* The Diocese of Masan Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the Diocesan Establishment
“Towards the Renewal and Development of the Diocese of
On the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the diocesan establishment, the Diocese of Masan considers this year as a year of its renewal and development. All its capacity and zeal has been certainly concentrated on this purpose.
The diocese launched the Committee for the Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Diocesan Establishment (President: Most Rev. Francis Xavier Ahn Myong-ok, Bishop of Masan) and has developed various initiatives through three subcommittees: Planning for Commemoration (Chairperson: Rev. James Yoo Yeong-bong), Commemorative Events (Chairperson: Rev. Michael Heo Cheol-soo), Finance (Chairperson: Rev. Theodore Jang Min-hyeon).
The Most Rev. Francis Xavier Ahn Myong-ok, Bishop of Masan, underlined the meaning of the 40th anniversary of the diocesan establishment that this would be an invitation to take Jesus Christ into the center of life by living out our faith in our daily lives. He, therefore, requested the diocesan faithful to devote themselves to reading and transcribing the Bible in order to know Christ more than ever and listen to Him.
* Church and Center to Be Established for the Reconciliation of the Korean People
The ceremony of laying the cornerstone and Mass for 'the
The Committee for the Reconciliation of the Korean People of the Archdiocese of Seoul (Director: Very Rev. Msgr. Thomas Aquinas Choi Chang-hwa) arranges a Mass for inaugurating construction of the 'Church of Repentance and Expiation' and the 'Center of the Reconciliation of the Korean People' (presided by His Eminence Nicholas Cardinal Cheong Jinsuk) and a ceremony of laying the cornerstone at the new construction site of the Unification Garden (Paju-si Tanhyeon-myeon Seongdong-ri 694, Gyeonggi-do) at 11 a.m. on Apr. 8, 2006. It has been two and a half years since the Archdiocese showed its intention to build a center of the reconciliation of the Korean people through the post-synodal letter of the Archbishop of Seoul, titled "With hope to God".
The Very Rev. Msgr. Thomas Aquinas Choi asked the archdiocesan faithful to actively cooperate for building of the church and to pray for it: "In this Lenten season, we contemplate the passion and suffering of our Lord with the construction of 'the
An Seminar for the Development of Martyrs' Mountain Shrine (Chimyeongja-san) in the Diocese of Jeonju was held at Jeonju Sungsim Girls' High School on
Martyrs' Mountain Shrine is the place where Yu Hang-geom, a Servant of God, the Apostle of the Honam region (southwestern Korea), and his six family members were buried after being martyred during the Shinyu Persecution of 1801.
If Martyrs' Mountain Shrine is developed as an international shrine drawing Catholic visitors from all over the world, the Catholic Church of Korea as well as the Diocese of Jeonju can become an international Catholic shrine center and
In his welcome speech, the Most Rev. Vincent Ri Pyung-ho, Bishop of Jeonju, said, "If the early martyrs of the Korean church are at last beatified, it is certain that Martyrs' Mountain Shrine can play an important role as a worldwide popular shrine."
The Rev. Daegeon Andrew Kim Jin-so, Director of the Honam Research Institute for Korean Church History, emphasized that Martyrs' Mountain could be not only a martyrs' shrine but also an historical and cultural place.
Dr. Cho Kwang, Professor of Korean history at
The Rev. Jean Michel Cuny (MEP) spoke of the many collaborative projects between the Church and the government or NGOs in the development of European local shrines, especially the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes. He hopes that Martyrs' Mountain Shrine will become an international shrine to encourage many foreign Catholics in their faith.
In conclusion, all the participants agreed that Martyrs' Mountain Shrine has sufficient merits in all its aspects (religious, historical, and cultural) to be developed as an international shrine.