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                             Vatican Information Service.   
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                                  VIS-Press releases   
      
   KOREAN CHURCH CONTRIBUTES TO COUNTRY'S WELLBEING   
      
   VATICAN CITY, 21 OCT 2010 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the Holy Father   
   received the Letters of Credence of Han Hong-soon, the new ambassador of the   
   Republic of Korea to the Holy See.   
      
   Addressing the diplomat in English, the Pope noted "the remarkable economic   
   growth that your country has experienced in recent years, which has transformed   
   Korea from a net recipient of aid into a donor country".   
      
   He also recalled words used by the Korean president on his visit to the Vatican   
   last year, to the effect that "there are dangers involved in rapid economic   
   growth which can all too easily bypass ethical considerations, with the result   
   that the poorer elements in society tend to be excluded from their rightful   
   share of the nation's prosperity. The financial crisis of recent years has   
   exacerbated the problem, but it has also focused attention on the need to renew   
   the ethical foundations of all economic and political activity.   
      
   "I wish to encourage your government", the Holy Father added, "in its   
   commitment to ensure that social justice and care for the common good grow side   
   by side with material prosperity, and I assure you that the Catholic Church in   
   Korea is ready and willing to work with the government as it seeks to promote   
   these worthy goals".   
      
   Referring then to the Catholic Church's commitment in Korean society, the Pope   
   highlighted how, "by means of her network of schools and her educational   
   programmes she contributes greatly to the moral and spiritual formation of the   
   young. Through her work for inter-religious dialogue she seeks to break down   
   barriers between peoples and to foster social cohesion based on mutual respect   
   and growth in understanding. In her charitable outreach she seeks to assist the   
   poor and the needy, particularly refugees and migrant workers who so often find   
   themselves on the margins of society".   
      
   The Church's role, he went on, "involves proclaiming the truths of the Gospel,   
   which continually challenge us to look beyond the narrow pragmatism and   
   partisan interests that can so often condition political choices, and to   
   recognise the obligations incumbent upon us in view of the dignity of the human   
   person, created in the image and likeness of God. This requires of us an   
   unambiguous commitment to defend human life at every stage from conception to   
   natural death, to promote stable family life in accordance with the norms of   
   the natural law and to build peace and justice wherever there is conflict".   
      
   Having then expressed the Holy See's appreciation "for the active role played   
   by the Republic of Korea within the international community", Benedict XVI   
   noted that, "by promoting the peace and stability of the peninsula, as well as   
   the security and economic integration of nations throughout the Asia- Pacific   
   region, through its extensive diplomatic links with African countries, and   
   especially by hosting next month's G20 Summit in Seoul, your government has   
   given ample proof of its role as an important player on the world stage, and   
   has helped to guarantee that the process of globalisation will be directed by   
   considerations of solidarity and fraternity".   
      
   The Holy Father concluded his remarks to the ambassador by referring to the   
   Congress of Asian Catholic Laity, held recently in the Korean capital Seoul. "I   
   see in this important event a clear sign of the fruitful co-operation that   
   already exists between your country and the Holy See and that bodes well for   
   the future of our relations", he said. "It was only right that the congress's   
   focus was on the lay faithful, who ... not only sowed the first seeds of the   
   Gospel on Korean soil but bore witness in great numbers to their firm faith in   
   Christ through the shedding of their blood. I am confident that, inspired and   
   strengthened by the witness of the Korean martyrs, lay men and women will   
   continue to build up the life and wellbeing of the nation".   
   CD/VIS 20101021 (660)   
      
   SUMMARY   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS =Meridian, MS= bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)