Korean Catholics against TV series that mocks Christian marriage
The program, titled "Pilgrimage," has aired for weeks showing "everyday" experiences of different religious faiths. Meanwhile, the path to sainthood of the pioneer of the Korean mission continues.
Seoul (AsiaNews) - A television series recently broadcast on South Korean television has sparked the anger of Catholics in the country, because it mocks Christian marriage and the values it contains, as denounced on January 3 by the CPBC (Catholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation).
The programme, entitled "Pilgrimage", was broadcast by the private broadcaster Mbc every Tuesday from 31 October until mid-December, showing the experiences and daily life of the clergy of different religious denominations, from Catholicism to Protestantism, up to Buddhism.
Iin one of these episodes, the presenter asked a Catholic priest ironic questions about Christian teachings on sexuality and marriage.
“Why does Christianity pursue chastity before marriage?” the host would have asked, who then joked about some precepts of Catholic education on the subject of sexuality, with explicit questions to a priest present in the studio, who responded promptly, albeit troubled: the Church opposes the "exploitation of sex".
What is certain is that the presenter's derision and the expressions used have raised the indignation of Korean Christians, many of whom have entrusted messages of protest and disapproval to the internet and social media.
Alexander Jeong Gyeong-heon, 22, warned: “We must pay attention to broadcasts that provide entertainment by sacrificing religion, with the sole purpose of entertaining the audience. If we don't do this, we could transmit wrong doctrines - he continued - to believers and non-believers."
Furthermore, Fr. Park Eun-ho, director of the Catholic Institute of Bioethics, noted that the content of the broadcast presented several errors and inconsistencies, explaining that for the Church "human life" begins the moment fertilization occurs.
“God – she explained – created human beings man and woman. The Church considers sexual intercourse as an act that expresses the love and unity of a couple in which [the two spouses] give themselves completely to each other."
Furthermore, the program raised concerns among Christians, as it showed a representative of the Christian clergy "experimenting" with elements related to "worldliness" such as exploring youth culture, playing tarot cards or the "luxury" of driving a foreign car.
"The broadcast - attacked 29-year-old Gabriel Lee - proved to be a source of disappointment because it seemed to want to undermine trust in religion" by pursuing a purpose contrary to the program due to "lack of understanding" of basic religious teachings.
On the other hand, the auxiliary bishop of Seoul Msgr. Job Koo Yo-bi urged Catholics in South Korea to learn from the good example of a French missionary bishop, a pioneer of the mission, who is now on the path to sainthood.
The prelate explained this during a symposium entitled "The life of Bishop Bruguiere and the context of the mission in Korea", as reported by CPBC on December 7th. Bishop Job encouraged the training of future clergy in the country according to the life and example of Bishop Barthelemy Bruguiere (1792-1835), member of the Society for Foreign Missions of Paris (Mep) and first apostolic vicar of Korea.
The Seoul Archbishop's Committee for beatification and canonization, chaired by the same Msgr. Job Koo Yo-bi, organized the symposium which included five presentations and a general discussion on topics relating to the life of Msgr. Bruguiere and the value of his presence in the Asian context.
The servant of God Barthelemy Bruguiere, a MEP missionary, was the first apostolic vicar of Korea and the first coadjutor bishop of Siam (Thailand). On September 9, 1831, Pope Gregory XVI established the apostolic vicariate of Korea and appointed Bruguiere to lead it.
On September 12, 1832, Msgr. Bruguiere and Joseph Wang, a student at the Penang seminary, set sail from Singapore for China, where he spent a few years preparing to enter Korea together with his brother and missionary Mep Pierre-Philibert Maubant, leaving for the country on 7 October 1835 Together with Bruguiere, the Archdiocese of Seoul calls for the canonization of Card. Stephen Kim Sou-hwan and Fr. Leo Bang Yoo-ryong (1900-1986), founder of the first indigenous religious order, the clerical Congregation of the Blessed Korean Martyrs.
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12/02/2016 15:14
