Seoul (Fides Service) - On his arrival 6 October to start his mission in Korea, the newly appointed Papal Nuncio Archbishop Emil Paul Tscherrig assured the local Catholic community in Seoul he wished to help build a missionary community which evangelises and sends missionaries to the whole world. The Nuncio was appointed on 22 May this year.
Speaking at the opening of the general assembly of the Korean Bishops’ Conference on October 12, on behalf of Pope John Paul II the Nuncio thanked the Korean Bishops for the local Church’s valid contribution to the Church’s missionary activity in the world. And later meeting the local Church on the occasion of his first official engagement he told Korean Catholics that he carried to them the blessing of the Pope “who has always show sincere affection for the Church in Korea and for all the Korean people and that the faith of Korean Catholics is of great consolation to the Pope. He also urged them to be “ready should the Lord call you to be channels of salvation in other parts of the world.”
Mission is natural for Korean Catholics. Only recently a good number of priests of Seoul archdiocese volunteered to go and work in a new diocese Uijongbu which borders on North Korea, also in view of evangelisation in the north. Celebrating mass for some 8,000 Catholics the new Bishop Joseph Lee Han-tasek explained the task of the local Church: “We must strive to be a Church which reflects the Risen Lord, a community which is close to brothers and sisters in need. Each one of you priests, religious men and women and active laity is a gift of God to the people in this part of our country”.
(PA) (Agenzia Fides 19/10/2004 righe 35 parole 350)