South Korea: The "new evangelization" in the 2012 pastoral letters of the South Korean Bishops

Seoul - To promote a "new evangelization" in the spirit of Vatican II, 50 years since its inception, and strengthen the development of a number of priorities including the family, life, the elderly, small Christian communities, missionary work and the spirituality of martyrdom. These are the essential points of the pastoral letters for 2012, made public in this period of Advent by the South Korean bishops. The faithful are asked to renew their commitment to the task of proclaiming and defending the non-negotiable values that underlie the doctrine of the Church and faith in Christ. The South Korean Church is among the most important and active churches in Asia and shows a steady increase in its faithful: Catholics are over 5 million and constitute more than 10% of the total population, but the challenge - as demonstrated by the Bishops' Conference - is to promote evangelization.

In the letter entitled "New Evangelization in a new era, recalling the spirit of Vatican II," Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, archbishop of Seoul, invites the faithful to draw inspiration from the ideas of the Council, which still today "are an essential point of reference" to address the challenges of modern society and solve its problems. The cardinal calls on Catholics to reawaken their missionary spirit "on the basis of the common Spirit reaffirmed by the Second Vatican Council." Bishop Thaddeus Cho Hwan-kil, Archbishop of Daegu, a diocese that in 2011 celebrated the centenary of its birth, invites the faithful to "participate actively in the second synod of the archdiocese," which he calls an "opportunity for renewal."

The Archbishop of Gwangju Mgr. Hyginus Kim Hee-joong recalls instead the 75 years since the erection of the diocese that will be celebrated in 2012. In the letter entitled "The Evangelization begins in the family," the prelate reminds Catholics that the task of announcing the Gospel is to be promoted right from home, because "the family is the solid foundation" on which the "new evangelization" rests. He also encourages families to be "witnesses of prayer, proclaiming the Gospel and serving the world."

Bishop Matthias Ri Iong-hoon, president of the Bishop of Suwon and the Justice and Peace Commission of the Bishops' Conference, recalls the fierce defense of life and the battle against contraception, euthanasia, abortion and all that is contrary to the dignity of human life. To this is added the environmental campaign against the project of the four great rivers and the construction of a naval base on the island of Jeju.