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| In South Korea, Pope Francis Offers Consolation and Hope | In South Korea, Pope Francis Offers Consolation and Hope |
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| SEOUL, South Korea — Pope Francis arrived in South Korea on Thursday, beginning the first papal visit to Asia since 1999 by expressing hope for reconciliation on the divided Korean Peninsula and offering consolation to the families who lost hundreds of children to a ferry disaster in April. | SEOUL, South Korea — Pope Francis arrived in South Korea on Thursday, beginning the first papal visit to Asia since 1999 by expressing hope for reconciliation on the divided Korean Peninsula and offering consolation to the families who lost hundreds of children to a ferry disaster in April. |
| “I came here thinking of peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula,” the pope told President Park Geun-hye, who greeted him Thursday morning at a military airport south of Seoul, the capital, often used by visiting heads of state. | “I came here thinking of peace and reconciliation on the Korean Peninsula,” the pope told President Park Geun-hye, who greeted him Thursday morning at a military airport south of Seoul, the capital, often used by visiting heads of state. |
| Underscoring the military tensions on the peninsula, North Korea fired three short-range rockets off its east coast shortly before the pope’s arrival from the west, over China. Later, after the pope landed, the North fired two more rockets. Pyongyang has conducted such launchings frequently in recent months. | |
| The pope’s trip is widely seen as indicative of the Vatican’s growing interest in Asia, where Roman Catholicism is a minority religion in most countries but is growing quickly, reflecting a shift away from the church’s traditional geographic base. While Europe and North America accounted for most of the world’s Catholics a century ago, a comparable percentage now lives in Latin America, Africa and Asia, according to Msgr. Robert J. Wister, professor of church history at Seton Hall University’s Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology. | The pope’s trip is widely seen as indicative of the Vatican’s growing interest in Asia, where Roman Catholicism is a minority religion in most countries but is growing quickly, reflecting a shift away from the church’s traditional geographic base. While Europe and North America accounted for most of the world’s Catholics a century ago, a comparable percentage now lives in Latin America, Africa and Asia, according to Msgr. Robert J. Wister, professor of church history at Seton Hall University’s Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology. |
| Nearly 11 percent of South Korea’s population identified as Catholic in 2005, the last time a nationwide census on religious affiliation was conducted. | Nearly 11 percent of South Korea’s population identified as Catholic in 2005, the last time a nationwide census on religious affiliation was conducted. |
| During his five-day visit to South Korea, the pope plans to attend Asian Youth Day, a gathering of young Catholics, and to beatify 124 Catholics who were killed amid religious persecution in the 19th century. | During his five-day visit to South Korea, the pope plans to attend Asian Youth Day, a gathering of young Catholics, and to beatify 124 Catholics who were killed amid religious persecution in the 19th century. |
| For South Korea, the pope’s trip comes after a troubling few months. The country is still grieving the loss of more than 300 people, mostly children, in the April 16 sinking of the Sewol, a ferry, off the southwestern coast, South Korea’s worst man-made disaster in decades. More recently, news reports have been dominated by revelations about the death of an army conscript after beatings and torture by his fellow soldiers. | |
| At a brief welcoming ceremony Thursday at the airport, the pope met with the father of Park Seong-ho, an 18-year-old student who died in the ferry sinking, and with three other people who had lost family members. Mr. Park, a Catholic, had wanted to be a priest, according to his relatives. | |
| “My heart aches for you,” said the pope. “I remember the victims.” The pope held the hands of the relatives, some of whom were in tears during the meeting, according to local reporters. | |
| For weeks, people who lost family members on the Sewol have been demonstrating in front of Parliament, camping out in downtown Seoul and in some cases holding hunger strikes, accusing the government of covering up aspects of the disaster. Organizers have asked for the pope’s support in their demand for an independent inquiry. | |
| “We would like to know the truth about the disaster. We would like to make such disasters never happen again,” said Kim Byung-kwon, a representative of the families whose daughter died on the Sewol. “We believe the pope will share our wishes with all of those who are always ready to stand by the weak and the suffering in the world.” | |
| Ms. Park alluded to the continuing tensions with North Korea as she greeted the pope. “I hope your visit will bring warm comfort to our people and help open an era of peace and reconciliation to replace the division and confrontation on the Korean Peninsula,” she said. | Ms. Park alluded to the continuing tensions with North Korea as she greeted the pope. “I hope your visit will bring warm comfort to our people and help open an era of peace and reconciliation to replace the division and confrontation on the Korean Peninsula,” she said. |
| Earlier Thursday, two North Korean men swam to a South Korean island near the countries’ disputed sea border off the west coast, shouting that they wanted to defect, according to South Korean officials. Tens of thousands of North Koreans have defected to the South through third countries, usually China, but cross-border defections are rare. | Earlier Thursday, two North Korean men swam to a South Korean island near the countries’ disputed sea border off the west coast, shouting that they wanted to defect, according to South Korean officials. Tens of thousands of North Koreans have defected to the South through third countries, usually China, but cross-border defections are rare. |
| North Korea’s state-run Catholic organization, which, along with its official churches and temples, is widely dismissed as an attempt by the regime to hide its persecution of religious worshipers, declined an invitation to send a delegation to a papal Mass scheduled in Seoul on Monday. | North Korea’s state-run Catholic organization, which, along with its official churches and temples, is widely dismissed as an attempt by the regime to hide its persecution of religious worshipers, declined an invitation to send a delegation to a papal Mass scheduled in Seoul on Monday. |
| After landing at the airport, the pope was driven to the Vatican Embassy in a Korean-made compact sedan, a Kia Soul. |