Seoul (AsiaNews) – A school that might train “students [who] will serve to overcome the culture of death and contribute to the proclamation of the good news of life in the light of the Catholic principle of respect for human life and dignity,” said H.E. Nicholas Cardinal Cheong during the inauguration ceremony of the new Nicholas Cardinal Cheong Graduate School for Life.

The prelate, who is archbishop of Seoul and chairperson of the Board of the Catholic Academy Education Foundation, led the function which took place on 12 March, before a gathering of about a thousand people.

“I hope this new school can help people respect human dignity, the only weapon against the culture of death,” he said during the homily.

Citing the late John Paul II’s encyclical Evangelium Vitae, he added that “it is urgently needed that the Church proclaims the good news of life and promotes respect for human life in the Korean society which has marked world record of abortion rate and the lowest birth rate in the world.”

The Nicholas Cardinal Cheong Graduate School for Life, the Catholic University of Korea, is the first graduate school for bioethics in Asia. It has master's courses in the department of bioethics and the department of life culture.

"I hope this Graduate School for Life contributes to formation of experts on bioethics armed with the Catholic spirit so that they can take the initiative to create the culture of life in our society," said Rev Remigio Lee Dong-ik, first dean of the Graduate School.