SEOUL (UCAN) - Some 1,000 Catholic families from all 15 dioceses of South Korea have pledged to take the lead in spreading a pro-life culture at a national family congress.
Participants also promised to build family as a healthy community at the congress on "Jesus in Our Family," held Oct. 14-15 as part of the Korean Church's Jubilee year program.
"We will play the role of mustard seed and yeast in promoting a culture of life and love," the participants said in a declaration. It was read at Mass Oct. 15 by Joseph Yo Kyu-tae, head of the Lay Apostolate Council of Korea.
The participants also urged the government to abolish article 14 of the Mother and Child Health Law, which "partially" allows abortion. As many as 1.5 million abortions are carried out every year through that law, they said.
The congress was held at Kkottongne (flower village) Institute of Charity, a shelter for handicapped and homeless people in Umsong, some 100 kilometers southeast of Seoul.
Bishop Gabriel Chang Bong-hun of Cheongju, who has led a signature campaign against the law since March 14, expressed gratitude that some 1.16 million Catholics and non-Catholics have joined the campaign.
He said that as many as 40 million unborn babies have been killed since the law was enacted in 1973.
With the signature list, the bishops' biannual plenary assembly in September petitioned the National Assembly to abolish the law.
At Mass, Bishop Chang told participants that the family is a "small Church" and a basic unit in society. When a family becomes a community of love and life, the future of the Church and society is full of hope, he added.
The Mass was concelebrated by eight bishops including Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, retired bishop of Seoul, and Archbishop Giovanni Battista Morandini, apostolic nuncio to South Korea.
During the congress, the families participated in sharing sessions where they repented for their wrongdoing to their family members. Heads of families washed the feet of their family members as a sign of love and service to them.
To experience "the pain of homeless people," the some 5,000 participants slept at the institute's open-air auditorium.
The congress began with a ceremony unveiling an image of the Holy Family in front of the Cemetery for Unborn Children near the Kkottongne Institute in Cheongju diocese on the evening Oct. 14. The "cemetery" was built to commemorate all unborn babies.
END
UCAN
23. oktober 2000