Pope's visit to Korea seen from the "hill of martyrs"
Seoul (AsiaNews) - Jeoldu-san, west of Seoul, has a grisly history. Its name means "beheading mountain" because dozens of Christian martyrs were decapitated at the site during a wave of persecution in the 19th century. Several of the victims were sentenced to "gunmunhyosu", decapitation and the public display of their heads cut off.
The South Korean government has declared the hill a national historic site, important for the country's culture. It has also built a hall that contains the remains of 23 martyrs; a museum that contains the instruments of torture, death sentences, prayers written by the martyrs in prison, objects of devotion; and a chapel visited by tens of thousands of faithful every year. Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa were among its most famous pilgrims.
When Pope Francis arrives in Korea, he is not scheduled to visit the hill. For the rector of the local church Fr Timothy Jung Yeon-Jung, it is not that important. "This Pope is not coming this time, but with his heart-felt example, he will be close to the shrine," the priest said. Francis is coming to Korea to beatify 124 Korean martyrs. "For us, the important thing is to be encouraged by the blood of martyrs," Fr Timothy explained.
The priest invited me to co-celebrate Mass along with about 300 faithful who had come on pilgrimage. Afterwards, after laying his hands on anyone who wanted to "strengthen the faith when faced with difficulties" (pictured), he explained how the faithful in Korea are preparing to welcome Francis.
"Ever since the Holy Father's visit became known, we started a non-stop prayer for young Asians and the Korean Church," he said. "In addition to praying, we thought we also ought to know and understand the pope's ideas, teachings; the message he wants to communicate to us. For this reason, we started a competition among the faithful for the best commentary on the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. This way everyone is encouraged to read it. Who writes the best comments wins."
In front of the large chapel stands a huge, three-metre silver watermarked statue of Christ. At the base there is a kind of drying rack where many yellow ribbons are tied, a "sign of hope and love for the dead." The statue, ribbons and an offerings box are there to remember and pray for the victims of the Sewol ferry disaster that saw the death of about 300 people on 16 April.
The incident has deeply affected public opinion because most victims were young people preparing their final exam, a very important moment in Korea.
"This too, the example of charity, closeness to family members of the victims of Sewol," Fr Timothy said, "is a way to prepare ourselves for the papal visit. Our diocese has a foundation, set up by Card Stephen Kim, which helps disaster victims."
"When the ferry sank, priests stood by the family and held Masses for the dead and the living," he said. "Donations came in for the people affected by this disaster, and the shrine helped the victims, donating a sum of money to the diocesan foundation, which in turn helped them. Here at the shrine, we decided to celebrate a Mass every day for a whole year for the victims."
Moving around Seoul, we can see many Christian buildings, Protestant and Catholic. I asked Fr Timothy: "How much is work, business, trade in Seoul and Korea marked by the stories of Christians and martyrs?"
"In Korea," he said, "at least 70 per cent of the population belongs to some religion. About 30-40 per cent are Buddhist, 30 per cent Protestant, 11 per cent Catholic."
"Interestingly, a survey found that the Catholic Church (11 per cent of the population) is the religion that affects the most society through its social work, nursing homes for the elderly, help for the poor, its fight against injustice, for life . . . Anyway, the workplace and businesses are still to be evangelised in depth. We are just starting."
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12/02/2016 15:14
23/11/2019 09:01
