VATICAN CITY (UCAN) - Pope John Paul II has expressed hope that the historic summit meeting between North and South Korean leaders will lead to the reunification of the nation after more than 50 years of separation.
At the Regina Coeli prayer June 11 at the Vatican, the pope said he was joining "all the people of goodwill in congratulating the leaders of both countries for their initiative." South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il were scheduled to meet in Pyongyang on June 12, but the meeting was delayed one day due to what media called "minor technical difficulties."
The pope told the crowd at St. Peter's Square that in a few days, a meeting of "historical importance" for Korea was going to be held. He prayed that the meeting will bring reconciliation to the nation and the reunion of families that have been separated for half a century.
The Holy Father expressed optimism that with the goodwill of both sides, difficulties will be overcome and the summit will bear positive results, giving Korean people a sense of hope. Most South Korean print and broadcast media gave significance to the pope's message, saying that the Catholic leader often highlights specific situations, but only on "very rare" occasions, comments on political meetings. Many newspapers carried the full text of Pope John Paul's message in Korean.
President Kim Dae-jung and his 180 member delegation flew to Pyongyang June 12 for the 3-day inter-Korea summit, which will now begin June 13. He will be the first South Korean president to visit Pyongyang.
Korea was liberated from Japan and divided in two by then Soviet Union and the United States in 1945. Pope John Paul visited South Korea in 1984, and 1989 and formally received the South Korean president last March at the Vatican.
During his Vatican visit, President Kim asked the pope to help mediate the reconciliation between the divided nation by visiting North Korea. The pope responded that he would help and pray, but added that a papal visit to North Korea would be realized only by a "miracle."
There had been very few contacts between the Vatican and North Korea, but these have slowly increased in recent years. In 1996 a Vatican delegation traveled to the North and delivered some relief aid to help alleviate the food difficulties of the country while promising further contributions.
The North thanked the Vatican for the aid and made some vague reference to a future delegation to the Holy See that has not materialized to this day. In early June the pope donated US$50,000 in response to a Church campaign worldwide by Caritas Internationalis seeking to raise $3.6 million to help North Koreans suffering from famine this year.
Since the first private visit in Pyongyang of a Korean priest in 1984, two South Korean bishops and more than 20 priests have visited North Korea.
In May 1998, Archbishop Andrew Choi Chang-mou of Kwangju, then auxiliary bishop of Seoul, made the first pastoral visit to North Korea by a Korean bishop since the Korean War, which ended in 1953. The late Bishop Daniel Tji Hak-soon of Wonju visited Pyongyang in 1985, but the North Korea native bishop's visit was made through a government-sponsored program to reunite family members separated since 1945.
UCAN (12. juni 2000)
12. juni 2000