Communication on January 18, 2008
* Publication of the English-Korean New Testament
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea (CBCK) recently published the bilingual English-Korean New Testament. The bilingual edition juxtaposes the text in Korean from Seonggyeong, the new Korean translation of the Bible for Catholics, and the text in English from the New American Bible, the official Bible for the Liturgy in the Catholic Church in the United States. Permission to use the English text was granted by the copyright owner, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C.
* Episcopal Letter Concerning "Julia Kim in Naju"
The Most Rev. John Choi Young-soo, Archbishop of Daegu, issued an episcopal letter concerning "Julia Kim in Naju" on January 13, 2008, and stressed that Julia Kim's allegation of private revelation and all sorts of related cult have nothing to do with the Catholic Church. This episcopal letter was meant to confirm the message on the problem of "Julia Kim in Naju" recently issued by the Archdiocese of Kwangju.
In the letter, he said, "Disobedience to the instruction of Diocesan Bishop is an act against the ecclesiastical Magisterium. Visiting Naju and attending any related assembly are acts violating Cannon Law and ecclesiastical order. Therefore, I admonish the faithful to reject resolutely all sorts of cult in relation to Naju."
Archbishop John Choi added, "In my Archdiocese, my beloved predecessor Paul Ri Moun-hi, Archbishop Emeritus of Daegu, issued episcopal teachings on phenomena regarding Julia Kim in 2001, 2003, and 2005 respectively. Still today, however, it is confirmed that some priests and believers have visited Naju and followed Julia Kim's allegations directly or indirectly. Therefore, it is necessary to clearly and decisively reaffirm the position of the Church about the problem of Julia Kim once more with this letter."
Particularly regarding the Magisterium, he pointed out that the right of clarifying the authenticity in all matters of faith in the local Church belongs properly, peculiarly, and per se exclusively to the competent ecclesiastical authority. Then he explained, "As far as the alleged apparitions or revelations are concerned, there must be genuine evidence without any doubt. For this reason, the Church investigates them with very strict criteria."
"The competent Archbishop of Kwangju, with close and systematic examinations on the problem of Julia Kim in Naju, concluded that phenomena around the statue of Mary belonging to Julia Kim were not a truth of faith, and forbid Julia Kim and her followers not to do any religious actions, in 1998." However, "Oblations and donations have increased so that Julia Kim and her followers could extend their power. The related cases of superstitious and false devotion have been continuously reported."
Archbishop John Choi estimated that a documentary program about “Julia Kim in Naju” aired on November 13, 2007, on MBC, a Korean TV station, represented the position of the Church on this matter. However, he reaffirmed that it is necessary for the Church to ever more actively cope with the problem of Julia Kim in Naju because there are still confusion among many faithful.