Japanese and Korean bishops meet in the name of the card. Kim

Stephen Kim was a legendary figure, here and across the Sea of Japan. Many Koreans, now elderly, have called him the "father of the fatherland" and Christians simply the "good shepherd". The dictators feared him, the poor loved him, the faithful venerated him.

Born under Japanese rule (1910-45) he spent the years of youth in Japan. The authoritarianism of the military dictatorship forced him to leave the seminary and enlist in the imperial army. He returned to Korea was ordained a priest during the Korean War (1951-53), and in 1968, at age 46, he was appointed Catholic archbishop of Seoul. He was also the first Korean cardinal and for years president of the Episcopal Conferences of Asia.

More than 600,000 Koreans live in Japan falling into two groups: the older and more recent emigrants. The former are descendants of Koreans forced to come to Japan during the colonization of the peninsula, most of them live in the region of Osaka and Kobe and they know only the language of Japan, but refuse to take citizenship because they do not want to be uprooted from their culture. The latter, especially numerous in the Tokyo area, came here in the post-war period. The choice of Osaka for the meeting was consciously intended.

The main events of the meeting were: the viewing of a DVD, two lectures and a walk through the poor districts of Osaka and Kobe. In all of this the figure of the Good Shepherd, Stephen Kim, was a constant refrain.

The title of the documentary "Thank you all, I love you all" was the phrase that the dying cardinal uttered shortly before entering into the glory of God

For many decades, journalists have described the relationship between Japan and Korea as "near-far": geographically close, historically distant. The military power of Japan in the sixteenth and twentieth centuries inflicted wounds difficult to heal on the people of the Korean peninsula.  For  Stephen Kim this relationship was always "close-close 'and he was committed to healing this serious wounds.

The task of making his presence felt in the Land of the Rising Sun has been entrusted mainly to Bishop Kang, who for many years as an educator in the Seminary of the Diocese of Seoul, then auxiliary bishop, was his close associate. This was done with a conference entitled "Life and vision of the late Stephen Cardinal Kim Su Hwan" which he called "the prophet Jonah and the Good Shepherd of our times": Jonah for his vigorous defence of human rights, the Shepherd for his sensitivity towards the weak and the poor.

The Japanese lesson was given by a Franciscan father, Tetsuro Honda, who, after being at the top of his order in Japan, now lives in Kamagasaki, the district of Osaka infamous in Japan for the number of homeless and day labourers. In this context, the memory of Kim was presented as the icon of the biblical ideals of justice and peace.

The Korean bishops spent some time wandering the streets of the popular districts of the region, especially where the Nisei Koreans live, namely those of the second generation. They were warmly received by the church of Ikuno (Osaka), where more than half of Christians are Korean such as is Lee Jol, the chairman of the pastoral council.

His testimony will not be easily forgotten. Born and raised in Japan in his youth he went as a student to Korea (south), during the military dictatorship of President Park Chung Hee. Here he was imprisoned and sentenced to death for his activities in favour of the movement for reconciliation and unity between the north and south. The sentence was not executed, but Lee Jol remained in prison for 13 years. Unforgettable years, he said, especially for the two greatest gifts that he received in his life: baptism and the friendship of Archbishop Stephen Kim, the defender of the persecuted. And when, his detention over, he decided to marry, the cardinal himself offered to preside over the ceremony.

The masses celebrated in two days of the gathering were significantly chaired by Bishop John Chang Yik  and Joseph Han Taek Lee, respectively in charge of the Catholic regions of Chuncheon and Uijeongbu, the two provinces in direct contact with North Korea. "We need to communicate the gospel to people in the world with our humble life just as Cardinal Kim showed us," said John Chang, and Joseph Lee closed the historic meeting, saying that the Church “should not hesitate to voice its protest in favour of poor who are close to us. "

This is ideal that Bishop Stephen Kim Sou Hwan always lived without uncertainty and that the 31 bishops gathered in Osaka have again wanted to gather as their challenging spiritual heritage.