KBS World Radio Home

Pope Calls for Forgiveness in Divided Korean Peninsula

2014-08-18 13:40:53

Anchor: Pope Francis wrapped up his five-day trip to Korea, calling for forgiveness and reconciliation in the divided Korean Peninsula. In his last Mass in Seoul, the pontiff prayed for restoring unity and prosperity for people dispersed by disaster and division.
Our Bae Joo-yon files this report.
 
Report: Pope Francis has called for forgiveness on the Korean Peninsula as a way to open the door to reconciliation.

The pope made the call on his last day in South Korea during the Mass for Peace and Reconciliation held Monday at Seoul’s Myeongdong Cathedral.
 
Noting that the Korean people have experienced division and conflict for well over sixty years, the pontiff discussed God’s promise to restore to unity and prosperity a people dispersed by disaster and division.

[Sound bite: Pope Francis (Italian)]
“Jesus asks us to believe that forgiveness is the door which leads to reconciliation.” 
“Let us pray for the emergence of new opportunities for dialogue, encounter and the resolution of differences, for continued generosity in providing humanitarian assistance to those in need, and for an ever greater recognition that all Koreans are brothers and sisters, members of one family, one people.”
 
Seven elderly victims of Japan’s wartime sex slavery and five North Korean defectors sat in front to listen to the pope.
 
Among some one-thousand people at the Mass were others who suffered from social distresses in the country, such as laid-off workers of Ssangyong Motor Company and residents of Jeju Island’s Gangjeong Village who protested against a controversial naval base being constructed in the area.
 
Along with some of her Cabinet ministers, President Park Geun-hye was invited to the service.
 
With his religious advice to bridge division, heal wound and rebuild the original bonds of love, Pope Francis wrapped up his first trip to Asia.
 
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi on Monday told reporters that the pontiff called his five-days in Korea a gift from God. He said the pope came to feel the pain of a divided country and the tragedy April’s Sewol ferry sinking through his trip.
 
The pope left Korea from Seoul Air Base Monday afternoon.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.