Seoul (AsiaNews) – The World Youth Day Cross given to the youth of the world by Pope John Paul II was carried to the border that separates North and South in a symbolic gesture for the peaceful reunification of the Korean peninsula and as a blessing for Christians’ life in North Korea.
About a hundred young people carried the Cross to the demilitarised zone that divides the country, where they prayed the Rosary and asked for Our Lady’s intercession for durable peace and union between the two halves of Korea.
In the years in between worldwide celebrations of World Youth Day the Cross is carried all around the world. It arrived in Korea this month after a tour across Africa.
Within a week it will on its way, travelling some more before it reaches Sydney where the next World Youth Day will be held in the summer of 2008.
Card Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk, archbishop of Seoul, also spoke about reunification and peace in the Korean peninsula in his Lent message.
Titled “Repent, and Believe in the Gospel,” the note stressed that the “faith in God manifests itself in concern and love for one’s poor neighbours. During the Lenten season, the observance of fast and abstinence from meat as well as making sacrifices can obtain significance only if we share charity with our neighbours.”
“The Church,” he noted, “should listen carefully to those suffering and in difficulty and heal their wounds. Charity spiritually enriches both givers and receivers.”
He concluded saying: “Let us make this Lent full of grace by repenting, following the Gospel, overcoming death and bearing witness to life.”