ASIA/SOUTH KOREA – “It is time to take a step forward”: the Forum for Peace calls for a process of dialogue and reconciliation

ASIA/SOUTH KOREA – “It is time to take a step forward”: the Forum for Peace calls for a process of dialogue and reconciliation

Seoul (Agenzia Fides), – As tensions rise in the Korean peninsula, and North Korea launched two new short range ballistic missiles yesterday, October 9, towards the East Sea. Cultural and political initiatives continue flourishing on the Korean Peninsula with the aim of restarting a process to dialogue. According to Seoul’s government, this is the seventh missile launch within two weeks. One of the missiles, a medium-range carrier that covered 4,500 km, was also launched.
The “Catholic Forum for Peace on the Korean Peninsula2022” brought together representatives of the Church from South Korea, Japan, the United States and other countries in a time of tension. The Forum was sponsored jointly by the South Korean Ministry of Culture (and the Catholic Institute for Peace In Northeast Asia, an institute in Uijeonbu on the border of the Koreas) and is held annually by each of these countries. It was organized in 2022 in the United States and 2023 in Japan.
The Forum was organized by the National Reconciliation Committee of the Catholic Bishops of Korea and the United States Bishops Conference’s “Justice and Peace” Commission. It aimed to revive a different perspective on bilateral relations between North and South Korea.
Fides learned that the Forum was held on the topic “Resolutions to the difficulties for peace in the Korean peninsula”. It was attended by Bishops from South Korea and Japan as well as many academics and government officials. They tried to analyze the main problems and knots associated with peace on Korea’s peninsula, taking into consideration the historical and geopolitical contexts of the conflict, and looking at the role of Catholic Church in promoting peace.
Participants expressed their conviction that peace cannot be achieved through violence and war, and they also agreed with the urgent need to “find creative ways to provide humanitarian aid for the peoples of North Korea”.
The bishops also recalled Pope Francis’ calls to reconciliation on the peninsula. They pointed out that “as Christians, we must tear down any walls and heal the wounds by love.” The American prelates said they would pray together with their Korean brothers and Japanese counterparts, asking for courage as well as perseverance on the path towards peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Msgr. Joo-Young Kim (bishop of Chuncheon), president of the “National Reconciliation Committee”, of the Bishops of Korea, stated that “the wounds of conflict remain, but peace can be achieved through forgiveness and reconciliation” and that “the Church cannot divert from the path of peaceful, even if it’s a long and difficult road”. The Prelate expressed gratitude for “all those who are committed towards peace on the Korean Peninsula” and then recalled the prayer that St. Francis prayed, “Lord, make it instruments of your peace”.
Prof. Baek Janghyeon, from the Catholic Institute for Peace in Northeast Asia, believes that the Catholic Church’s role in building a world without nuclear arms could be crucial in the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
Representatives of the US and Seoul governments agreed on the path forward: to find a diplomatic solution in relations to North Korea. This would include confirming denuclearization as a common goal through cooperation with the international community.
Referring to the principles and doctrines of the Church’s Social Doctrine
Participants recalled that it takes more effort to make a situation better and that now is the time for peace building. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 10/10/2022)

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