South Korean Catholics to Beatify North Korean Martyrs
SEOUL(Zenit.org): The process for the beatification of 36 North Koreans martyred during the 1949-52 Stalinist regime of Kim Il-Sung has opened.
The announcement was made Thursday by the Order of St. Benedict Waegwan Abbey in South Korea, which exercises ecclesial jurisdiction over the North Korean Abbacy of Tokwon.
According to Abbot Simon Petro Ri Hyeong-u, apostolic administrator of the Territorial Abbacy of Tokwon, “The community of Order of St. Benedict Waegwan Abbey is full of aspiration to honor the witness of faith shown by our predecessors.”
The initiative also has a political value, according to www.AsiaNews.it. Until now, the Seoul government has exerted its influence to avoid the commemoration of these martyrs in order not to provoke a diplomatic incident with the present regime in the North, led by Kim Jong-il, Kim Il-sung’s son.
