Communication on July 8, 2005
* Committee for Family Pastoral Ministry Proposed Ways For Lay Formation
At the working-level meeting of the Committee for Family Pastoral Ministry of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea(CBCK), held at the Military Ordinariate in Korea on June 28, 2005, the participants said that the Pre-Cana Program must be obligatory and improved. And they said the Committee for Family Pastoral Ministry should propose ways for lay formation to solve the problems concerning family and life, including the Pre-Cana Program.
There were 22 participants at this meeting including the Most Rev. Peter Lee Ki-heon, the president of the Committee for Family Pastoral Ministry and priests in charge of the family pastoral ministry.
They pointed out that "There spread rapidly new trends threatening the dignity of human life such as the embryonal research of Dr. Hwang." And they decided to intensify the bioethics education for the laity first through Sunday Bulletin and later with other programs.
And they agreed that the family pastoral ministry and the "Life 31 Movement" must go ahead integrally, and strongly proposed to establish a sub-committee to plan and coordinate professionally the affairs of family pastoral ministry.
They also issued a plan to integrate the materials for the Pre-Cana Programs of each diocese into a unified one and distribute it centrally. And it was decided that the life and family programs of each diocese should be commonly used. There was also a consensus for the continuous proliferation of programs such as "Teen-Star", "Family Catechesis" and "Engaged Encounter" and furthermore, those for the married.
The Most Rev. Peter Lee Ki-heon pointed out the seriousness of the increasing problems concerning family and life, and said that "There must first be a education for marriage along with that for children before we could established the correct culture of life." An he asked that "Each diocese does its best for the systematic education and support through information exchange."
* Investiture Mass for the Prelate of Honor Celebrated
Msgr. Trauner Anton Joseph, born in Germany and settled in Korea, was designated for the Prelate of Honor. And the Investiture Mass for him was celebrated at the Namchun Parish in Busan. The Most Rev. Augustine Cheong Myong-jo, Bishop of Busan celebrated the mass with 2,500 faithfuls.
Bishop Cheong said that "Msgr. Trauner Anton Joseph has witnessed sincerely the hearty love of the Blessed Virgin Mary to be with the poor despite the suffering and hardship." And he said that "Msgr. Trauner Anton Joseph's love of Korea must so great, as I have heard, that he would prefer to be in Korea than to be the Prelate of Honor."
Bishop Cheong also said that, "We can realize anew that God really does everything for us as long as we do our work with faith in God even if we are incompetent, when we look into the life of Msgr. Trauner Anton Joseph."
Very Rev. Msgr. John Lee Hong-gi, Vicar General of Busan, said, "The 27th day of April when His Holiness signed the Letter of Appointment is also the day when Msgr. Trauner Anton Joseph was priestly ordained. And today is just the day when he arrived at Busan 47 years ago. This could not be a mere coincidence but a hint to look through the God's will."
Msgr. Trauner Anton Joseph responded, "I will keep on praying hand in hand with you for the Blessed Virgin Mary to accomplish Her wondrous plan for this age."
At the moment Msgr. Trauner Anton Joseph is concentrating himself on prayer. He leads spiritual counseling and retreat despite his old age. He is now living in a nunnery and retreat center at the Donghang Parish in Busan.
* "Civil Alliance against Low Birth Rate and Aging Society" Launched
An interreligious effort to solve the problem of low birth rate and aging society took concrete shape as a NGO movement.
The so-called "Civil Alliance against Low Birth Rate and Aging Society"(CALBRAS) was launched on June 29, 2005 at Franciscan Education Center in Jungdong, Seoul. Co-presidents of this NGO are from three major religions in Korea. Rev. Benedict Song Young-oh from Catholic, Rev. Song Kil-won, from Protestant and Ven. Il-gwan from Buddhism held a joint press conference and announced official start of the NGO.
They said low birth rate and aging society might be very serious problems disrupting social equilibrium. They insisted that a cooperative civic movement was necessary to meet the social responsibility for the higher birth rate and better environment for child care.
The CALBRAS will monitor the governmental policies and propose practical measures. In September 2005, it will hold a forum with the theme of low birth rate and also initiate a campaign for the reform of consciousness of all Koreans.
At the press conference Rev. Benedict Song pointed out the causes of low birth rate such as "higher divorce rate, delayed marriage, anti-life trends, low birth rate due to the individualism, short-sighted birth control policy." And he stressed "the need to change the value attitude of the whole society, not to mention the simple systematic improvement to solve the problems."
At the working-level meeting of the Committee for Family Pastoral Ministry of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea(CBCK), held at the Military Ordinariate in Korea on June 28, 2005, the participants said that the Pre-Cana Program must be obligatory and improved. And they said the Committee for Family Pastoral Ministry should propose ways for lay formation to solve the problems concerning family and life, including the Pre-Cana Program.
There were 22 participants at this meeting including the Most Rev. Peter Lee Ki-heon, the president of the Committee for Family Pastoral Ministry and priests in charge of the family pastoral ministry.
They pointed out that "There spread rapidly new trends threatening the dignity of human life such as the embryonal research of Dr. Hwang." And they decided to intensify the bioethics education for the laity first through Sunday Bulletin and later with other programs.
And they agreed that the family pastoral ministry and the "Life 31 Movement" must go ahead integrally, and strongly proposed to establish a sub-committee to plan and coordinate professionally the affairs of family pastoral ministry.
They also issued a plan to integrate the materials for the Pre-Cana Programs of each diocese into a unified one and distribute it centrally. And it was decided that the life and family programs of each diocese should be commonly used. There was also a consensus for the continuous proliferation of programs such as "Teen-Star", "Family Catechesis" and "Engaged Encounter" and furthermore, those for the married.
The Most Rev. Peter Lee Ki-heon pointed out the seriousness of the increasing problems concerning family and life, and said that "There must first be a education for marriage along with that for children before we could established the correct culture of life." An he asked that "Each diocese does its best for the systematic education and support through information exchange."
* Investiture Mass for the Prelate of Honor Celebrated
Msgr. Trauner Anton Joseph, born in Germany and settled in Korea, was designated for the Prelate of Honor. And the Investiture Mass for him was celebrated at the Namchun Parish in Busan. The Most Rev. Augustine Cheong Myong-jo, Bishop of Busan celebrated the mass with 2,500 faithfuls.
Bishop Cheong said that "Msgr. Trauner Anton Joseph has witnessed sincerely the hearty love of the Blessed Virgin Mary to be with the poor despite the suffering and hardship." And he said that "Msgr. Trauner Anton Joseph's love of Korea must so great, as I have heard, that he would prefer to be in Korea than to be the Prelate of Honor."
Bishop Cheong also said that, "We can realize anew that God really does everything for us as long as we do our work with faith in God even if we are incompetent, when we look into the life of Msgr. Trauner Anton Joseph."
Very Rev. Msgr. John Lee Hong-gi, Vicar General of Busan, said, "The 27th day of April when His Holiness signed the Letter of Appointment is also the day when Msgr. Trauner Anton Joseph was priestly ordained. And today is just the day when he arrived at Busan 47 years ago. This could not be a mere coincidence but a hint to look through the God's will."
Msgr. Trauner Anton Joseph responded, "I will keep on praying hand in hand with you for the Blessed Virgin Mary to accomplish Her wondrous plan for this age."
At the moment Msgr. Trauner Anton Joseph is concentrating himself on prayer. He leads spiritual counseling and retreat despite his old age. He is now living in a nunnery and retreat center at the Donghang Parish in Busan.
* "Civil Alliance against Low Birth Rate and Aging Society" Launched
An interreligious effort to solve the problem of low birth rate and aging society took concrete shape as a NGO movement.
The so-called "Civil Alliance against Low Birth Rate and Aging Society"(CALBRAS) was launched on June 29, 2005 at Franciscan Education Center in Jungdong, Seoul. Co-presidents of this NGO are from three major religions in Korea. Rev. Benedict Song Young-oh from Catholic, Rev. Song Kil-won, from Protestant and Ven. Il-gwan from Buddhism held a joint press conference and announced official start of the NGO.
They said low birth rate and aging society might be very serious problems disrupting social equilibrium. They insisted that a cooperative civic movement was necessary to meet the social responsibility for the higher birth rate and better environment for child care.
The CALBRAS will monitor the governmental policies and propose practical measures. In September 2005, it will hold a forum with the theme of low birth rate and also initiate a campaign for the reform of consciousness of all Koreans.
At the press conference Rev. Benedict Song pointed out the causes of low birth rate such as "higher divorce rate, delayed marriage, anti-life trends, low birth rate due to the individualism, short-sighted birth control policy." And he stressed "the need to change the value attitude of the whole society, not to mention the simple systematic improvement to solve the problems."