Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Seoul (Fides Service) - Religions in Korea have launched a camping to promote awareness and support for the abolition of the death penalty. A forum of 7 religious communities, including the local Catholic Church, some protestant Churches and the Buddhist community, organised a national meeting and made an official request to the government to abolish capital punishment from Korea’s penal code and commute death sentences into life imprisonment.
More than 1,000 people, including men and women religious, laity, intellectuals and university students, took part in the meeting held in Seoul on 22 November. The Catholic representative, Bishop Choi Ki San of Incheon, President of the Korean Bishops’ Commission for the Abolition of Capital Punishment told those present: “God is the owner of human life. Life is God’s gift and it cannot depend on any human decision. We hope that parliament will approve the abolition of capital punishment very soon”.
In a joint statement in which they referred to the death penalty as “state homicide” the Forum members called on the government to abolish capital punishment and to ratify the 2nd Protocol of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights which calls for the death penalty to be abolished and replaced with life imprisonment.
Human Rights activists attending the meeting stressed the need to support the families of condemned prisoners. This is one of the precise commitments of the CBCK’s Commission for the Abolition of Capital Punishment charged with fostering and intensifying pastoral care for prisoners and families.
In 2005 the Commission intends to organise a Congress in the Abolition of the Death Penalty and Respect. Moreover the local Church intends to build a network of diocesan commissions on this subject and promote prayer meetings and other initiatives to support persons condemned to death.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 27/11/2004; Righe 33; Parole 357)
