UPDATE
November 23, 2007
Dear Friends,
May the love of the Lord
and the Blessed Mother be with you and your family!
All the current and
retired Bishops of Korea arrived in Rome today for the ad limina
meetings at the Holy See from November 26 to December 3. The ad limina
visits are the official visits that all the current Bishops in each
country are required to make to the Holy See every several years to
strengthen their understanding and unity between the Vatican. It is
expected that the main topic of discussion between the Holy See and the
Korean Bishops this time will be Naju and the problem of modernism among
many priests and laity in Korea, which are two closely-related issues. We
hope and pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire and guide all the
participants in this historic meeting so that the full orthodoxy and
genuine missionary fervor may be restored in the Catholic Church in Korea
for the benefit of the whole world.
The liberal forces in
Korea have also been aware of the importance of the ad limina
meetings and have taken forceful measures to damage the reputation of Naju.
In addition to their ongoing persecution of Julia Kim and the pilgrims to
Naju by prohibiting them from entering the churches and receiving the
Sacraments, they instigated a secular TV company (MBC TV in Seoul, the
largest privately-owned TV company in Korea) to produce a 50-minute report
on Naju for the specific purpose of tarnishing the public perception of
Julia and Naju by focusing on the groundless accusations of Julia and Naju
as if they were truths. The enclosed information will show how they are
unjustly and illegally misleading the audience and how the Kwangju
Archdiocese, which has the local authority on the Naju question,
instigated and assisted the MBC TV in producing this program. The reports
by the opponents of Naju, however, are not likely to be accepted as
credible by the Holy See. The Church has well-established standards for
investigating anything that touches on the faith and morals. We have full
trust in the Holy Father and his Cardinals that they will not be shaken by
the biased reports by some Korean Bishops and will lead the Church firmly
on the path of the authentic Catholic teachings and traditions.
It seems that the future
course of Naju and of the Church will critically depend on the outcome of
the Holy See’s encounter with the Korean Bishops during this ad limina
visit. We trust that good decisions will be made by the Holy Father and
his Cardinals, but, at the same time, recognize that most of the footwork
and manual labor are our share, the lay people’s, under the guidance and
cooperation of their priests. Let us renew our conviction and
determination that the Catholic Church, which has been seriously ill, can
be restored to its full vigor and purity by the Holy Spirit and our humble
but devoted assistance.
Sincerely yours,
Benedict Sang M. Lee
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