Top Stories 23/11/22 Vatican-Korea ties a ‘sign of hope and collaboraiton’

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Vatican-Korea ties a ‘sign of hope and collaboraiton’ 

Vatican official hails growth of Korean Church into a missionary one at event marking 60 years of Holy See, Korean relations

Archbishop Gallagher (fourth from left) arrives at Incheon International Airport and is welcomed by priests from the Korean Catholic Bishops' Conference and the Apostolic Embassy in Korea. (Photo: Catholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation)

By UCA News reporter

Published: November 22, 2023 08:03 AM GMT

The 60 years of diplomatic relations between South Korea and the Vatican is a sign of hope and collaboration, said Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States.

In Korean culture, the number 60 holds a special significance, since it evokes "the passage to a new cycle of life and a phase of greater fullness," the British prelate said.

He also said that in the Bible "this number indicates the preparation for a full fulfilment and expresses 'the idea of mutual support and interconnection'."

Gallagher, 69, made the remarks during a visit to South Korea to attend a symposium as a part of the 60th anniversary celebrations of Vatican-Korea diplomatic ties on Nov. 21, Vatican News reported.

The academic symposium calle3d: “Korea-Vatican Relations History Discovery Project” was held at the Franciscan Education Center in the capital Seoul.

Following the symposium, Gallagher presided over a special Mass at the Seosomun Shrine History Museum. 

During his symposium address, he recalled how the anniversary coincides with the conclusion of an archival research and preservation project supported by the Korean government and bishops. The project concerns documents preserved in the Vatican Apostolic Archive, the Apostolic Library, and the Pontifical Representation in Seoul.

The research project has also unearthed documents relating to the help given by then-Archbishop Roncalli, the future Pope John XXIII, to the Korean delegation to the United Nations in 1948 for the recognition of Korea as a legitimate state by the UN.

The Holy See established the Vicariate Apostolic of Chosun in 1831 that covered the Korean Peninsula where Catholicism started spreading in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, Church records say.

Buddhist rulers from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1897) persecuted Christians as they viewed Christianity as a threat to Confucian ethnics and its followers as collaborators of foreign powers.

At least 10,000 Catholics were martyred for refusing to recant their faith during this time.

In 1947, the Vatican appointed Bishop Patrick Byrne as the first papal delegate to the country, shortly after the end of Japan’s colonial rule (1905-1945) and World War II.

The Holy See’s support played an important role in getting the South Korean government international recognition as a legitimate state at the third UN General Assembly held in Paris, France in 1948.

Byrne was murdered by North Korean forces during the Korean War (1950-1953) when the communists invaded the South. The war claimed four million lives and displaced at least 10 million people before an armistice was signed.

While North Korea is still ruled by ultra-Maoists, South Korea endured repressive military rule (1961-1988) before returning to democracy.

The Catholic Church has been hailed for its strong pro-democracy role during the military regimes.

Despite the political upheavals, South Korea maintained its ties with the Vatican. Pope John Paul II visited the country in 1984 and 1989, and Pope Francis in 2014.

Korean heads of states also paid visits to the Vatican — President Kim Dae-jung in 2000 and President Moon Jae-in in 2018 and 2021.

In past decades, Gallagher said, the Gospel has taken root with great vitality in Korea.

Korea has gone "from a land of mission, to a place of departure for numerous missionaries," he said. 

He also emphasized that Church diplomacy provides resources to face "the hopes and challenges of the future."

In the face of what Pope Francis calls "the third world war fought piecemeal", of phenomena such as the arms race, the nuclear threat, and terrorism, "the Church and the structures of diplomacy are united by the same task: to be a sign of hope. A sign, that is, that war is not inescapable but that, on the contrary, it can be overcome through dialogue,” he said.

The collaboration between the Holy See and South Korea will continue "in facing the great challenges that loom over the present and future of the world, particularly in the East Asian region," he added.

With about 30 percent of the population, Christianity in the most followed organized religion in South Korea followed by Buddhists at 15.5 percent, according to official government records. About 56 percent of people follow no religion.

The Catholic Church has estimated 5.6 million members in a population of about 52 million.