Communications on Nov. 29, 2002
* A New Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Seoul Consecurated
On November 21, the episcopal ordination of Rev. Lucas Kim Woon-hoe took place at Myongdong Cathedral of Seoul, with the Most Rev. Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, Archbishop of Seoul, presiding.
In the episcopal consecration, some 2,000 people participated including His Eminence Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, the Most Rev. Giovanni Battista Morandini, Apostolic Nuncio in Seoul, the Most Rev. Andrew Choi Chang-mou, President of the CBCK(Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea), and other bishops, priests, religious and lay Catholics.
The Most Rev. Cheong said in his allocution, "the episcopate is not for honor or ruling but for sacrifice to the point of life-giving for the good of people of God," and asked the new bishop "to be a good pastor who humbles himself and listens to the voices of the people."
The Most Rev. Kim responded, "for the rest of my life I will proclaim the will of God who gave me the episcopate," and expressed his wish that all the faithful in the diocese can become one in the love of God and promised to try to make this dream come true.
Before this, the Apostolic Nuncio said in his congratulatory message, "the episcopal motto of the Most Rev. Kim, 'Unanimes Charitate', bears important message to today's world which suffers from hatred and revenges, including the separated Korean Peninsula." He also asked the new bishop "to become another Christ following the Korean pastors and martyrs who have committed themselves to the development of the Church in Korea."
The Most Rev. Kim was born in Seoul in 1944 and ordained a priest in 1973 after graduating the Catholic University of Seoul. After being ordained, he taught students at Dongseong Middle School, served as pastor of two parishes in Seoul and worked as director of vocations and education in the Archdiocese of Seoul. Since 1995, he has been the principal of Dongseong High School.
* Bishops Issued 2003 Pastoral Letters
With the first Sunday of the Advent(December 1) coming near, Korean Bishops issued pastoral letters and paved out the pastoral directions for the year of 2003.
Major points emerged from the pastoral letters are living out the Word in daily life, animating the Basic Ecclesial Community, the missionary work, evangelization of the family and the option for the poor and marginalized people in the society.
In view of the Synod of Seoul slated for the next year, the Most Rev. Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, Archbishop of Seoul, called for positive participation of the Catholics in the diocesan Synod, saying, "the evangelical values and opinions to be revealed and proposed during the Synod, which succeeds to the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, will be fully reflected in the pastoral work of the diocese."
The Most Rev. Paul Ri Moun-hi, Archbishop of Taegu, said he has a plan to hold the Youth Congress and the Family Congress in 2003 and insisted, "evangelized families should be more energetic in proclaiming the love of Christ to the world by forming larger church."
The Most Rev. Andrew Choi Chang-mou, Archbishop of Kwangju, emphasized the animation of Basic Ecclesial Community to effectively practice "the salvation mission of ecclesial community" within the local community and asked the faithful to overcome the egoism and promote the BECs through solidarity and participation with responsibility so that we can be born again as true Christian community."
Other diocesan Bishops also advised the faithful to look for the criteria of life in the Gospel and proclaim it to neighbors and society and to perform the role of light and salt in the world so that other people can accept Christ as a "new hope."
* The First Joint Meeting of Superiors of Missionary Societies and Religious Institutes
On November 21, men and women superiors of missionary societies and religious institutes in Korea met at the Franciscan Training Center to discuss the ways of mutual cooperation.
The Superiors from 77 religious institutes participated in the joint meeting and discussed questions of vocations, formation and cooperation through committees and establishment of theological institutes for religious. It is first time for men and women superiors to meet together to seek for ways of concrete cooperation.
On the consensus of the need to establish the theological institutes for religious, they said, "the seven faculties of theology in Korea are mainly aiming at the formation of diocesan priests, so it is not sufficient for religious to study religious life and spirituality and history of religious institutes." Presently, there is a theological institute for religious run by Order of Friars Minor but it just provides basic courses with no academic degrees.
Regarding this matter, the participants discussed several ways including asking the Jesuit-run Sogang University to establish a proper institute or making the existing institute a Pontifical university of theology.
Besides, they exchanged opinions regarding cooperation in the development of vocations and formation, a joint website on the internet and plans for spiritual service.
Prior to the discussion, Mr. Park Mun-su, a leading researcher of Woori Theology Institute gave a keynote address regarding "Present Situation and Vision of Religious Institute of Apostolic Life" and pointed out the problems of religious institutes such as the changes of behavior patterns caused by rapid social changes, large number of institutes, secularization and authoritarianism and the degeneration of original charisma.
He said, "if religious institutes recognize their mission anew and make effort for the renewal and adaptation, it will help the Catholic Church in Korea to perform her evangelical mission better and regain her authority in the society."
* A Message of Human Rights Sunday
On the occasion of the 21st Human Rights Sunday on December 8, the Most Rev. John Choi Young-soo, President of the Committee for Justice and Peace of the CBCK, issued a message titled "Human Rights Have to be Respected from the First Moment of Conception" and appealed Korean Catholics' concern for common good.
In the message Bishop Choi pointed out that increasing human right abuses in our society such as discrimination of foreign workers, human trafficking, abortion, sexual abuses and environmental destruction are products of our selfishness. He asked the government to establish a systematic device to protect human rights, saying, "the most important duty of the democratic nation is to secure the human rights of its people."
Regarding the critical issue of long-term strike of the Catholic-run hospitals' labor unionists he asked not to confuse the Church with hospital, saying it is a case between the hospital and the labor but not a case between the Church and the labor. He wished for the both sides a reciprocal relation by reminding them Pope Leon XIII's encyclical letter Rerum Novarum; "Capital cannot do without labor, nor labor without capital."
Regarding the critical situation of abortion, he asked to stop all attempts to justify the criminal act of killing human embryos as a noble act of medical progress saying "the embryos are full human beings who are to be respected and protected."
For the presidential election of December 19, Bishop Choi asked Catholic voters to choose a right leader with prudence.
On November 21, the episcopal ordination of Rev. Lucas Kim Woon-hoe took place at Myongdong Cathedral of Seoul, with the Most Rev. Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, Archbishop of Seoul, presiding.
In the episcopal consecration, some 2,000 people participated including His Eminence Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, the Most Rev. Giovanni Battista Morandini, Apostolic Nuncio in Seoul, the Most Rev. Andrew Choi Chang-mou, President of the CBCK(Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea), and other bishops, priests, religious and lay Catholics.
The Most Rev. Cheong said in his allocution, "the episcopate is not for honor or ruling but for sacrifice to the point of life-giving for the good of people of God," and asked the new bishop "to be a good pastor who humbles himself and listens to the voices of the people."
The Most Rev. Kim responded, "for the rest of my life I will proclaim the will of God who gave me the episcopate," and expressed his wish that all the faithful in the diocese can become one in the love of God and promised to try to make this dream come true.
Before this, the Apostolic Nuncio said in his congratulatory message, "the episcopal motto of the Most Rev. Kim, 'Unanimes Charitate', bears important message to today's world which suffers from hatred and revenges, including the separated Korean Peninsula." He also asked the new bishop "to become another Christ following the Korean pastors and martyrs who have committed themselves to the development of the Church in Korea."
The Most Rev. Kim was born in Seoul in 1944 and ordained a priest in 1973 after graduating the Catholic University of Seoul. After being ordained, he taught students at Dongseong Middle School, served as pastor of two parishes in Seoul and worked as director of vocations and education in the Archdiocese of Seoul. Since 1995, he has been the principal of Dongseong High School.
* Bishops Issued 2003 Pastoral Letters
With the first Sunday of the Advent(December 1) coming near, Korean Bishops issued pastoral letters and paved out the pastoral directions for the year of 2003.
Major points emerged from the pastoral letters are living out the Word in daily life, animating the Basic Ecclesial Community, the missionary work, evangelization of the family and the option for the poor and marginalized people in the society.
In view of the Synod of Seoul slated for the next year, the Most Rev. Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, Archbishop of Seoul, called for positive participation of the Catholics in the diocesan Synod, saying, "the evangelical values and opinions to be revealed and proposed during the Synod, which succeeds to the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, will be fully reflected in the pastoral work of the diocese."
The Most Rev. Paul Ri Moun-hi, Archbishop of Taegu, said he has a plan to hold the Youth Congress and the Family Congress in 2003 and insisted, "evangelized families should be more energetic in proclaiming the love of Christ to the world by forming larger church."
The Most Rev. Andrew Choi Chang-mou, Archbishop of Kwangju, emphasized the animation of Basic Ecclesial Community to effectively practice "the salvation mission of ecclesial community" within the local community and asked the faithful to overcome the egoism and promote the BECs through solidarity and participation with responsibility so that we can be born again as true Christian community."
Other diocesan Bishops also advised the faithful to look for the criteria of life in the Gospel and proclaim it to neighbors and society and to perform the role of light and salt in the world so that other people can accept Christ as a "new hope."
* The First Joint Meeting of Superiors of Missionary Societies and Religious Institutes
On November 21, men and women superiors of missionary societies and religious institutes in Korea met at the Franciscan Training Center to discuss the ways of mutual cooperation.
The Superiors from 77 religious institutes participated in the joint meeting and discussed questions of vocations, formation and cooperation through committees and establishment of theological institutes for religious. It is first time for men and women superiors to meet together to seek for ways of concrete cooperation.
On the consensus of the need to establish the theological institutes for religious, they said, "the seven faculties of theology in Korea are mainly aiming at the formation of diocesan priests, so it is not sufficient for religious to study religious life and spirituality and history of religious institutes." Presently, there is a theological institute for religious run by Order of Friars Minor but it just provides basic courses with no academic degrees.
Regarding this matter, the participants discussed several ways including asking the Jesuit-run Sogang University to establish a proper institute or making the existing institute a Pontifical university of theology.
Besides, they exchanged opinions regarding cooperation in the development of vocations and formation, a joint website on the internet and plans for spiritual service.
Prior to the discussion, Mr. Park Mun-su, a leading researcher of Woori Theology Institute gave a keynote address regarding "Present Situation and Vision of Religious Institute of Apostolic Life" and pointed out the problems of religious institutes such as the changes of behavior patterns caused by rapid social changes, large number of institutes, secularization and authoritarianism and the degeneration of original charisma.
He said, "if religious institutes recognize their mission anew and make effort for the renewal and adaptation, it will help the Catholic Church in Korea to perform her evangelical mission better and regain her authority in the society."
* A Message of Human Rights Sunday
On the occasion of the 21st Human Rights Sunday on December 8, the Most Rev. John Choi Young-soo, President of the Committee for Justice and Peace of the CBCK, issued a message titled "Human Rights Have to be Respected from the First Moment of Conception" and appealed Korean Catholics' concern for common good.
In the message Bishop Choi pointed out that increasing human right abuses in our society such as discrimination of foreign workers, human trafficking, abortion, sexual abuses and environmental destruction are products of our selfishness. He asked the government to establish a systematic device to protect human rights, saying, "the most important duty of the democratic nation is to secure the human rights of its people."
Regarding the critical issue of long-term strike of the Catholic-run hospitals' labor unionists he asked not to confuse the Church with hospital, saying it is a case between the hospital and the labor but not a case between the Church and the labor. He wished for the both sides a reciprocal relation by reminding them Pope Leon XIII's encyclical letter Rerum Novarum; "Capital cannot do without labor, nor labor without capital."
Regarding the critical situation of abortion, he asked to stop all attempts to justify the criminal act of killing human embryos as a noble act of medical progress saying "the embryos are full human beings who are to be respected and protected."
For the presidential election of December 19, Bishop Choi asked Catholic voters to choose a right leader with prudence.