Pope Francis speaks during the feast-day Mass on a one-day trip to the Calabrian region of Italy on Saturday, June 21. The Pope spoke out against the Mafia's "adoration of evil and contempt for the common good," and declared that "mafiosi are excommunicated, not in communion with God.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HIDE CAPTION

 

Pope Francis

 

<<

<

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

>

>>

 

Editor's note: Franklin Rausch is an assistant professor at Lander University in the Department of History and Philosophy. He just finished teaching a course on Modern East Asia as part of Kyungpook National University's Global Summer School in Daegu, Korea. His research focuses on the relationship between religion and violence, particularly the anti-Catholic persecutions in Korea during the Joseon dynasty. He earned his doctoral degree from the University of British Columbia, where he focused on the history of Catholicism in Korea. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) -- The simple answer to the question why Pope Francis is headed to South Korea, in the first papal trip to Asia in 25 years, is straightforward. The pope is going to celebrate the sixth Asian Youth Day and beatify 124 martyrs of Korea.

But the more complex answer has to take into consideration the Korean Catholic Church's unique history and the pope's theological agenda. These can give us a deeper understanding of why he is making this trip.

Franklin Rausch is an an assistant professor at Lander University and researched Catholicism in South Korea.

While South Korea may not be viewed as an overtly Catholic nation (compared to the Philippines, the most Christian nation in Asia), at least 10% of South Korea's population belong to the Church, according to its statistics.

The Catholic Church in Korea enjoys a high level of respect from non-Catholics, maintains good relations with other religious communities, and has a history of positive social engagement for the common good. Pope Francis's visit will recognize these accomplishments, a move that will not only please Koreans, but hold up their church as a model of evangelization.

Evangelizing in Asia

 

Pope begs for forgiveness

 

Will there be true accountability?

 

Victim to Pope: Take action today

 

Pope Francis excommunicates mobsters

Since it is Asia that has the greatest potential for the growth of Catholicism, it makes sense to highlight an Asian success story and to recognize the Asian youth who will be called on to continue that growth.

Evangelization is in fact a key concern for Pope Francis. His apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, focused on this topic and called for the transformation of the Catholic Church to focus on "the evangelization of today's world rather than for her self-preservation."

The pope's concept of evangelization does not focus simply on baptizing new Catholics, but, as seen in the chapter from that exhortation entitled "The Social Dimension of Evangelization," also includes a call for the inclusion of the "homeless, the addicted, refugees, indigenous peoples, [and] the elderly who are increasingly isolated and abandoned." Moreover, this pope, while recognizing the importance of ordained clergy, decried "clericalism" before the publication of this exhortation, sees the laity as having an active role in evangelization.

The pope's concerns as expressed in Evengelii Gaudium therefore resonate with the historical accomplishments of the Korean Catholic Church in that it has grown into a relatively large and healthy Catholic community with much of the work of evangelization being conducted by the laity.

It is no accident that during his trip the pope will visit Kkottongnae (Flower Village), a Catholic institution devoted to caring for such marginalized groups as the elderly and the homeless, where he will meet with leaders of the Apostolate of the Laity.

Origins of Korean Catholic Church

The Korean Catholic Church began with the baptism of a Korean scholar named Yi Seung-hun in Beijing in 1784, who had developed an interest in Catholicism after reading Chinese books on the religion. After his baptism, Yi returned to Korea and began baptizing others, so that there were already 4,000 Catholics there before a missionary -- a Chinese priest named Father James Zhou Wen-mo, himself one of the martyrs to be beatified -- arrived in 1794.

The Korean state could not tolerate the existence of a foreign religion whose members recognized a deity outside government control and persecuted the new church. Catholics were given the choice of giving up their religion or being sentenced to death, with several thousands choosing the latter and becoming martyrs.

Despite these persecutions, the church managed to survive and rebuild itself multiple times. While foreign missionaries played an important role, much of the work of maintaining the community and spreading the faith was carried out by the laity.

The coming of religious tolerance in the late 19th century led to an increase in the number of Catholics, but it was not until the 1960s that the Catholic Church in Korea began to grow quickly. While that growth has slowed down in recent years, the church is quite healthy, with its approximately five million members, according to the church.

At the same time, it must be stressed that the Korean Catholic Church faces challenges. Growth has declined, and many newly baptized Catholics leave the faith or become lukewarm. Likewise, Korean society has many of the difficulties post-industrial societies in the West face, such as the "unbridled consumerism" the pope decried in his apostolic exhortation. It is here that one can see the importance of the martyrs who the pope will beatify. In their stories, one sees Catholics giving up wealth, sex, and even life itself out of their love for others and for God.

The pope will no doubt highlight how their devotion to the faith led to the growth and development of the Catholic Community in Korea, allowing him to echo the themes found in his exhortation. The fact that he will beatify these martyrs in Korea the day after Koreans celebrate their independence from Japan, will not be missed by Koreans.

The pope likely hopes that this recognition, and the teaching opportunity it provides, will renew evangelization in Korea, and through it, the world.

觀點：為什麼教皇弗朗西斯去韓國？
由富蘭克林勞施，特向美國有線新聞網
2014年8月13日 - 更新0221 GMT（1021 HKT）
在為期一天的意大利之旅上週六，6月21日卡拉布里亞地區教宗表示反對黑手黨的盛宴日彌撒期間，教皇弗朗西斯說的是“邪惡的崇拜和蔑視的共同利益”，並宣稱“黑手黨被逐出教會，而不是與上帝。“ 在為期一天的意大利之旅上週六，6月21日卡拉布里亞地區教宗表示反對黑手黨的盛宴日彌撒期間，教皇弗朗西斯說的是“邪惡的崇拜和蔑視的共同利益”，並宣稱“黑手黨被逐出教會，而不是與上帝。“
隱藏字幕
教皇弗朗西斯
<<
<
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24
>
>>
新聞提要
教皇是為了慶祝第六屆亞洲青年日，並美化124烈士韓國
亞洲有天主教的增長潛力最大
韓國天主教有倖存的迫害史
編者按：富蘭克林勞施為蘭德大學的助理教授歷史和哲學系。他剛剛完成教學課程對現代東亞的慶北國立大學全球暑期學校在韓國大邱的一部分。他的研究重點是朝鮮王朝的宗教和暴 ​​力，特別是在韓國的反天主教的迫害之間的關係。他獲得了來自不列顛哥倫比亞省，在那裡他專注於天主教在韓國歷史上大學博士學位。發表本評論中的觀點僅為作者。
（CNN） -簡單問題的答案，為什麼教皇弗朗西斯前往韓國，在第一教皇亞洲之行的25年裡，很簡單。教宗將要慶祝第六屆亞洲青年日，並美化124烈士韓國。
但更複雜的答案是考慮到韓國天主教會的獨特歷史和教皇的神學議題。這些可以給我們他為什麼做這行有更深的了解。
富蘭克林·勞施是一個助理教授蘭德大學和研究天主教在韓國。
富蘭克林·勞施是一個助理教授蘭德大學和研究天主教在韓國。
而韓國可能不被看作是一個公開的天主教國家（相比於菲律賓，最基督教國家，在亞洲），韓國的人口至少有10％是屬於教會，根據其統計數據。
天主教會​​在韓國享有的尊重非天主教徒的高水平，保持與其他宗教社區的良好關係，具有積極的社會參與，謀求共同利益的歷史。教皇弗朗西斯的訪問將認識到這些成就，不僅會請韓國人一招，但托起他們的教會福傳的典範。
傳福音在亞洲
教皇乞求寬恕 會不會有真正的問責？ 受害人教宗：今天採取行動 教皇弗朗西斯excommunicates暴徒
既然是亞洲有天主教的增長潛力最大的，是有意義的突出亞洲的成功故事，並認識到在亞洲的青春誰就會被要求繼續這種增長。
福傳，其實是教皇弗朗西斯一個關鍵問題。他的宗座勸諭，傳福音Gaudium，專注於這一主題，並呼籲天主教會的改造，圍繞“當今世界的福音，而不是她的自我保護。”
福傳教宗的概念，不注重單純的施洗新的天主教徒，但是，​​從該訓誡題為章看到“福傳的社會層面，”還包括要求列入了“無家可歸的沉迷，難民，土著民族，[和]老人誰是越來越孤立和拋棄。“ 此外，這位教皇，同時承認任命的神職人員的重要性，這種勸告公佈前譴責“教權主義”，認為俗人具有在福傳方面發揮積極作用。
因此，所表達的Evengelii Gaudium教皇的關注與共鳴韓國天主教會的歷史成就，它已經成長為一個比較大的，健康的天主教社區，多福傳工作由俗人也在進行中。
這並非偶然，在他的行程，教宗將訪問Kkottongnae（花村），天主教機構，專門照顧這些被邊緣化的群體為老人和無家可歸者，在那裡他將與平信徒的使徒的領導人。
韓國天主教會的起源
韓國天主教會開始與一個名為益升勳在北京於1784年在韓國的學者，誰制定的宗教讀中國書後，天主教有興趣的洗禮。在他的洗禮，易建聯回到了韓國，並開始施洗別人，這樣有一個傳教士之前已經4000天主教徒那裡 - 中國的牧師父親名叫詹姆斯·周文謨，自己是烈士之一要享福 - 抵達1794 。
韓國國家無法容忍外來宗教，其成員認可的政府控制之外的神和迫害的新教堂的存在。天主教徒被賦予放棄自己的宗教或者被判處死刑，與數千選擇了後者，成為烈士的選擇。
儘管有這些迫害，教會管理的生存和自我重建多次。儘管外國傳教士發揮了重要作用，大大維護社區和傳播信心的工作是進行的俗人。
在宗教寬容在19世紀末即將導致增加天主教徒的人數，但直到20世紀60年代，天主教會在韓國開始快速增長。儘管這種增長在最近幾年放緩，教會是相當健康的，其大約500萬成員，根據教堂。
同時，必須強調的是，韓國天主教會面臨的挑戰。增速有所回落，許多新受洗的天主教徒離開信仰或成為不冷不熱。同樣，韓國社會有很多的困難，後工業社會的西方面孔，如“肆無忌憚的消費主義”譴責他的宗座勸諭教皇。正是在這裡，人們可以看到誰教皇將美化烈士的重要性。在他們的故事，人們看到的天主教徒放棄財富，性別，甚至生命本身出了自己的愛心，為他人和上帝。
教皇無疑將如何突出自己奉獻的信念導致了天主教團體在韓國的成長和發展，這讓他呼應他的勸勉中發現的主題。他將當天美化這些烈士在韓國之後，韓國人慶祝他們的獨立從日本，事實不會被韓國人錯過。
教宗可能希望認識到這一點，並在教學的機會提供，將在韓國更新福傳，並通過它，世界。