The Lebanese Cardinal was welcomed by the Archbishop of the capital, Card. Andrew Yeom: "Here in Korea it's hot, but your welcome warms my heart so much more." Two days of meetings with Catholic leaders, peace activists and experts gathered to show Korea the path of unity.
Seoul (AsiaNews) - In Korea, "it's very hot, but your welcome warms my heart so much more”, with this joke Card. Bechara Boutros Rai, Maronite Patriarch, thanked the archbishop of Seoul for the invitation to visit the country to talk about peace and reconciliation.
The primate arrived from the Middle East yesterday afternoon to attend the "Forum for Peace on the Korean Peninsula". The event will take place over two days (19-20 August): Along with Card. Rai Card. Vinko Puljic, Archbishop of Bosnia-Herzegovina, Msgr. Stanislav Hocevar of Belgrade and other bishops who have had to live with war and violence were invited.
In addition to the testimony of the bishops there will also be interventions by theologians, intellectuals, experts working in regions that suffer from civil war or terrorist attacks: the declared aim is to identify a viable path to peace and reconciliation in Korea. The Forum will be divided into three parts: "the role of the Catholic Church for peace"; "International efforts for the resolution of disputes"; "The reality of the Korean peninsula: diagnosis and solutions."
Card. Yeom went to welcome the Maronite Patriarch at Incheon airport: "Thank you for your generosity and for the decision to share the experience of suffering and of conflict. Thank you for sharing with us your thoughts on the role of peace".