Communication on Sep. 19
| * Holy Father Sent Telegram for Victims of Typhoon Maemi While Entire Church in Korea Engaged in Storm Relief-Work Pope John Paul II sent, September 14, the following telegram by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Secretary of State, to Archbishop Andreas Choi Chang-mou of the Archdiocese of Kwangju, President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, concerning the typhoon Maemi that hit South Korea causing loss of lives and material damages. On September 15, Korea's main TV News Hours and newspapers reported Holy Father's concern, solidarity and prayers for the victims. "Deeply saddened by the news of the great loss of life caused by the typhoon that struck South Korea, the Holy Father prays for the victims and their families. His Holiness asks that you convey the assurance of his solidarity to the civil authorities and all those involved in the task of relief and reconstruction. And he invokes Almighty God's blessing of strength and comfort upon all the afflicted." Typhoon Maemi severely hit South Korea over the night of September 12 and 13 causing widespread damages. All dioceses of typhoon-hit areas are fully engaged in relief-work with help of other dioceses. The Committee for ‘Caritas Coreana’ (Pres.: Most Rev. Gabriel Chang Bong-hun) sent immediately an emergency relief aid of 1.5 million won (US$13,050) to the Dioceses of Masan and one million won(US$8,700) to the Diocese of Pusan, the hardest-hit areas. The Catholic Social Service of Seoul (Dir.: Rev. John the Baptist Kim Hong-jin) made an emergency relief aid of 280 million won (US$243,600) for the Dioceses of Masan, Pusan, Wonju, Chunchon, Andong, Cheju and Archdioceses of Taegu and Kwangju. Dioceses, parishes, organizations and individual faithful are encouraged to make donations, collections and send volunteers to the churches of flooded district. According to the report, the typhoon Maemi inundated about 16,000 hectares of rice paddies and orchards in the Kyeongsang-do and Jeolla-do provinces before harvest. Many now expect the worst harvest since two decades which will cause a significant rise in the price of rice this year. Maemi was the most powerful typhoon to hit the Korean peninsula in a century, recording a wind speed of 216 kilometers per hour - powerful enough to overturn vehicles and ships, according to the weatherman. According to the government report as of September 17, total of 127 people have been confirmed dead or missing and property damage estimated at over 4 trillion won (US$3.4 billion), 1,400 people homeless, 7,282 houses destroyed. * "SCCs/BECs, Instruments of Social Transformation" AsIPA General Assembly III held from September 2-9 at Hanmaum Education and Retreat Center, Seoul, with theme "Empowering Our People in SCCs (Small Christian Communities)/BECs (Basic Ecclesial Communities) to Serve", was concluded on September 9 with final statement. The final statement reaffirmed the centrality of the Word of God in the lives of SCCs /BECs and wished to enable greater appreciation of the Word and genuine encounter with Christ and pledged to build the participatory Church by developing all the gifts of the laity especially in the area of emerging leadership. The Assembly resolved to form SCCs/BECs as instruments of social transformation and move towards a deeper sense of their prophetic role with the help of church leaders by providing on-going training and formation. The Most Rev. Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, Archbishop of Seoul, said in his homily of opening Mass, that "Call of God is not limited to clergy or religious only, but it is for all Christians," and added that "we can build a true participatory Church when each member of the Church performs his/her proper duty and role of Christian in their situation." Regarding the development of the SCCs/BECs the Most Rev. Peter Kang U-il, Bishop of Cheju, said, "Proper understanding of the SCC/BEC and deepening of its spirituality are vital elements to succeed than any methodology or making programs," and went on, "this is a challenge that Korean BECs are faced with." He also emphasized on the nature of the SCC/BEC, saying, "The BEC itself is a basic structure of the Church that is continued from the universal Church through the diocese and parish," and added "it is not one of the devotional organizations but a small church." Bishop Kang, then auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Seoul, introduced the Basic Ecclesial Community movement in Korea in 1991 through LUMKO program and has played a role of motive power for the development of BEC movement in the Church in Korea. 123 representatives from 13 Asian countries including 15 bishops from Asia and other continents participated In the Assembly. The participants concluded the Assembly with appreciation for warm hospitality and assistance of the host Church to facilitate the smooth running of the Assembly, especially the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea, the Archdiocese of Seoul and the Archdiocesan Office of Evangelization. * Jamwon-dong Parish Offers Weekly Free Medical Service to Foreign Workers The Jamwon-dong Parish of the Archdiocese of Seoul (Pastor: Rev. Eusevius Yang Hong) opened Sunday free medical service for foreign workers of the area on September 7. "The has installed necessary medical equipments and is ready to receive foreign workers who cannot meet medical needs," parish officials said. At the opening prayer of the first day of service on Sunday, September 7, Rev. Yang thanked the faithful, especially the medical team of the parish for their generosity and asked them to make efforts to welcome any foreign workers in medical need and offer them both physical and spiritual healing and peace. It was thanks to the department of family medicine of the parish that this new project was realized. The department of family medicine of the Jamwon parish was opened in 1999, four years ago from now, and is run by a medical team formed with over 40 qualified medical doctors in various medical sections of internal medicine and surgery, gynecology and orthopedics etc., and professional medical people who are capable for medical examination and treatment. Since its opening the department of family medicine has offered wide range of medical services to the faithful and local people. "Our goal of free medical service is to announce Jesus Christ, the Healer, to the poor and marginalized people through our service based our professional experiences," and added "we hope that not only those in our district but also many of other areas of Seoul and Kyeonggi can benefit of our service." said Dr. Andrew Han Chang-gyu, director of the department of the family medicine and president of Dongseung Hospital, Seoul. |