What is a General Assembly?

What is a General Assembly?
  Well today was the opening of the tenth General Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC), God of life, lead us to justice and peace.  But many of you may ask what is a General Assembly?  An assembly of the WCC is a gathering of the member churches to reaffirm their fellowship and to take counsel with one another.

Banner of the Assembly

Catholic delegation at the opening

  The first Assembly took place in Amsterdam in 1948 just after the war.  This assembly is known as the ‘founding assembly’ since it was at this meeting when the WCC officially came into being.  Since then every seven years there is a coming together to do the work of the council   The last one was held in Porto Alegre in Brazil in 2006.
  The way the assembly works is that Council’s member churches sent delegates as their official representatives.  These would be the voting members of the assembly.  However, other invited delegates come as well and participate in the sessions but do not take part in the voting decisions that are held.

Cardinal Kurt Koch delivers Pope Francis' message

 Every assembly has three main functions:
  • the assembly is an occasion to celebrate and reaffirm the mutual commitment that member churches and ecumenical partners have made through the WCC.  It is a celebrative moment to reaffirm their confession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and to express the visible unity of the church.
  • it is the time to render an account of what has been done since the last assembly.  Many reports are given both in oral and written form to the delegates in the business plenary sessions.
  • since the assembly is the highest decision making body of the WCC, decisions and policies must be taken and made. In addition it needs to select 150 members of the central committee which assumes the responsibility for guiding the work of the Council for the next seven years.  These are elected from a slate of nominated persons from the churches.

The beginning
  Each assembly is different and Busan is no exception.  The gathering of so many people (5,000) and the re-connecting with old friends and the making of new lasting relationships is one of the joyful aspects of the Assembly. The colors and traditions of the Korean church added a lot to the opening ceremony.

  Since the theme of the assembly touches on the questions of peace and justice, the opening worship brought in the ideas of seeking forgiveness against nature and the against the rights of people.  At the beginning of the worship the Assembly asked for forgiveness in a dramatic way.

  In addition we experienced the history of the Protestant churches in Korea in the opening plenary session.  It was a spectacular of drama, music and history.

 Tomorrow the Assembly will go into full swing with a very full day.  The real work will begin tomorrow with the various committees starting their work.  By the way the meeting is being held in the very modern Conference Center in Busan.

Peace and all good.

Anglicanism and Orthodoxy in Korea

  Today is our last day in Seoul since we will head down to Busan for the Assembly this afternoon.  However, before  doing so we had two stops left: the Anglican Church and the Orthodox Church.

Anglicanism in Korea
  Anglicanism came to Korea in 1889 when Bishop Charles John Corfe was ordained and the first diocese of Joseon was founded.  As was the practice of many of the mission societies, the Anglican church established a number of educational institutions, medical facilities and social work in various centers throughout the country (both in the North as well as in the South).  The Anglican church sought ways for the church to be integrated into Korean culture.  For this reason many of the buildings may be found in the traditional Korean style such as the Bishop’s residence in Seoul.

  The first native Bishop, Lee Cheon Hwan, was ordained in1965 and only died in 2010. Three dioceses were established and social institutions continued to be opened.  The Anglican cathedral in Seoul is named Sts. Mary and Nicholas and was built in 1922 in the Romanesque style.  The actual community is not very large but is active with many projects.

  Cardinal Kurt Koch, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity joined us in our last visits and will travel with us to the Assembly.

Card. Koch receives gift from Anglican Bishop Paul K. Kim

The Orthodox church in Korean
 Orthodoxy came to Korea via Russia in 1900.  For various political reasons such as the Sino Japanese war and the Bolsheviks revolution, caused great difficulties in continuing orthodoxy. The care of the church was transferred to the Archbishop of Tokyo. Then came the horrors of the Second World War and the Korean Orthodox church found itself cut off once again.  Finally in 1950, the Korean War followed.  This was

disastrous for the church since the only Korean priest was captures and never seen again.  It was under the care of the Archimandrite Andreas Halkiopoulas that the church found new live in the Ecumenical Patriarchy.  Even though it is not a large community is it once which cares for its people and is open ecumenically.

Card. Koch & Metropolitan Ambrosios of Korea

After a quick lunch in the train station we were off to Busan leaving at 2:15 PM and arriving at 4:58 PM.  Now its down to business with the opening of the 10th General Assembly.

Buddhism and ecumenism in Korea continued

Pilgrimage to the shrine of martyrs
The second part of our day was highlighted by a pilgrimage to the place of martyrdom, the Jeoldusan Martyrs’ Shrine.  There were several waves of persecutions of Catholics since the first in 1791. This was the site of the beheading of Catholics who were suspected of helping the French invade the Joseon coast in 1866.

This event sparked the fifth major persecution of Catholics and led to the execution of many. Why was this site chosen? It was on a high hill overlooking the transportation, trade, and business on the Han river between China, Japan and Western powers.  Since the Catholics were considered to be the culprits enabling the French invasion, only their blood could wash away the filth of the invasion.  This is why after beheading their heads were washed in the river.

Today this is the resting place for the relics of 27 of the martyrs who lost their lives defending their faith.  The most famous one was Andrew Kim Tae-gon, the first Korean priest who received the palm of martyrdom on September 16, 1846.  A very large bronze statute of St. Andrew Kim wearing traditional garb was erected on the site.

The Catholic delegation celebrated the Eucharist in the chapel after praying in the crypt that contains the relics of some of the martyrs.  May the blood of these witnesses of faith inspire all the delegates at the WCC Assembly to seek the unity of all those who believe in Christ and witness to him with lively faith and especially for the unity of this divided Korea.

Gyeongbokgung Royal Palace

Next we went to explore some more of Korean history and culture by visiting the Gyeongbokgung Palace (which translates: Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven).  This Palace was built in 1695 three years after the founding of the Joseon dynasty. It was a beautiful autumn late afternoon with the sun beginning to set when we arrived at the site of the palace.

 At the apex of the Joseon dynasty this complex had over 500 buildings.  Most of these were destroyed during the Japanese invasion in 1592 since it was the symbolic location of the royal power, politics, economy and culture of the dynasty.  After the Japanese occupation, the palace was partially rebuilt and has been restored since 1990 to his past splendor.  It is an extremely beautiful complex especially with the fall colors and the play of the light of the setting sun on the buildings and reflection in the water.

We were fortunate to have a guided tour the complex which now consists of only 125 of the original buildings.

The last rays of the setting sun accompanied us to our last stop of our second day.





Representatives of the National Council of Churches
Rev. Kim Young-ju, General Secretary, met us and hosted another traditional Korean meal with its many dishes and surprises.  It was 130 years since Protestantism arrived in Korea.  The Korean National Christian Council was founded in 1924 which were the beginnings of the Council of Churches in Korea.

We learned that Protestantism established itself first by missionary work in the founding of women’s hospitals and schools for the education of girls.  Then came Bible schools. While the Catholic mission was orientated toward the establishment of the hierarchy and a sacramental structure, the Protestant Methodist and then Presbyterians began with the education of women and the establishment of schools.  Of course, this is not to say that Catholics didn’t do so as well but it was important to establish the faith in a new cultural setting.
The various mission societies decided that instead of competing for believers they divided the peninsula into mission territories, each being assigned a geographical area. This is how Protestants arrived mainly form the united Stated and Great Britain to evangelize the country.
  As I said earlier we had some new dishes to try before calling it a night.

Buon appetito!

It was a long day.  Tomorrow, our last in Seoul we will visit the Anglican and Orthodox churches and then make our way to Busan and the beginning of the Assembly.
Peace and all good!

Buddhism and ecumenism in Korea

  Wow what a day!  It will be impossible to tell all that I did today but let's at least get a start.

  It was another beautiful, crisp Fall day as we started out from the Bishops' Conference after breakfast.  We traveled across Seoul to the Hwagye Temple at Suyu-ri dating from the late Joseon Period in the 1600's.  The temple and monastery are highly regarded for the formation of monks from all over the world who come to the international school.  The characteristics of this temple and monks is thier prayer for inner peace and especially for the unity of  Korea.  They have excellent relations with the Catholic parish near by.

  We were welcomed by traditional ceremonies of greeting and then given a tour of the beautiful old buildings set in a harmonous setting of nature.

   The monks explained the way of contemplation and prayer that they follow each day and that many people come seeking their advice and inner peace.  The piety of the people is not much different than that one would find practiced by many Christians.  For example, in a few weeks entrance exams for university will take place. The monks said that many students will come to ask enlightenment so they can pass their exams and enter university.

   Our delegation had a special meeting with the head teacher who explained their way of life and traditions. We began by removing our shoes out of respect (a typical oriental custom when entering anyone's house). Then  we were all seated on the floor in a typical Eastern fashion, and served a type of juice made from herbs and rice along with fresh melon, oriental pear, and several types of rice cakes.  We had the opportunity to talk about similar customs of meditation and prayer as well as the desire to seek peace and arrive at a deeper state of contemplative love and respect for all of creation. It was explained that the buddhist temples and meeting rooms are all built with a sense of flow from inside to outside and to be situated in settings of nature.  We stayed for the better part of an hour.  However, our Western bodies are not used to sitting in certain positions! Inspite of the creeking of bones and setting down on the floor, we all made it up (with the help of a monk or one of our own).

Before moving on to our next stop we took (another) group picture.  It seems that the media is really covering this event with video cameras, several photographers and journalists.

You can easily see the beauty of the gardens and the harmony that exists in this setting especially with the autumn colors coming to peak just as we arrived in Korea.

Next stop: Hanshin University

  After leaving the Temple we traveled a ways down the road to the very modern university, Hanshin University.  It was founded in 1940 as a more liberal university with the intention of forming "intellectuals in action".  The University has several sites and the one we visited was the graduate school of theology.  We arrived just s a special program called "envisioning ecumenism" was beginning.  Severasl hundred students from around the world came for this special seminar which will accompany the WCC General Assembly. You will remember that the theme of the 10th Assembly is God of life, lead us to justice and peace. 

Our delegation entered the auditorium just as the introductory session was ending.  Bishop Braian Farrell and Archbishop Kim were asked to say a word about our delegation and here is what they had to say:

Following the conclusion of their remarks the students headed off to go to their seminars.  They will be following each on the themes that will be discussed at Busan during the Assembly and do their research papers in Busan as invited guests.  In a certain manner this is the preparation of the next generation of ecumenists, getting their feet wet in a "full immersion" fashion.  Many will remember that the ecumenical movement was formed by many young students in the post war period in Europe.

Our program continued with a meeting with the dean, Rev. Kang, Sung-Young and some of the faculty.  We had a very special presentation by Young-oak Kim considered to be the leading intellectual in Korea. He is a Buddhist monk and expert on Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.  He spoke about the origins of the Hanshin University, founded by Dae-hyun Kim as Chosun Theological Institute.  The origins were in the Seungdong Church (Presbyterian).  From its inception intellectual excellence was inspired.

Young-oak Kim

The delegation was given a tour of the ultra-modern facilities. Once again we ended up having another group picture, this time in the ecumenical chapel.

After the visit we were treated to a very special Korean traditional meal which as you can see below had many dishes and we didn't even have the main dish yet!

As I said at the beginning of today's blog it was a day filled with many events (and as you will see later, group pictures).  It is getting late and I want to publish this so I will say: "Peace and all good" until tomorrow when I will talk about the moving experience of the pilgrimage to the shrine of the Korean martyrs.

Meeting the local Church

   Today was a day spent in getting to know the local church in Seoul, its history and vitality as well as issues facing Catholics in Korea.  Most people do not know that catholicism in Korea entered by means of the laity. Some Korean scholars of Confucianism learned about catholicism through reading catholic books brought in from China.  Their enthusiasm encouraged them to send a man by the name of Yi Seung-hun (1756-1801) to Beijing to acquire new books on catholicism such as prayer books and objects such as rosaries and icons.  While in China he and his father were baptised by the Jesuit missionary, Fr. Grammont, sj. When he was baptized in February 1784 he took the name of Peter. Returning to Korea near Seoul, the intellectuals of the Joseon dynasty incouraged others to study and accept the faith so that in October of the same year Yi Seung-hun Peter baptized two others which established the first Catholic community in Korea. The reality of Christianty began among intellectuals and the well to do but quickly passed to the middle class and began to spread rapidly.  A hierarchy for Korea was only established in 1831.
  Today Catholics number a little over 10.3 % of the population and is growing rapidly.  During the day we visited the cathedral of Seoul and Archbishop Yeom Soon-jung gracious received us and spoke about the persecutions of the Catholics but more about that later.  We celebated the Eucharist in the cathedral with Archbishop Kim presiding.  The Cathedral was packed. The liturgy was celebrated with great singing of traditional music and lively participation.

   After the celebration we enjoyed some Korean traditional food and then went on to the seminary to meet the retired Cardinal Cheong Jinsuk.  There we learned more about the persecutions of Catholics.  The primary cause seems to be that Catholics broke with the traditional practices of ancestry worship. According to Confucianism every family should practice an ancestor rite honoring them for four generations.  Because of the disputes in China between 1643 and 1742 among missionaries with the church, especially with Matteo Ricci, sj and the Mendicant orders, Rome finally spoke in 1715 with a letter (Ex illa die) from Pope Clement XI that condemed the use of ancestor rites which were understood to be idolatrous worship.  This provked a serious crisis for the believers in Joseon when they were prohibited from this practice in 1790.  Some abandoned the faith while others stayed and had to face the consequences of clinging to their beliefs.While the practice in China was the object of  Papal condemnatin there was a difference between the practice of ancestor rites in China and those in Korea.  The point of contention in China was whether God's name could be used in a ceremony which worshipped Confucius and whether these rites were purely religious or just civil ceremonies. In Korea, the question was whether the ancestor was enshrined in the tables used during the rites and if God was indeed the focus of these ceremonies.  The persecutions went on in waves from 1791 to 1886.
  We had an interesting discussion with the emeritus Cardinal about the issues of inculturation and the persecutions that led to the first martyrs of the faith recognized by the Church.

It was actually the first ordained Korean native priest Andrew Kim Tae-gon (1945) who suffered martyrdom in 1846 who would eventually be canonized along with 103 Korean martyrs in 1984 by Pope John Paul II. The remains of these martyrs are venerated in the crypt of the cathedral and  in the seminary in Seoul.

Today the seminary in Seoul has 280 seminarians.  We ended our day by visiting the seminary and meeting some of the seminarians.  We learned that they were only a small number of the 1,200 seminarians in the whole country.

Even though the day was long, we learned a lot about this growing church and its relationships with other Christians and with "neighboring" religions which is the way that the interreligious dialogue in Korea speaks of other religions.
  My last picture today is of the whole delegation at the Cathedral.  Tomorrow I will be off to visit  a major temple and to the Martyrs' shrine. It became obvious for me in listening to the Korean Catholics that the blood of the martyrs has indeed born much fruit.
Peace and all good!

Welcome to Korea

Well here I am in Korea!
  The flight was direct from Rome to Incheon International Airport which is on an island.  It is one of the most modern and beautifully conceived airports in the world.  The flight KE 928 Korean Airlines was a 747 with not an empty seat.  Most of the Vatican delegation was on this flight.  We departed Rome at 23.00 and the flight took just over 11 hours and was conducted with oriental elegance even though we were in coach.  I was in the row with four along with Bishop Brian Farrell from the Pontifical Council.  I was able to sleep but poor Brian didn't close his eyes.
  After arriving at 1700, we went through imigration formality very radiply and as we picked up our luggage we were greated by the nuncio in Korea, Archbishop Osvaldo Padilla and by Archbishop Yeom Soon-jung of Seoul.  We had a quick meal in the airport and then went by bus to the Korean Bishops' Conference where we are staying until going to Busan for the Assembly.  What a bus ride! I said before that the airport is on an Island so we had to cross a long bridge into the city of Seoul.  It was now 2200 and it was as if it were day-time with bumper to bumper traffic.  We didn't arrive at the residence until 2300.
  Tomorrow it is off to the cathedral for the Eucharist and then visit to the Emeritus Archbishop, Cardinal Cheong Jinsuk.  Our day will end with a visit to the Catholic University of Seoul and meal with the seminarians.
Peace and all good!