This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/19/world/asia/pope-caps-visit-to-south-korea-with-plea-for-reconciliation.html

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Pope Caps Visit to South Korea With Plea for Reconciliation Pope Ends Trip With Plea for Korean Reconciliation
(about 20 hours later)
SEOUL, South Korea — Pope Francis wrapped up the first papal visit to Asia in 15 years on Monday with calls for forgiveness and renewed dialogue on the divided Korean Peninsula and for more humanitarian aid for North Korea. SEOUL, South Korea — Pope Francis wrapped up his five-day visit to South Korea on Monday with calls for forgiveness and renewed dialogue on the divided Korean Peninsula and for more humanitarian aid for North Korea.
“Let us pray, then, for the emergence of new opportunities for dialogue, encounter and the resolution of differences, for continued generosity in providing humanitarian assistance to those in need, and for an ever greater recognition that all Koreans are brothers and sisters, members of one family, one people,” the pope said during a Mass in Myeongdong Cathedral, the center of South Korean Catholicism, that was attended by President Park Geun-hye. “Let us pray, then, for the emergence of new opportunities for dialogue, encounter and the resolution of differences, for continued generosity in providing humanitarian assistance to those in need, and for an ever greater recognition that all Koreans are brothers and sisters, members of one family, one people,” the pope said during a Mass in Myeongdong Cathedral, the center of South Korean Catholicism. The Mass was attended by President Park Geun-hye.
Shortly after Francis’ appeal, the South Korean government issued a statement on Monday asking North Korea to accept its proposal from last week for high-level dialogue. It said that if North Korea behaves responsibly, it is ready to “discuss any subject,” including the possible easing of economic sanctions that it had imposed after the sinking of a South Korean warship in 2010, for which the South placed blame on the North. Shortly after Francis’ appeal on Monday, the South Korean government issued a statement asking North Korea to accept its proposal from last week for high-level dialogue. The proposal said that if North Korea behaved responsibly, South Korea would be ready to “discuss any subject,” including the possible easing of economic sanctions imposed after the sinking of a South Korean warship in 2010, for which the South blamed the North.
The South Korean government has maintained that those sanctions, including the suspension of inter-Korean trade, will stay until North Korea apologizes for the sinking, which killed 46 sailors. The North has denied involvement.The South Korean government has maintained that those sanctions, including the suspension of inter-Korean trade, will stay until North Korea apologizes for the sinking, which killed 46 sailors. The North has denied involvement.
Speaking at the same altar from which Korean Catholic leaders of the past had often influenced government policy with appeals for tolerance and criticism of dictatorships, Pope Francis ended his five-day visit with an impassioned plea for forgiveness and reconciliation with North Korea. On Monday, the North Korean Foreign Ministry warned that the country would take an “unpredictable, high-level” counteraction against the joint annual military drill that the United States and South Korea had begun earlier in the day. Although the two allies called their exercise defensive in nature, the North called it a rehearsal for nuclear war.
“Peter asks the Lord: ‘If my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ To which the Lord replies: ‘Not seven times, I tell you, but 70 times seven,'” the pope said. “Unless we are prepared to do this, how can we honestly pray for peace and reconciliation?” Speaking at the same altar from which Korean Catholic leaders of the past often influenced government policy with appeals for tolerance and criticism of dictatorships, Pope Francis ended his visit with an impassioned plea for forgiveness and reconciliation with North Korea.
“Peter asks the Lord: ‘If my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ To which the Lord replies: ‘Not seven times, I tell you, but 70 times seven,’ ” the pope said. “Unless we are prepared to do this, how can we honestly pray for peace and reconciliation?”
“In telling us to forgive our brothers unreservedly,” Francis said in reference to Jesus, “he is asking us to do something utterly radical.”“In telling us to forgive our brothers unreservedly,” Francis said in reference to Jesus, “he is asking us to do something utterly radical.”
Such a message usually does not go down very well with right-wing Protestants in South Korea, some of whom have protested the pope’s visit. Although Protestant groups have led efforts to ship aid to North Korea, they also constitute the most vocal activists against the Communist government in Pyongyang. They have burned its leader, Kim Jong-un, in effigy during outdoor rallies and have released large balloons that were timed to unleash anti-Kim leaflets over the isolated North. Many South Korean Protestant missionaries work undercover in northeastern China, smuggling North Korean refugees to South Korea and sneaking Bibles into the North. Such a message usually is not received very well by right-wing Protestants in South Korea, some of whom have protested the pope’s visit. Although Protestant groups have led efforts to ship aid to North Korea, they also constitute the most vocal activists against the Communist government in Pyongyang. During outdoor rallies, they have burned in effigy its leader, Kim Jong-un, and they have released large balloons that were timed to distribute anti-Kim leaflets over the isolated North. Many South Korean Protestant missionaries work undercover in northeastern China, smuggling North Koreans to the South and sneaking Bibles into the North.
Last Monday, South Korea proposed high-level government talks with the North. When the rival governments last held such talks in February, they arranged a round of reunions of aging Korean relatives who were separated during the 1950-53 Korean War. South Korea’s proposal last week requested high-level government talks with the North like the ones held in February, when the rival governments arranged a round of reunions of aging relatives who had been separated in the early 1950s by the Korean War.
Such reunions are a highly emotional issue on the divided peninsula, and South Korea had hoped to arrange a new round around Chuseok, the Korean Thanksgiving holiday on Sept. 8 that is a traditional time for family gatherings. But so far, North Korea has not responded to the overture, instead reiterating its demand for the lifting of sanctions. Such reunions are a highly emotional issue on the divided peninsula, and South Korea had hoped to arrange a new round in time for the traditional family gatherings of Chuseok, the Korean Thanksgiving on Sept. 8. So far, North Korea has not responded to the overture, instead reiterating its demand for the lifting of sanctions.
“If the North has a demand, it must first come to the table of dialogue,” the South’s Unification Ministry said in a statement on Monday. “If the North shows a responsible attitude, we are ready to discuss anything for the improvement of South-North relations.” The South Korean Catholic church had asked the North to send a delegation to the pope’s Mass for peace and reconciliation on Monday, but the North rejected the offer. North Korea only tolerates government-sanctioned churches and temples, which are widely dismissed as an attempt to hide its persecution of religious worshipers. “If the North has a demand, it must first come to the table of dialogue,” the South’s Unification Ministry said Monday in a statement. “If the North shows a responsible attitude, we are ready to discuss anything for the improvement of South-North relations.”
The so-called separated families have long served as a symbol of the torturous modern history of Korea, a nation the pope on Monday said was “a people dispersed by disaster and division.” At the beginning of the Mass on Monday, Francis greeted and consoled another such symbol: seven women who said they were forced or deceived into working at front-line brothels for Japan’s army during World War II. The South Korean Catholic Church had asked the North to send a delegation to the pope’s Mass for peace and reconciliation on Monday, but the North rejected the offer. North Korea tolerates only government-approved churches and temples, which are widely dismissed as an attempt to hide state persecution of religious worshipers.
Historians estimate that Japan mobilized as many as 200,000 such women across Asia, many of them from Korea, a Japanese colony at the time. The separated families have long served as a symbol of the torturous modern history of Korea, which the pope on Monday called “a people dispersed by disaster and division.”
The seven women, in their 80s and 90s, are among 55 surviving “comfort women,” who are demanding an apology from Japan and compensation for sexual slavery that they said sometimes included being violated by dozens of Japanese soldiers a day. Some of the women have held a weekly demonstration in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul for more than 20 years. The South Korean government supports the women’s demands, while Tokyo has insisted that the matter was settled under a 1965 treaty that re-established diplomatic ties between the two nations. At the beginning of the Mass, Francis greeted and consoled seven women who have said they were forced or deceived into working at front-line brothels for Japan’s army during World War II. Historians estimate that Japan mobilized as many as 200,000 such women across Asia, many of them from Korea, a Japanese colony at the time.
Invited to sit in the front row during the Mass, the seven women delivered Francis a gift: a painting by a former sex slave who died in 2004. The work showed a sad-looking Korean girl in a traditional white-and-black dress, contrasted with pink flowers, and was titled “A Flower That Did Not Blossom.” Those who survived sexual slavery stayed unmarried or hid their wartime background because of the shame. The seven women, in their 80s and 90s, are among 55 surviving “comfort women,” who have demanded an apology from Japan and compensation for sexual slavery. They have said that they were sometimes violated by dozens of Japanese soldiers a day. Some of the women have held weekly demonstrations in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul for more than 20 years. The South Korean government supports the women’s demands, while Tokyo has insisted that the matter was settled under a 1965 treaty that re-established diplomatic ties between the two nations.
Invited to sit in the front row during the Mass, the seven women delivered the pope a gift: a painting by a former sex slave who died in 2004. The work, showing a downcast Korean girl in a traditional white-and-black dress with contrasting pink flowers, was titled “A Flower That Did Not Blossom.” Many of those who survived sexual slavery stayed unmarried or hid their wartime backgrounds because of the shame.