Communication on February 18, 2005
* 30 Years of Friendship between a Won Buddhist Leader and a Catholic Lepers' Community
On February 12, 2005, the villagers of St. Lazzaro Village, a Catholic lepers' community located in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do, celebrated the 30th anniversary of the community together with Won Buddhist visitors, with whom they have maintained a long-term friendship.
The Village, established by the late Rev. Alexander Lee Gyeong-jae, set February 9 as the birthday of all lepers and has celebrated it since 1973. Park Cheong-su, a minister of Won Buddhism, has participated in this celebration every year for 30 years starting from 1975 when she made a visit to Catholic organizations on the initiative of the Archdiocese of Seoul and was moved seeing a foreign sister who was devoted to caring for lepers.
Her contribution to the Village is not limited to participation in occasional events. She has also served as an executive member of the Village and encouraged the Won Buddhists entrusted to her ministry to visit the lepers and welcome them as neighbors.
This year also, she visited the Village with the faithful of the Won Buddhism and threw a birthday party for the inmates. Other religious leaders and cultural figures also participated in the celebration, which made the party more significant.
On that occasion, the Most Rev. Matthias Ri Iong-hoon, Auxiliary Bishop of Suwon, delivered a plaque of thanks to her in the name of the Most Rev. Paul Choi Duk-ki, Bishop of Suwon, and the Rev. Gervis Kim, Director of the Village. Bishop Ri thanked her for her love towards the marginalized neighbors, saying, "The practice of charity and sharing she has shown to us transcends the boundaries of religions. She deserves to be called a genuine senior of our time."
She responded to this, "For the last 30 years, I was so happy to accompany the friends here. Although I will retire in two years, I want to continue this meeting and have good time with them."
* Korean and Japanese Youth Confirm Their Friendship and Make a Commitment to Love
Some 50 Korean and Japanese youth gathered together in Suwon and Uiwang, Korea from February 12 to 18 for the annual Korea-Japan Youth Exchange Meeting, the 11th since its inception.
Held with the theme "Live in Love," this year's Exchange Meeting offered young participants an opportunity to broaden mutual understanding and build fraternal love and to reflect on the true meaning of love.
For the first two days, Japanese youth could experience the Korean culture and family life through home-staying in Catholic families. After that, they met Korean youth and spent five days together, under sub-themes of "Say Love," "Share Love," "Keep Love Alive," and "Live in Love." They undertook various programs, including watching the movie "Passion of Christ," visiting seniors' home and serving them, performing plays based on Korean and Japanese traditional tales and playing Korean traditional games.
The Rev. Stephen Han Seung-ju, Secretary of the CBCK Committee on Education, said, "We prepared this Exchange Meeting hoping to offer a good occasion for the youth, on whom the future of two churches depend, to appreciate and learn the importance of sharing love with neighbors and living out the life of serving." He also added, "I hope that the Exchange Meeting will expand so that it can lay groundwork for the unity and harmony of two countries and build solidarity between the two churches as well."
On February 12, 2005, the villagers of St. Lazzaro Village, a Catholic lepers' community located in Uiwang-si, Gyeonggi-do, celebrated the 30th anniversary of the community together with Won Buddhist visitors, with whom they have maintained a long-term friendship.
The Village, established by the late Rev. Alexander Lee Gyeong-jae, set February 9 as the birthday of all lepers and has celebrated it since 1973. Park Cheong-su, a minister of Won Buddhism, has participated in this celebration every year for 30 years starting from 1975 when she made a visit to Catholic organizations on the initiative of the Archdiocese of Seoul and was moved seeing a foreign sister who was devoted to caring for lepers.
Her contribution to the Village is not limited to participation in occasional events. She has also served as an executive member of the Village and encouraged the Won Buddhists entrusted to her ministry to visit the lepers and welcome them as neighbors.
This year also, she visited the Village with the faithful of the Won Buddhism and threw a birthday party for the inmates. Other religious leaders and cultural figures also participated in the celebration, which made the party more significant.
On that occasion, the Most Rev. Matthias Ri Iong-hoon, Auxiliary Bishop of Suwon, delivered a plaque of thanks to her in the name of the Most Rev. Paul Choi Duk-ki, Bishop of Suwon, and the Rev. Gervis Kim, Director of the Village. Bishop Ri thanked her for her love towards the marginalized neighbors, saying, "The practice of charity and sharing she has shown to us transcends the boundaries of religions. She deserves to be called a genuine senior of our time."
She responded to this, "For the last 30 years, I was so happy to accompany the friends here. Although I will retire in two years, I want to continue this meeting and have good time with them."
* Korean and Japanese Youth Confirm Their Friendship and Make a Commitment to Love
Some 50 Korean and Japanese youth gathered together in Suwon and Uiwang, Korea from February 12 to 18 for the annual Korea-Japan Youth Exchange Meeting, the 11th since its inception.
Held with the theme "Live in Love," this year's Exchange Meeting offered young participants an opportunity to broaden mutual understanding and build fraternal love and to reflect on the true meaning of love.
For the first two days, Japanese youth could experience the Korean culture and family life through home-staying in Catholic families. After that, they met Korean youth and spent five days together, under sub-themes of "Say Love," "Share Love," "Keep Love Alive," and "Live in Love." They undertook various programs, including watching the movie "Passion of Christ," visiting seniors' home and serving them, performing plays based on Korean and Japanese traditional tales and playing Korean traditional games.
The Rev. Stephen Han Seung-ju, Secretary of the CBCK Committee on Education, said, "We prepared this Exchange Meeting hoping to offer a good occasion for the youth, on whom the future of two churches depend, to appreciate and learn the importance of sharing love with neighbors and living out the life of serving." He also added, "I hope that the Exchange Meeting will expand so that it can lay groundwork for the unity and harmony of two countries and build solidarity between the two churches as well."