Journey to reconciliation with North Korea is ‘not yet over,’ says South Korean prelate

The archbishop of Seoul in South Korea said that the journey for national reconciliation with North Korea is far from over.

"The Korean Peninsula is stuck in 80 years of suspicion, exclusion, and hatred, and if we want to move forward into a new era, we must begin with a conversion that changes our hearts,” said Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taek.

The prelate was celebrating a Holy Mass for the 30th foundation anniversary of the National Reconciliation Committee of the Archdiocese of Seoul on March 12.

This committee has pursued peace efforts through prayer, education, and sharing to maintain positive relations between North and South Korea.

Archbishop Chung lamented the current situation of the North-South Korean relations, which he described as rooted in “hatred rather than love, discord rather than reconciliation, and division rather than unity.”

“We should ask for the courage to boldly walk this path again and remember once again our mission for peace on the Korean peninsula, reconciliation between the North and the South, and the evangelization of all people,” he said.

The committee was founded by the late Cardinal Kim Su-hwan, then-Archbishop of Seoul and Bishop of Pyongyang, on March 1, 1995, 50 years after Korea was divided and 45 years after the outbreak of the Korean War.

Since its establishment, the committee has been offering a weekly Mass every Tuesday for peace and the reunification of North and South Korea at the Myeongdong Cathedral.

According to Archbishop Chung, they have celebrated 1,457 Masses for this particular intention.

Recognizing the efforts of the National Reconciliation Committee, the prelate urged them to join forces with other organizations, civil parties, and religious groups to usher in a new era of conversation and “change the hearts of the North and the South.”

The Thanksgiving Mass for the committee’s anniversary was attended by Cardinal Yeom Soo-jung, Archbishop Choi Chang-moo, the committee’s first president, and Archbishop Giovanni Gasparri, papal nuncio to Korea.