ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - Apostolic Administrator of Pyongyang and Archbishop of Seoul wishes for reunification

Wednesday, 17 August 2022 youth peace reconciliation marian devotion

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF

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Seoul (Agenzia Fides) - "The day will soon come when our people will glorify God together, overcoming, through the grace of God, the pains of separation and achieving total reconciliation and unification. Let us take Our Lady as an example, let us build bridges of faith, love and reconciliation": this was the wish expressed by Archbishop Peter Chung, Archbishop of Seoul and Apostolic Administrator of Pyongyang, in his Message for the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. As reported by a note from the Communications Office of the diocese of Seoul, sent to Agenzia Fides, the prelate added: "The Church should also play an important role in bringing the faithful, who have distanced themselves from God during the pandemic back closer to him", in the hope that "the Church will act as a bridge of love and unity, so that God can touch and heal many broken hearts".
On the feast of the Assumption, August 15, the Korean nation also commemorates the day Korea was liberated from Japanese rule. Korea celebrates the Independence Day known as "Gwangbokjeol" which literally means "the festival of the return of the light". Composed of the three letters "Gwang", "Bok" and "Jeol", the term means "light", "return" and "holiday" and refers to the restoration of national independence after 35 years of Japanese rule.
The Korean Church also organizes the annual "World Youth Pilgrimage for Peace" on these important holidays, which reaches the "Demilitarized Zone", the border strip between North and South Korea.
Young people from all over the world are invited to participate in the pilgrimage to reflect, pray and discuss on the theme of the Wind of Peace. Organized by the Korean People's Reconciliation Committee at the Seoul Church, the youth event aims to promote peace on the Korean peninsula and around the world.
This year, the young participants will visit Ulleungdo and Dokdo and in the DMZ some of the bloodiest battlefields of the Korean War (1950-1953). Last but not least, the event aims to actively involve young people in the reconciliation process between the two Koreas. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 17/8/2022)