ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - “The mission of the Church in Korea is founded on Korea’s martyrs”: Bishop Lazzaro You Heung Sik, coadjutor Bishop of Daejeon speaks with Fides.

Rome (Fides Service) - “The mission of the Church in Korea is founded on the Korean martyrs who offered their life for the Lord and for the people: compared to them we feel small but we strive to be faithful to our mission ” Bishop You Heung Sik, Coadjutor Bishop of Daejeon told Fides. The Bishop was recently in Rome for a Meeting organised by the Focolare Movement. The process for the beatification of Korea’s martyrs, over 100, is underway : “It will be a great event for the Church in Korea and we hope it will happen soon”.
“At present we have focussed attention on the Proclamation of the Word of God to counter phenomenon such as materialism, hedonism, secularisation, indifference to religious values. We realise the urgent need to announce the Gospel to non Christians. But, as Evangelii Nuntiandi affirms, to do this we must be authentic Christians who live the Gospel in daily life: only then will the life of individual Christians be witness, leaven in society ”.
One of the present challenges for the Church in Korea mentioned by the Bishop, is the threat of spreading religious sects and pseudo religious movements like New Age. The question is on the agenda for next month’s meeting of the Korean Bishops’ Conference.
The Bishop underlines that mission of the Church in Korea is to reach out to “non believers, those distant from the faith but also to ‘tepid’ Christians who have heard the Christian message but failed to make it bear fruit in daily life. Many Catholics need to be re-evangelised in order to become missionaries. The true missionary is the saint - Redemptoris Missio affirms. In order to witness the Gospel to other the community must become ”.
The family is a key object and subject for re-evangelisation: “With the traditional family model in crisis we urgently need to reaffirm the traditional Christian family, a domestic church which gives Jesus in the education of children and is the only anchor of safety against the break up of modern families”.
The mission of the Church in Korea is open to the world: “From my diocese of Daejeon we have sent two priests to help with evangelisation in Mongolia, others to Taiwan and recently one to Japan. The Lord gives us abundant vocations and we send out priests and religious: from China we received Christianity and today we send missionaries to the Chinese people”.
The Bishops stresses the importance of preparing priests for mission during their seminary formation: “As rector of Daejon seminary I would always ask students if they were willing and able to go out to the world to follow and announce Christ: it is important for them to be psychologically and spiritually prepared”.
However there is one place the Church in the south cannot yet go, to the north: “We all long to go to the people in the north, they are our own people. But the Pyongyang regime fears that if it allows priests or lay missionaries to enter the message of Christ may affect national stability. Today we wait and hope: we pray continuously and when the time is right the Lord will open the door and we will be ready to go. In the meantime we have opened a fund to support the presence of priests in the north to revive the Christian faith. For now, we help the people with material goods; but soon we hope to satisfy also their spiritual hunger!”
With regard to the Focolare meeting the Bishop said: “The Focolare spirituality helps me to live communion with other bishops and as a college around the Holy Father. It is always an experience of deep joy sharing and prayer”.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 23/2/2004 lines 58 words 661)