Communication on May 13, 2005
* "Pastoral Admonition for Naju Julia and Matters Related to Her"
Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou, Archbishop of Kwangju issued a pastoral admonition titled "Pastoral Admonition for Naju Julia and Matter Related to Her" on May 5, 2005. It admonishes the laity to obey the teachings of Magisterium about the problem of Mrs. Julia Yoon in Naju, Korea.
Confirming the teachings of his predecessor, Most Rev. Victorinus Youn about the same matter, Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou said, "It is neither a sound devotion nor a correct liturgical act to hold a religious meeting or a ritual celebration in the house or private chapel of Mrs. Julia Yoon in the name of the Catholic Church without an official approval."
Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou firmly asserted that "Mrs. Julia Yoon and her followers keep propagating their own thoughts permeated with other phenomena, showing no respect for the Magisterium." And he said further, "It is an offense against the Magisterium not to follow the teachings of the Archbishop of Kwangju, issued on January 1, 1998 and May 5, 2001 respectively."
To solve the problem of Mrs. Julia Yoon, Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou had three occasions to meet personally Mrs. Julia Yoon and her husband Mr. Julio Kim from March to August, 2003. On February 4, 2005, through Fr. Song Lucas, parish pastor of Naju, Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou ordered Mrs. Julia Yoon to do as follows:
1. to stop to announce or propagate her thoughts,
2. to practice no public religious celebration,
3. to go to the sacrament of penance and donate the denarius cultus to the parish as a decent Catholic,
4. to send a financial report on the money and real estate transaction, if there was any, related to the alleged 'St. Mary Garden' or the 'Chapel' to the Archdiocese of Kwangju, until April 4, 2005.
But as an attempt to challenge the Magisterium, Mr. Julio Kim sent a 10 page-long questionnaires to Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou and demanded answers.
Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou saw in this haughty behavior the intention of Mrs. Julia Yoon and her followers not to have correct relation and full communion with the Church, disobeying the Magisterium with their experiences of alleged 'private revelation' and 'miracles', even though the Archbishop of Kwangju issued pastoral admonitions several times since 1998.
Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou said, "I want to make it clear that he or she conducts totally wrong against the law and order of the Universal Church and the Local Church if any priest or religious, regardless of the diocese and the nationality, pay the visit to the alleged 'St. Mary Garden' or the 'Chapel', performing religious ceremony and celebrate liturgy with no official permission of the Archbishop of Kwangju."
On May 8, 2005, Archbishop of Kwangju ordered all parishes in the diocese to inform the laity of this matter with homily and public announcement during the Sunday Mass.
Archdiocese of Kwangju established an investigation committee on December 30, 1994 and begun to make a thorough investigation about this matter as Mrs. Julia Yoon had made trouble with her Statue of St. Mary. On January 1, 1998, with the consent of the Holy See and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, Most Rev. Victorinus Youn, then Archbishop of Kwangju, officially announced that it was not a private revelation that happened with Mrs. Julia Yoon in Naju, Korea, after 15 meetings and field investigations. Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou already confirmed the conclusion of his predecessor, Most Rev. Victorinus Youn on May 5, 2001.
* Congratulatory Message to the Korean Buddhists for the Feast of Vesakh
Most Rev. Hyginus Kim, the President of the Committee for Promoting Christian Unity & Interreligious Dialogue of Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, sent a congratulatory message to Korean Buddhists for the Feast of Vesakh.
In his message Most Rev. Hyginus Kim said, "I would like to send a heartfelt greeting to all Buddhists for the 2549th Feast of Vesakh. Even though I have different belief, I wish to be among the Buddhists with a throbbing heart under the lotus bloom lantern driving out the darkness of towns and streets. Buddha came in this world with mercy. He came as a light in darkness, a wisdom to ignorance, a condolence to pain, a love to hate and animosity. I wish Buddha's mercy prevails in all your home, and also in the dark side of the society." And he finished the message with hopeful remarks. "On behalf of all Catholics in Korea, I would like to thank heartfully many Buddhists who expressed their condolence as the late Pope John Paul II passed away. As a faithful believing in Christ, I hope much from the Buddhists. I hope you will shed a light in this dark world with merciful heart and deeds. I hope Buddhists and Christians start such an itinerary of mercy and love hand in hand to contribute to the peace of Korea and the whole world."
* Setting out the first Korean Seminarian Association
For the first time in the history of the Church in Korea, the "Seminarian Association" was established. It comprises all 7 theological seminaries of the Catholic Universities in Korea.
The first meeting of 21 representatives of seminarian was held at the theological seminary of the Catholic University of Pusan from May 6 to 8, 2005. They chose Mr. Paolo Park, representative of the theological seminary of the Catholic University of Pusan, as the first president of the Association. They discussed about the concrete ways of mutual cooperation such as provincial campus festivals and sports events. This association will be the important means for the solidarity of the seminarian in Korea.
The next meeting will be held at the Catholic University of Daejeon in 2006.
* Agreement on "Korea-Iraq Peace Project"
Members of the Korean Conference on Religion and Peace(KCRP) and 6 Iraqi religious leaders, including Archbishop Shleimon Wardonei of Chaldea Catholic Church in Iraq, agreed on the "Korea-Iraq Peace Project." According to the "Korea-Iraq Peace Project," Korea will first invite ca. 20 Iraqi doctors for the shot term medical training in Korea, which will last 6 months.
Most Rev. Hyginus Kim, the President of the Committee for Promoting Christian Unity & Interreligious Dialogue of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, a member of KCRP, said that religious cooperation would be a very important and practical way to network Iraq and Korea since religious leaders are the most powerful members of the new Iraqi government.
Mr. Seong-Gon Kim, the general secretary of the Asian Conference on Religion and Peace(ACRP), said, "We will work out a way to help Iraq with Iraqi religious leaders, and the first step will be the medical aid." And he made an additional remark, "We also try to invite the Iraqi children wounded during the war and make an arrangement to cure them. For this may cost much, we will need more support."
This project will have a 3-year-plan first to be accomplished in 2008.
Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou, Archbishop of Kwangju issued a pastoral admonition titled "Pastoral Admonition for Naju Julia and Matter Related to Her" on May 5, 2005. It admonishes the laity to obey the teachings of Magisterium about the problem of Mrs. Julia Yoon in Naju, Korea.
Confirming the teachings of his predecessor, Most Rev. Victorinus Youn about the same matter, Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou said, "It is neither a sound devotion nor a correct liturgical act to hold a religious meeting or a ritual celebration in the house or private chapel of Mrs. Julia Yoon in the name of the Catholic Church without an official approval."
Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou firmly asserted that "Mrs. Julia Yoon and her followers keep propagating their own thoughts permeated with other phenomena, showing no respect for the Magisterium." And he said further, "It is an offense against the Magisterium not to follow the teachings of the Archbishop of Kwangju, issued on January 1, 1998 and May 5, 2001 respectively."
To solve the problem of Mrs. Julia Yoon, Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou had three occasions to meet personally Mrs. Julia Yoon and her husband Mr. Julio Kim from March to August, 2003. On February 4, 2005, through Fr. Song Lucas, parish pastor of Naju, Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou ordered Mrs. Julia Yoon to do as follows:
1. to stop to announce or propagate her thoughts,
2. to practice no public religious celebration,
3. to go to the sacrament of penance and donate the denarius cultus to the parish as a decent Catholic,
4. to send a financial report on the money and real estate transaction, if there was any, related to the alleged 'St. Mary Garden' or the 'Chapel' to the Archdiocese of Kwangju, until April 4, 2005.
But as an attempt to challenge the Magisterium, Mr. Julio Kim sent a 10 page-long questionnaires to Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou and demanded answers.
Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou saw in this haughty behavior the intention of Mrs. Julia Yoon and her followers not to have correct relation and full communion with the Church, disobeying the Magisterium with their experiences of alleged 'private revelation' and 'miracles', even though the Archbishop of Kwangju issued pastoral admonitions several times since 1998.
Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou said, "I want to make it clear that he or she conducts totally wrong against the law and order of the Universal Church and the Local Church if any priest or religious, regardless of the diocese and the nationality, pay the visit to the alleged 'St. Mary Garden' or the 'Chapel', performing religious ceremony and celebrate liturgy with no official permission of the Archbishop of Kwangju."
On May 8, 2005, Archbishop of Kwangju ordered all parishes in the diocese to inform the laity of this matter with homily and public announcement during the Sunday Mass.
Archdiocese of Kwangju established an investigation committee on December 30, 1994 and begun to make a thorough investigation about this matter as Mrs. Julia Yoon had made trouble with her Statue of St. Mary. On January 1, 1998, with the consent of the Holy See and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, Most Rev. Victorinus Youn, then Archbishop of Kwangju, officially announced that it was not a private revelation that happened with Mrs. Julia Yoon in Naju, Korea, after 15 meetings and field investigations. Most Rev. Andreas Choi Chang-mou already confirmed the conclusion of his predecessor, Most Rev. Victorinus Youn on May 5, 2001.
* Congratulatory Message to the Korean Buddhists for the Feast of Vesakh
Most Rev. Hyginus Kim, the President of the Committee for Promoting Christian Unity & Interreligious Dialogue of Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, sent a congratulatory message to Korean Buddhists for the Feast of Vesakh.
In his message Most Rev. Hyginus Kim said, "I would like to send a heartfelt greeting to all Buddhists for the 2549th Feast of Vesakh. Even though I have different belief, I wish to be among the Buddhists with a throbbing heart under the lotus bloom lantern driving out the darkness of towns and streets. Buddha came in this world with mercy. He came as a light in darkness, a wisdom to ignorance, a condolence to pain, a love to hate and animosity. I wish Buddha's mercy prevails in all your home, and also in the dark side of the society." And he finished the message with hopeful remarks. "On behalf of all Catholics in Korea, I would like to thank heartfully many Buddhists who expressed their condolence as the late Pope John Paul II passed away. As a faithful believing in Christ, I hope much from the Buddhists. I hope you will shed a light in this dark world with merciful heart and deeds. I hope Buddhists and Christians start such an itinerary of mercy and love hand in hand to contribute to the peace of Korea and the whole world."
* Setting out the first Korean Seminarian Association
For the first time in the history of the Church in Korea, the "Seminarian Association" was established. It comprises all 7 theological seminaries of the Catholic Universities in Korea.
The first meeting of 21 representatives of seminarian was held at the theological seminary of the Catholic University of Pusan from May 6 to 8, 2005. They chose Mr. Paolo Park, representative of the theological seminary of the Catholic University of Pusan, as the first president of the Association. They discussed about the concrete ways of mutual cooperation such as provincial campus festivals and sports events. This association will be the important means for the solidarity of the seminarian in Korea.
The next meeting will be held at the Catholic University of Daejeon in 2006.
* Agreement on "Korea-Iraq Peace Project"
Members of the Korean Conference on Religion and Peace(KCRP) and 6 Iraqi religious leaders, including Archbishop Shleimon Wardonei of Chaldea Catholic Church in Iraq, agreed on the "Korea-Iraq Peace Project." According to the "Korea-Iraq Peace Project," Korea will first invite ca. 20 Iraqi doctors for the shot term medical training in Korea, which will last 6 months.
Most Rev. Hyginus Kim, the President of the Committee for Promoting Christian Unity & Interreligious Dialogue of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea, a member of KCRP, said that religious cooperation would be a very important and practical way to network Iraq and Korea since religious leaders are the most powerful members of the new Iraqi government.
Mr. Seong-Gon Kim, the general secretary of the Asian Conference on Religion and Peace(ACRP), said, "We will work out a way to help Iraq with Iraqi religious leaders, and the first step will be the medical aid." And he made an additional remark, "We also try to invite the Iraqi children wounded during the war and make an arrangement to cure them. For this may cost much, we will need more support."
This project will have a 3-year-plan first to be accomplished in 2008.