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| Pope Francis Welcomed in South Korea | 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 the scores 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 the scores 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. | “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. |
| Francis impressed many South Koreans with his humble touch when he chose to ride to the Vatican Embassy in a Kia Soul hatchback, one of the smallest cars in the country. His security details and other officials followed in big sedans. | Francis impressed many South Koreans with his humble touch when he chose to ride to the Vatican Embassy in a Kia Soul hatchback, one of the smallest cars in the country. His security details and other officials followed in big sedans. |
| “The pope rode in a Soul because he is full of soul. Soul Soul Seoul!” wrote a South Korean on his Twitter account. Another Twitter user praised the pope as “a real leader not only because he rejected pomposity and vanity but also because he showed concern about global warming.” | |
| During his five-day visit, 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, 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. At a brief welcoming ceremony at the airport, the pope met with the father of an 18-year-old student who died in the ferry sinking, and with three other people who lost family members. | 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. At a brief welcoming ceremony at the airport, the pope met with the father of an 18-year-old student who died in the ferry sinking, and with three other people who lost family members. |
| “My heart aches for you,” the pope said. “I remember the victims.” | “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. | 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. |
| 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.” | 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.” |