Lee Jae-myung meets Leo XIV with Seoul WYD, peace on the peninsula among the topics discussed
The pontiff received the South Korean president in audience this morning. Yesterday, in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Lee spoke at the Mass for Peace promoted by the Korean community. For the South Korean leader, despite the difficulties, “the ember of hope” for an agreement with Pyongyang “is still alive.” Cardinal You laments that “The Korean Peninsula still bears the wounds of division,” but adds: “We can never give up on peace”.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – South Korean President Lee Jae-myung visited the Vatican today, accompanied by his wife, Kim Hye-kyung, where he was received in audience this morning by Pope Leo XIV in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, followed by a meeting with the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher.
Various topics were discussed, starting with the divisions of the Korean Peninsula, the Catholic Church’s contribution to the life of South Korea, and the upcoming World Youth Day (WYD) in Seoul, just over a year from now, with hundreds of thousands of young Asians waiting to meet the Holy Father.
During the talks, “the parties emphasized the good relations between the Holy See and the Republic of Korea, and noted the positive contribution offered by the local Catholic Church to Korean society, particularly in the fields of education and social welfare,” the Vatican Press Office said in a press release. “Attention then turned to preparations for the upcoming World Youth Day and to certain aspects of the regional and international situation,” it added.
On this occasion, the South Korean leader presented the pontiff with a sculpture entitled "The Embrace of God" and a set of traditional Korean white porcelain.
The meeting was preceded yesterday by another significant moment when President Lee attended a Mass for Peace promoted by the Korean community in Rome in the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, led by Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik, former archbishop of Daejeon and currently prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy.
At the service, President Lee publicly addressed the issue of relations with North Korea, reiterating his commitment to peace and dialogue.
Citing the inter-Korean joint declaration of 15 June 2000, which he called a "historic turning point," he said that the agreement favoured humanitarian cooperation, new exchanges between the two sides, and reunification of families separated by the Korean War.
While acknowledging that the Korean Peninsula has now returned to a phase of high tensions and no dialogue, the president said he believes that "the ember of that is still alive,” stressing the measures taken by his government to reduce tensions, like the suspension of loudspeaker propaganda campaigns towards North Korea.
Lee said: “we will not seek unification by absorption or unilateral (ideological) competition”, adding that his government would “continue efforts to prevent accidental conflicts between the South and the North and to restore military trust,” while “do[ing] everything we can to overcome the ceasefire and build a peace system."
The president thanked the Vatican for its support of South Korea's peace efforts.
In his homily during the Saturday Mass, Cardinal Lazarus You Heung-sik said that, “The Korean Peninsula still bears the wounds of division”. Indeed, “Brothers and sisters still live separated. What suffering could be greater than this? We can never give up on peace, for any reason. We stand before the responsibility of committing ourselves, all together and with all our strength, to building peace.”
The prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy expressed hope that the Republic of (South) Korea “may bear witness before the whole world that dialogue is stronger than confrontation, reconciliation stronger than hatred, and trust stronger than fear.”
The prelate went on to say that today’s world is one “in which compassion toward our brothers and sisters is needed more than ever.”
In this regard, he cited Pope Francis's meeting with the families of the victims of the Sewol ferry tragedy, during his trip to South Korea in August 2014.
“With deep silence, with prayer, and with a gaze full of love, he welcomed their pain,” and “showed concretely that the Church must be a Church that walks together with the poor and with those who suffer.”
On the flight back to Rome in 2014, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Clergy said that Francis was asked if this gesture of consolation could be interpreted politically.
“Before human suffering, one cannot be neutral,” the pope replied, words that “brought deep consolation and courage to Korean society,” Cardinal You said, a reminder also, “that the way of the Gospel and the Church’s way of living compassion do not consist in creating divisions, but in standing beside those who are wounded.”
.png)
12/02/2016 15:14
07/07/2025 18:59
17/08/2020 09:19
18/10/2018 09:22
