithful living in the context of religions and cultural relativism of the 21st century. This signifies returning to Jesus Christ who is the Word and the source of the Church’s life”.
In a report sent to Fides, the Bishop expressed the local Church’s concern for the fragmentation of the cultural panorama of our epoch: “Three phenomena have met: a spreading of Animist religions also in hyper-technological contexts; an explosion of new spiritual movements and tendencies of post-modern cultures. These ideas have penetrated even among Christians, threatening the identity of believers. The impact of pluralism has almost eliminated the line marking the difference between good and evil, true and false, and these tendencies create confusion among the followers of Christ ”.
This is why stressing the importance and purpose of National Bible Week Bishop Kwon Hyok-ju, said “The Bible will become the living Word for the world if we read it, meditate on it and pray it in the light of Jesus Christ ” (PA) (Fides Service 17/11/2003 lines 30 words 336)


Share: