Communications on Nov. 8, 2002
| * Diocese of Andong Launches Prayer Tour to Protect Korean Rice Market The Diocese of Andong launched a prayer tour movement to protect the Korean rice market, with the initiative of the Catholic farmers, clergy and religious. On November 2, 2002, the Catholic Farmers' Movement in Andong (President: Mr. Joseph Choi Byeong-su, Spiritual Director: Rev. Joseph Kim Young-sik) and the Save-Our-Farm Movement in Andong(Director: Rev. Vincent Cho Chang-rae) launched the "Prayer Meeting Tour to Overcome the Agricultural Crisis and Protect the Korean Rice Market" with some 100 Catholic farmers, priests and religious participating. The purpose of the prayer campaign is to protect the Korean rice market by preventing the expansion of agricultural product import scheduled for 2004 and defending the domestic rice market. At the campaign, the participants asked the government to stop the opening of rice market at the re-negotiation of the WTO on agricultural products in 2004, to enact into law the goal of self-sufficiency of food, to make policies in favour of agriculture and to make laws regarding school lunch program using domestic safe agricultural products, and urged the presidential candidates to propose mid- or long-term agricultural policies. Mr. Lawrence Song Nam-su, President of the Korean Catholic Farmers' Movement, urged the government to make long-term policies to restore the domestic agriculture, the lifeline of people, saying, "if the government's passive attitude toward the agricultural policy does not change, the number of our farmers, presently no more than 4,000,000, will decrease by half by the year of 2010, and the domestic agriculture will be shaken to the foundations." Despite the severe winter weather, the participants marched for an hour and collected signatures to support the protection of domestic rice market and held a photo exhibition to show about the bad effects of genetically modified(GM) food. Following the street march, they offered Mass with prayer meeting and had talks with local people and farmers to seek for ways to restore the domestic agriculture. Rev. Joseph Kim Young-sik said, "we planned this prayer meeting to make it a way of commitment for farmers, a way of appeal for citizens, and a way of pressure for the government and policy makers," and promised, "we will make diversified effort until the natural environment is restored and proper policies are prepared for the marginalized farmers." This prayer meeting will take place in ten cities including Mungyeong, Yeongju, Bonghwa, Uljin, Yeongdeok, Yeongyang, Cheongsong, Uiseong and Andong until November 11, 2002. * Sr. Helen Prejean Addresses Korean People on the Abolition of the Death Penalty Sr. Helen Prejean, who wrote the "Dead Man Walking", a famous book made into a movie, and is the real character of the story, visited Korea at the invitation of the Committee for the Justice & Peace of the CBCK from November 1 to 4. During the four days of stay, she gave lectures on the need to abolish the death penalty in Korea, at Myongdong Cathedral of Seoul and at the Memorial Center of St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon in Daegu. She said, "we Christians, who live out the mystery of Cross, cannot help reconsidering the problems of the death penalty, an act to crucify our brothers with our own hands." Expressing her expectation of Korea, she said, "I hope Korea will become a beacon of moral leadership to other Asian countries by being the first country in all of Asia to stop government killing." Noticeably, she emphasized the importance of care to the criminals as well as the victims, because, "the hands of Jesus are extended to not only the victims but the criminals as well", but, she said, "the selfishness of human has prevented us from recognizing this truth." She attributed the maintenance of the death penalty to the selfishness of society, which imposes responsibility only to the individual people concerned, not on the whole community and environment surrounding them. Citing the case of the United States, where only 2% of criminals are condemned and the rich people are scarcely condemned, she also warned the political danger of this system in which most of the condemned are the minorities or colored people. "Though we have an alternative, absolute kind of life sentence, but do not positively consider it, it is a second sin," she said. Sr. Helen Prejean was originally working for the poor in New Orleans in 1981, and the exchange of letter with a condemned prisoner paved her way to this mission in 1982. Since then for 20 years, she has been committed to the abolition of the death penalty worldwide. |