ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - NEW RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS AND TRENDS HARMFUL TO CATHOLICS: A BOOKLET PUBLISHED BY THE CHURCH IN KOREA

Thursday, 8 May 2003

Seoul (Fides Service) – “Movements and Trends Harmful to Healthy Faith Life” is the title of recent publication by the Church in Korea on new religious movements which threaten the Catholic faith and are a danger to the spiritual life of local Catholics. The publication, the fruit of a decision by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference in their Spring Assembly 2003, was prepared by Father Francis Xavier Ahn Myong-ok, president of the Bishops’ Commission for Doctrine.
“First of all the book aims to see that Catholics have a correct understanding of the Catholic faith and the mission of the Church so they may recognise phenomena which threaten their faith life” said Father Ahn when he presented the publication.
The Commission for Doctrine warns that the new religious movements are in contradiction with the Catholic faith because they deny the concept of the Unicity of God and tend foster religious indifferentism by regarding natural elements as gods. They belittle the Church affirming the validity of many different paths to reach interior peace. The publication focuses in particularly on the “New Spiritual Movement” introduced in Korea in recent years which has had a considerable impact on Catholics in Korea.
The Commission Father Ahn said will continue to monitor the situation and to guide the faithful along the right path of authentic doctrine to ensure that the faith is neither contaminated nor deviated. PA (Fides Service 8/5/2003 EM lines 25 Words: 265)


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