As missionary month begins, South Korea's bishops focus on the family, first school for values.

Seoul (AsiaNews/CBCK) – The evangelisation of the family, which is going through a crisis because of secularism and indifference, "is an objective of the Korean Church in the missionary month of October," said Mgr John Choi Young-soo, chairman of the Episcopal Committee for Evangelisation, in presenting the Bishops' Conference of Korea's message for the month dedicate to mission.

Entitled Let Us Endeavour to Evangelize the Family!, the message stresses how the South Korean family is going through a crisis caused by several factors such as "indifference to the Sunday mass, a rising divorce rate, widening generation gap" which together make any dialogue difficult.

For the prelate, "the evangelisation of the family means changing our inner self through the word of Jesus and building a new order based on it".

To achieve that goal, "some practical steps can be taken". First of all, Mgr Choi writes, "we must build the family on mutual love. A day of dialogue with the Lord in which the family can communicate with sincerity is the best path".

The family, he added, "must become a place of prayer. The father must educate the children about life and the mother must lead them in prayer. Everyone must actively participate in the grace of the Sacraments".

Finally, the prelate stressed the "importance of reading the Bible together. Thanks to the Gospel, moral value and the faith can grow in vigour. Let us evangelise the family, which is the first school for the young in which they can learn virtue."

• south
• korea
• evangelisation
• family
• john
• choi
• young-soi
• october
• missionary
• month