Communications on Dec. 7, 2001
* Diocese of Andong Welcomes New Bishop
The Diocese of Andong welcomed long-waited Pastor. The Episcopal Consecration of the Most Rev. John Chrysostom Kwon Hyok-ju and his installation to the third Bishop of Andong took place on Dec. 4 at the Andong Citizens' Hall in the presence of some 2000 participants. His Eminence Stephen Cardinal Kim Sou-hwan presided over the Mass with the Most Rev. Michael Pak, President of the CBCK, the Most Rev. Giovanni Battista Morandini, Apostolic Nuncio, other 20 Bishops of the CBCK and a number of diocesan priests.
The new Bishop of Andong said in his address, "We are living in an epoch of great need of peace of Christ than ever," and pledged to be a Pastor who respects life and knows how to appreciate little things "by serving the Church and people of God through what I have received." And he added, "Above all I will try to be the one who lives up the justice, love and peace I learned from Christ, especially I will do my best to march toward an open Church that shares joy and hope with the poor, especially with the farmers who are in critical situation and desperation due to the government's policy of open market for rice and farm products."
He selected "Christus, pax nostra" as his pastoral symbol, saying that "Only the peace of Christ can bring about real unity in this world suffering wars and divisions".
The Most Rev. John Chrysostom Kwon Hyok-ju was born in Weol-so, Uiseong-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do in 1957, and ordained to the priesthood in 1983 after graduation from Gwangju Catholic University and served as assistant priest at Hamchang Parish of the Diocese of Andong. From 1984 to 1990, he studied dogmatic theology at the Institute Catholique de Paris, France. After returning home, he served as pastoral administrator of the Diocese of Andong. Since 1997, he worked as professor of Dogmatic Theology at Daegu Catholic University and committed himself to the formation of future priests.
According to the Statistics of the CBCK(1999) the diocese of Andong, a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Taegu, has an area of 10,788 square kilometers and a population of 935,675 of whom 43,437 are Catholics. It has 61 priests, 31 parishes and 84 secondary stations and 193 religious.
The Episcopal See of the Diocese of Andong has been vacant for almost one year since the Most Rev. Ignatius Pak Sok-hi passed away last year.
* Human Rights Sunday Message
The Death Penalty Is Another Murder
On the occasion of the 20th Human Rights Sunday, Dec. 9, the Most Rev. John Choi Young-soo, President of the Committee for Justice and Peace issued a message entitled 'The death penalty is another murder' and asked Korean Catholics special concern for the abolition of the death penalty. He underlined the incomparable dignity of human beings who are created by God in His image and likeness(cf. Gen 1,26-27). Therefore, it is clear that the origin and purpose of human life belong to the Creator, not to human itself. This is the reason why human life can not be taken away by human logic or human systems. Following is the full text of the message.
1. The Committee for Justice and Peace of the CBCK has carried out campaign to abolish the death penalty from the 18th Human Rights Sunday in 1999 while it was preparing for the Great Jubilee of the Year of 2000. The objective of the campaign was to save human life from the death penalty, which violates the human dignity and to transform the culture of death into the culture of life.
On the other hand, there are still many people who think that the death penalty is an inevitable system to cope with heinous crimes and inhuman forms of lives scattered in every part of our society. However, the death penalty can not be a means to solve these problems and must not be justified for any reason.
2. The humankind is created by God in His image and likeness(cf. Gen. 1,26-27). This fact confirms the incomparable dignity of human being who is created in the image of God. Therefore, it is clear that the origin and purpose of human life belongs to the Creator, not to human itself. This is the reason why human life can not be taken away by human reasons or systems.
By ceaseless pursuit of moral good, and conversion and repentance for perfection, people experience God's love and they find themselves in communion with Him. People are called to the salvation and eternal life in the death and resurrection of Christ, and march toward the future, a gift from God. To protect this very dignity of human person, the death penalty should be abolished by all means.
3. Generally speaking, the punishment has four purposes; first, retribution and retaliation for the committed crimes; second, prevention of crimes; third, control of crimes; fourth, correction of criminals. However, it seems that the death penalty does not correspond to these intentions.
To maintain the need of retribution in obstinate way leads human being to reckless formalism, which ignores the values of human person and human love. We should value tolerance in our lives even though we can not live without the laws. If the State attempts to exert justice for the sake of security in a manner of sternness and retribution, it is destroying the living space for its people. In addition, the death penalty is not helpful for deterring or controlling crimes. Considering the number of execution of death penalty in human history, the crime rate would decrease and crime itself would disappear if the system is suitable to govern a country. In reality, however, the crimes have become more cruel and the crime rate is ever increasing.
4. We can not expect the reformatory effect from the execution of criminals. Thus, the death penalty is not a punishment but another kind of murder by the state power, and institutionally committed murder under the name of the law by hiding the nature of revenge in human nature.
In fact, the purpose of punishment in modern society should lie in the preservation of the future-oriented society, not in retaliation. In other words, we should emphasize the reformatory effect than the punishment itself if the purpose of punishment is to prevent crimes and to remove negative elements from the public life so that people can lead safe and peaceful public life.
We can often hear from the government that the cultural level and social environment are not mature enough to abolish death penalty and that the State should take into consideration people's sense of law. However, as long as the government recognizes the death penalty as a retaliation, it would not approve abolition of the death penalty because people's sense of law is eventually identical with the sense of revenge of every individual.
5. The law should be an expression of reason, not of emotion. Therefore, we should ponder if the fact that the State can kill a person degrades the cultural level worse and affects more negative influence on the social environment. Since we can not assert that the crime as a human act is definitive or irrevocable, human person should be given opportunity to convert and start a new life as long as he/she is alive. Hence, instead of confronting and revenging against criminals, we should recall that the criminal, although they are far from God, is also a creature who is loved by God and called to return to Him, and that only God has the right to judge the criminal.
6. We Christians should give criminals the opportunity to start a new life through reconciliation, repentance, forgiveness and love, not by retribution, retaliation and punishment, for they are also our brothers and sisters who have the same dignity of human, gift from God. Therefore, we should create culture of life by rejecting culture of death, by means of the abolition of the death penalty.
December 9th
20th Human Rights Sunday, 2001
+ John Choi Young-soo
President
Committee for Justice and Peace of the CBCK
* Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace Asks President Kim Dae-jung to Take Lead in Abolishing the Death Penalty
On November 1st, the Most Rev. Matsuura Goro, President of the Catholic Council for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Japan, sent following appeal letter to President Kim Dae-jung on behalf of Korea-led anti-death penalty campaign.
Dear President Kim Dae-jung
I know that your government has been exceptionally busy following the multiple terrorist attacks on the U.S.A., the attack on Afghanistan, and the anthrax attacks in the U.S.A.
Remembering the good relationship we enjoyed with you in the time of Bishop Soma Nobuo, we humbly send this request.
We are impressed by the size of the campaign to abolish the death penalty and by the energy of the Church members and members of civic groups in South Korea involved in this campaign. We also cherish life and believe that God created and sustains the lives of everyone regardless of what kind of person they are, so we are extremely concerned about this life being taken away by the death penalty. As Christians trying to protect the God-given right to life, we have opposed the death penalty whereby a country removes the right to life in the name of the law. We have also pointed out the impossibility of certainty that the death verdict is error free. We believe that there is no way to justify a legal system and legal spirit that deny life.
In Japan, although there is a civic movement to abolish the death penalty, the government, citing public opinion, is making no move towards abolition.
We are continuing to press the government to abolish the death penalty, if South Korea abolishes the death penalty first, we believe that it will have a big impact on public opinion in Japan as well as on Japanese government.
Therefore, we implore you to abolish the death penalty in South Korea.
Respectfully,
Bishop Matsuura Goro
President
Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace
* Caritas Coreana Decides to Help Afghan Refugees
Relief aids of the Church in Korea will reach Afghan refugees in great difficulties and sufferings due to the U.S.A.-led war.
The annual steering meeting of the Committee for "Caritas Coreana" of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea(President: Most Rev. Gabriel Chang, Bishop of Cheongju) held on Dec. 3 decided to send US$50,000 of emergency aids to Afghan war victims and additional aids of US$170,000 to North Korea including special aids of US$47,244(60 million won) for the anti-hepatitis inoculation of North Korean children through the Diocese of Chunchon and the Eugene Bell Foundation.
The Committee for "Caritas Coreana" screened foreign countries that requested for aids and selected Tanzania, India, Swaziland, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, Guinea, Philippines by allotting US$31,496,06(4 billion won).
The Committee approved US$153,543(195,000,000 won) for domestic activity funds and US$650,393(826,000,000 won) for foreign activity funds of 2002.
* Priests Make Weeklong Visit to North Korea
A 20-member delegation from the Korea Priests' Association for Justice (KPAJ) made a weeklong visit to North Korea from November 27 to the invitation of Samuel Jang Jae-on, chairman of the North Korean Catholic Association.
In Pyongyang, the delegation concelebrated the Eucharist and prayed for national reconciliation and unity with North Korean Catholics at Jangchung church on December 2nd and asked other members in South Korea to celebrate Mass in union with them and for the same intension.
They discussed the provision of further humanitarian aid to the North. The KPAJ provided 150 million won(US$118,000) worth of goods in aid to North Korea in July, and plans to launch a fundraising campaign for North Koreans.
The concelebration of Mass of the priests and their encounter with the faithful of Jangchung church were widely aired on major TV channels in South Korea with comment on their activities and positive impact on the reconciliation of Korean people. It is exactly after 12 years of the visit of Father Moon Kyu-hyeon to North Korea, the first visit to North Korea by a Catholic priest since the division of Korea.
The priests' visit was originally scheduled for September but was put off after the North unilaterally suspended reunions of separated families and other exchanges.
The Diocese of Andong welcomed long-waited Pastor. The Episcopal Consecration of the Most Rev. John Chrysostom Kwon Hyok-ju and his installation to the third Bishop of Andong took place on Dec. 4 at the Andong Citizens' Hall in the presence of some 2000 participants. His Eminence Stephen Cardinal Kim Sou-hwan presided over the Mass with the Most Rev. Michael Pak, President of the CBCK, the Most Rev. Giovanni Battista Morandini, Apostolic Nuncio, other 20 Bishops of the CBCK and a number of diocesan priests.
The new Bishop of Andong said in his address, "We are living in an epoch of great need of peace of Christ than ever," and pledged to be a Pastor who respects life and knows how to appreciate little things "by serving the Church and people of God through what I have received." And he added, "Above all I will try to be the one who lives up the justice, love and peace I learned from Christ, especially I will do my best to march toward an open Church that shares joy and hope with the poor, especially with the farmers who are in critical situation and desperation due to the government's policy of open market for rice and farm products."
He selected "Christus, pax nostra" as his pastoral symbol, saying that "Only the peace of Christ can bring about real unity in this world suffering wars and divisions".
The Most Rev. John Chrysostom Kwon Hyok-ju was born in Weol-so, Uiseong-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do in 1957, and ordained to the priesthood in 1983 after graduation from Gwangju Catholic University and served as assistant priest at Hamchang Parish of the Diocese of Andong. From 1984 to 1990, he studied dogmatic theology at the Institute Catholique de Paris, France. After returning home, he served as pastoral administrator of the Diocese of Andong. Since 1997, he worked as professor of Dogmatic Theology at Daegu Catholic University and committed himself to the formation of future priests.
According to the Statistics of the CBCK(1999) the diocese of Andong, a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Taegu, has an area of 10,788 square kilometers and a population of 935,675 of whom 43,437 are Catholics. It has 61 priests, 31 parishes and 84 secondary stations and 193 religious.
The Episcopal See of the Diocese of Andong has been vacant for almost one year since the Most Rev. Ignatius Pak Sok-hi passed away last year.
* Human Rights Sunday Message
The Death Penalty Is Another Murder
On the occasion of the 20th Human Rights Sunday, Dec. 9, the Most Rev. John Choi Young-soo, President of the Committee for Justice and Peace issued a message entitled 'The death penalty is another murder' and asked Korean Catholics special concern for the abolition of the death penalty. He underlined the incomparable dignity of human beings who are created by God in His image and likeness(cf. Gen 1,26-27). Therefore, it is clear that the origin and purpose of human life belong to the Creator, not to human itself. This is the reason why human life can not be taken away by human logic or human systems. Following is the full text of the message.
1. The Committee for Justice and Peace of the CBCK has carried out campaign to abolish the death penalty from the 18th Human Rights Sunday in 1999 while it was preparing for the Great Jubilee of the Year of 2000. The objective of the campaign was to save human life from the death penalty, which violates the human dignity and to transform the culture of death into the culture of life.
On the other hand, there are still many people who think that the death penalty is an inevitable system to cope with heinous crimes and inhuman forms of lives scattered in every part of our society. However, the death penalty can not be a means to solve these problems and must not be justified for any reason.
2. The humankind is created by God in His image and likeness(cf. Gen. 1,26-27). This fact confirms the incomparable dignity of human being who is created in the image of God. Therefore, it is clear that the origin and purpose of human life belongs to the Creator, not to human itself. This is the reason why human life can not be taken away by human reasons or systems.
By ceaseless pursuit of moral good, and conversion and repentance for perfection, people experience God's love and they find themselves in communion with Him. People are called to the salvation and eternal life in the death and resurrection of Christ, and march toward the future, a gift from God. To protect this very dignity of human person, the death penalty should be abolished by all means.
3. Generally speaking, the punishment has four purposes; first, retribution and retaliation for the committed crimes; second, prevention of crimes; third, control of crimes; fourth, correction of criminals. However, it seems that the death penalty does not correspond to these intentions.
To maintain the need of retribution in obstinate way leads human being to reckless formalism, which ignores the values of human person and human love. We should value tolerance in our lives even though we can not live without the laws. If the State attempts to exert justice for the sake of security in a manner of sternness and retribution, it is destroying the living space for its people. In addition, the death penalty is not helpful for deterring or controlling crimes. Considering the number of execution of death penalty in human history, the crime rate would decrease and crime itself would disappear if the system is suitable to govern a country. In reality, however, the crimes have become more cruel and the crime rate is ever increasing.
4. We can not expect the reformatory effect from the execution of criminals. Thus, the death penalty is not a punishment but another kind of murder by the state power, and institutionally committed murder under the name of the law by hiding the nature of revenge in human nature.
In fact, the purpose of punishment in modern society should lie in the preservation of the future-oriented society, not in retaliation. In other words, we should emphasize the reformatory effect than the punishment itself if the purpose of punishment is to prevent crimes and to remove negative elements from the public life so that people can lead safe and peaceful public life.
We can often hear from the government that the cultural level and social environment are not mature enough to abolish death penalty and that the State should take into consideration people's sense of law. However, as long as the government recognizes the death penalty as a retaliation, it would not approve abolition of the death penalty because people's sense of law is eventually identical with the sense of revenge of every individual.
5. The law should be an expression of reason, not of emotion. Therefore, we should ponder if the fact that the State can kill a person degrades the cultural level worse and affects more negative influence on the social environment. Since we can not assert that the crime as a human act is definitive or irrevocable, human person should be given opportunity to convert and start a new life as long as he/she is alive. Hence, instead of confronting and revenging against criminals, we should recall that the criminal, although they are far from God, is also a creature who is loved by God and called to return to Him, and that only God has the right to judge the criminal.
6. We Christians should give criminals the opportunity to start a new life through reconciliation, repentance, forgiveness and love, not by retribution, retaliation and punishment, for they are also our brothers and sisters who have the same dignity of human, gift from God. Therefore, we should create culture of life by rejecting culture of death, by means of the abolition of the death penalty.
December 9th
20th Human Rights Sunday, 2001
+ John Choi Young-soo
President
Committee for Justice and Peace of the CBCK
* Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace Asks President Kim Dae-jung to Take Lead in Abolishing the Death Penalty
On November 1st, the Most Rev. Matsuura Goro, President of the Catholic Council for Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Japan, sent following appeal letter to President Kim Dae-jung on behalf of Korea-led anti-death penalty campaign.
Dear President Kim Dae-jung
I know that your government has been exceptionally busy following the multiple terrorist attacks on the U.S.A., the attack on Afghanistan, and the anthrax attacks in the U.S.A.
Remembering the good relationship we enjoyed with you in the time of Bishop Soma Nobuo, we humbly send this request.
We are impressed by the size of the campaign to abolish the death penalty and by the energy of the Church members and members of civic groups in South Korea involved in this campaign. We also cherish life and believe that God created and sustains the lives of everyone regardless of what kind of person they are, so we are extremely concerned about this life being taken away by the death penalty. As Christians trying to protect the God-given right to life, we have opposed the death penalty whereby a country removes the right to life in the name of the law. We have also pointed out the impossibility of certainty that the death verdict is error free. We believe that there is no way to justify a legal system and legal spirit that deny life.
In Japan, although there is a civic movement to abolish the death penalty, the government, citing public opinion, is making no move towards abolition.
We are continuing to press the government to abolish the death penalty, if South Korea abolishes the death penalty first, we believe that it will have a big impact on public opinion in Japan as well as on Japanese government.
Therefore, we implore you to abolish the death penalty in South Korea.
Respectfully,
Bishop Matsuura Goro
President
Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace
* Caritas Coreana Decides to Help Afghan Refugees
Relief aids of the Church in Korea will reach Afghan refugees in great difficulties and sufferings due to the U.S.A.-led war.
The annual steering meeting of the Committee for "Caritas Coreana" of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea(President: Most Rev. Gabriel Chang, Bishop of Cheongju) held on Dec. 3 decided to send US$50,000 of emergency aids to Afghan war victims and additional aids of US$170,000 to North Korea including special aids of US$47,244(60 million won) for the anti-hepatitis inoculation of North Korean children through the Diocese of Chunchon and the Eugene Bell Foundation.
The Committee for "Caritas Coreana" screened foreign countries that requested for aids and selected Tanzania, India, Swaziland, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, Guinea, Philippines by allotting US$31,496,06(4 billion won).
The Committee approved US$153,543(195,000,000 won) for domestic activity funds and US$650,393(826,000,000 won) for foreign activity funds of 2002.
* Priests Make Weeklong Visit to North Korea
A 20-member delegation from the Korea Priests' Association for Justice (KPAJ) made a weeklong visit to North Korea from November 27 to the invitation of Samuel Jang Jae-on, chairman of the North Korean Catholic Association.
In Pyongyang, the delegation concelebrated the Eucharist and prayed for national reconciliation and unity with North Korean Catholics at Jangchung church on December 2nd and asked other members in South Korea to celebrate Mass in union with them and for the same intension.
They discussed the provision of further humanitarian aid to the North. The KPAJ provided 150 million won(US$118,000) worth of goods in aid to North Korea in July, and plans to launch a fundraising campaign for North Koreans.
The concelebration of Mass of the priests and their encounter with the faithful of Jangchung church were widely aired on major TV channels in South Korea with comment on their activities and positive impact on the reconciliation of Korean people. It is exactly after 12 years of the visit of Father Moon Kyu-hyeon to North Korea, the first visit to North Korea by a Catholic priest since the division of Korea.
The priests' visit was originally scheduled for September but was put off after the North unilaterally suspended reunions of separated families and other exchanges.