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| Pope Francis Welcomed in South Korea | |
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| SEOUL, South Korea — Pope Francis, arriving in South Korea on Thursday, expressed hope for reconciliation on the divided Korean Peninsula and offered consolation to the relatives of hundreds of children who died in a ferry disaster in April. | SEOUL, South Korea — Pope Francis, arriving in South Korea on Thursday, expressed hope for reconciliation on the divided Korean Peninsula and offered consolation to the relatives of hundreds of children who died in 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 at a military airport south of Seoul, the capital, that is 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. After his plane landed, the North fired two more rockets. North Korea has conducted such launchings frequently in recent months. | Underscoring the military tensions on the peninsula, North Korea fired three short-range rockets off its east coast shortly before the pope’s arrival. After his plane landed, the North fired two more rockets. North Korea has conducted such launchings frequently in recent months. |
| The pope’s trip is widely seen as indicative of the Vatican’s increasing 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 three-quarters of the world’s Catholics a century ago, the same percentage now lives in Latin America, Africa and Asia, according to Msgr. Robert J. Wister, a 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 increasing 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 three-quarters of the world’s Catholics a century ago, the same percentage now lives in Latin America, Africa and Asia, according to Msgr. Robert J. Wister, a 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 in grief over the loss of more than 300 people, mostly teenagers, in the April 16 sinking of the Sewol, a ferry, off the southwestern coast. More recently, news reports have been dominated by revelations about the death of an army conscript after repeated beatings and torture by his fellow soldiers. | For South Korea, the pope’s trip comes after a troubling few months. The country is still in grief over the loss of more than 300 people, mostly teenagers, in the April 16 sinking of the Sewol, a ferry, off the southwestern coast. More recently, news reports have been dominated by revelations about the death of an army conscript after repeated beatings and torture by his fellow soldiers. |
| At a brief welcoming ceremony 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 lost family members. The younger Mr. Park, a Catholic, had wanted to be a priest, according to his relatives. | At a brief welcoming ceremony 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 lost family members. The younger Mr. Park, a Catholic, had wanted to be a priest, according to his relatives. |
| “My heart aches for you,” the pope said. “I remember the victims.” | |
| For weeks, people who lost family members on the Sewol have been demonstrating in front of Parliament, camping out in central Seoul and in some cases holding hunger strikes, accusing the government of covering up details of the disaster. Organizers have asked for the pope’s support in their demand for an independent inquiry. | |
| The pope was driven to the Vatican Embassy in a Korean-made hatchback, a Kia Soul. | The pope was driven to the Vatican Embassy in a Korean-made hatchback, a Kia Soul. |
| In a welcoming ceremony later at the presidential Blue House, Ms. Park spoke of the pain of the division of the Korean Peninsula, reminding the pope that the Communist North had kidnapped and killed Christian pastors and priests and confiscated their churches. She said she hoped North Korea would abandon its development of nuclear weapons. | In a welcoming ceremony later at the presidential Blue House, Ms. Park spoke of the pain of the division of the Korean Peninsula, reminding the pope that the Communist North had kidnapped and killed Christian pastors and priests and confiscated their churches. She said she hoped North Korea would abandon its development of nuclear weapons. |
| In his remarks at the Blue House, the pope said peace on the Korean Peninsula “affects the stability of the entire area and indeed of our whole war-weary world.” | In his remarks at the Blue House, the pope said peace on the Korean Peninsula “affects the stability of the entire area and indeed of our whole war-weary world.” |