Pope Francis warned of the “cancer” of despair that afflicts outwardly affluent societies and called on South Korean Catholics to reject “inhuman economic models” at a Mass for 45,000 people yesterday on the first papal trip to Asia in 15 years.
In an apparent reference to South Korea’s high suicide rate, he also warned of the “culture of death” that can pervade rapidly developing countries where the poor are marginalized.
It was the pope’s first public event following his arrival in Seoul on Thursday, which North Korea marked by firing a series of short-range rockets into the sea.
Photo: Reuters
A capacity crowd filled the World Cup stadium in Daejeon, about 160km south of Seoul, hours before the pope arrived for the Mass.
Among them were 38 survivors and relatives of victims of April’s Sewol ferry tragedy in which 300 people died, most of them schoolchildren.
During the Mass, Pope Francis offered a special prayer for the victims and their families, and urged Koreans “united in grief” to work together for the common good.
Before the Mass, he held a brief private audience with some of the relatives, and agreed to baptize the father of one of the student victims at the Vatican embassy in Seoul.
In his homily, Francis called on South Korean Christians to combat “the spirit of unbridled competition which generates selfishness and strife” and to “reject inhuman economic models which create new forms of poverty.”
He also spoke of the “cancer” of despair that can permeate societies where surface affluence hides deep inner sadness.
“Upon how many of our young has this despair taken its toll?” he said.
It was a message designed to resonate not just with South Koreans, but other emerging Asian nations where decades of rapid economic growth have thrown up stark social challenges.
Trees lining the streets leading to the stadium were tied with the yellow ribbons that have become the memorial symbol for those who died on the Sewol ferry.
“I’m a Protestant but I believe the papal visit will help heal the wounds from the Sewol disaster,” said one of the victims’ relatives, Kim Hyeong-ki.
Thousands without tickets for the Mass cheered and waved flags as the pope rode to the venue in an open-topped car, stopping from time to time to give a personal blessing to young children and infants held up by their parents.
As the pope entered the stadium, the capacity crowd rose, waving white handkerchiefs and shouting “Viva Papa” and “Mansei” (“Long live” in Korean).
The Mass was conducted on a raised, canopied stage with giant screens on either side for those high up in the stands, which were decorated with banners in Korean reading: “We Will Always Follow You” and “We Love You.”
In the last national census to include religious affiliation, conducted in 2005, close to 30 percent of South Koreans identified themselves as Christian, compared with 23 percent who cited the once-dominant Buddhism.
“I only hope the pope’s message of peace and reconciliation will spread to our brothers and Catholic followers in North Korea,” 46-year-old Daejeon businesswoman Helena Sam said.
The North pays lip-service to the freedom of worship, but maintains the tightest controls over religious activity and treats unsanctioned acts of devotion as criminal.
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