Korean church makes inculturation a priority
A symposium is held about realities facing the country's Catholics 40 years after Vatican Council II.
Seoul (AsiaNews) Inculturation emerged as a priority of the Korean church in a symposium which traced the development of the Korean church in the 40 years since Vatican Council II. Problems like social commitment and Catholics' understanding of traditional religions took centre stage at the symposium, which also concluded that the Church's expansion in terms of quantity throughout these years had not been matched by a corresponding growth in quality.
The meeting, which focused on the theme, "Vatican Council II and the Church in Korea", was organised by the Foundation of Korean Church History and the Catholic University of Korea, and it took place on 24 September in the university auditorium.
During the meeting, five scholars presented their work on subjects ranging from the social commitment of the Church in Korea to Catholics' understanding of Korean traditional religions.
The president of the foundation, Fr Joseph Kim Sung-tae, said that "although there are 16 documents of Vatican Council II, we chose five subjects which are general problems in the particular situation of the Church in Korea".
A round-table discussion followed the scholars' presentations. Participants agreed that the Korean church should take up the affirmation of inculturation as its fundamental priority, and in doing so, it will contribute to the universality of the church.
The participants said that the rapid quantitative growth of the Catholic Church in Korea after the end of the Second Vatican Council was not always matched by a corresponding leap in quality, and this was one of diverse controversial issues to be resolved.
Prof. Roh Kil-Myung of the Korea University, who presided over the panel discussion, concluded that "first of all, we have to read the documents of Vatican Council II again to be able to cope with the rapidly changing circumstance of our times."
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12/02/2016 15:14
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