By UCA News reporter
KOREAN Catholic bishops have vowed to “seek peace and pursue it” in the Korean Peninsula, marking the 80th year of the region’s division into communist-ruled North and democratic South.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea (CBCK), in its Aug 7 statement, said that the Church must participate more actively in resolving divisions and establishing peace, Vatican’s Fides news agency reported on Aug 9.
“Peace achieved by using weapons and military force as a shield to subdue the other side in an atmosphere of distrust and hatred is not true peace,” the bishops emphasized.
The prelates also pointed out that the Catholic Church, which imitates Christ, who sacrificed himself to achieve true peace, must “pass on a peaceful nation to the next generation.”
The bishops referred to the Korean Peninsula as a “common home” where people from North and South Korea must live together and pledged three steps that they will take to work towards unification.
Firstly, the prelates said they will respect their North Korean “compatriots” as brothers and sisters.
Secondly, “we will actively support and participate in exchanges based on mutually beneficial cooperation with North Korea.”
Thirdly, the Korean Church will work with all those desiring to see the unification of North and South Korea, the prelates added.
Despite harboring hostility towards each other, North and South Korea have attempted dialogue and compromise in hopes of resolving the division and achieving peace, they said.
“Nevertheless, due to the continuing reality of division, the wounds within us have not been completely healed,” they emphasized.
Japanese imperial rule over Korea, which started in 1905, ended in 1945, resulting in the division of the Korean Peninsula into two parts by the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II.
Several efforts to unify Korea failed over disagreements between the US and Soviet regimes and resulted in the Korean War.
North Korean communist forces invaded the South during the war, which left some 4 million dead and about 10 million families displaced.
The war ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, on Jul 27, 1953, which means the nations are technically still at war.
The Catholic Church in Korea has been at the forefront of peacebuilding efforts through various initiatives.
In 1965, the CBCK designated Jun 25 as the “Day of Prayer for the Silent Church,” praying for God to heal the pain of our people and for the church in the North.
In 1992, this day was renamed “Day of Prayer for National Reconciliation and Unity.”
In the 1990s, the Korean Catholic Church established the Committee for National Reconciliation, which has since been engaged in efforts to achieve peace on the peninsula.
Through the committee, “the Korean Church was able to support North Korean residents suffering from economic hardship and natural disasters in various ways and actively promote exchange through dialogue,” the prelates claimed.
In 1999, the committee was renamed as the “National Reconciliation Committee,” which initiated “broader activities for national reconciliation, unity, and peace.”
The prelates pointed out that the South Korean dioceses and various religious organizations have been actively caring for the North Korean refugees who have settled in South Korean society.
The Catholic Church has also been promoting peace “within and outside the Church for the sake of peace on the Korean Peninsula,” through various research and educational programs, the prelates added.
Earlier in July, the Seoul Archdiocese organized a multi-faith peace pilgrimage at the demilitarized zone (DMZ) between South and North Korea, reiterating the need for peace and solidarity among both nations.
Earlier in March 2024, a group of South Korean clergy, nuns, and laypeople from Catholic and Protestant Churches, as well as Buddhists and non-Buddhists, took a 400-kilometer journey to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at the North Korean border and prayed for peace on the Korean Peninsula. – UCA News
