Korean Cardinal Country's ‘Most Influential Religious Leader’

When the president of South Korea visited the White House recently one thing was overlooked — he is Catholic, part of a Church whose influence is growing in the Asian country.

But as President Kim Dae Jung was appearing on American television sets, the current issue of Asia Week was reporting another sign of Church influence in Korea.

“Perhaps South Korea's most influential religious leader, Stephen Cardinal Kim Sou Hwan, archbishop of Seoul for 30 years, is resigning,” it announced.

“Under [Cardinal] Kim, the Catholic Church came to play a role disproportionate to its size in South Korea. The Myongdong cathedral in the heart of Seoul, where [Cardinal] Kim has his office and held forth at Sunday Masses, served as a sanctuary for dissidents, student activists, and militant labor leaders of every religious stripe. [Cardinal] Kim will remain active — he retains the title of cardinal and is still the administrator for the Pyongyang diocese in North Korea.”

Cardinal Kim, 76, will be succeeded by Bishop Nicholas Cheong Jin Suk, 67, of the Chongju diocese.

Kobe Bryant Dwarfs the Sacred Heart

The Sacred Heart, the solemnity that was celebrated June 19, is dear to French Catholics. The devotion, which resulted from the visions of a French nun, St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, has traditionally been so popular in France that to Parisians, the beautiful, white Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) Church is often considered more of a landmark than even Notre Dame Cathedral.

Now, the French have a competing passion, said the Associated Press June 5. It lists the traditional sights of Paris as: the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame, and Kobe Bryant.

“Kobe Bryant?” “Travelers arriving in Paris for the World Cup are greeted by two familiar sights as they enter the capital from the north.

“To the right, gleaming white atop Montmartre, is Sacre Coeur, the … basil-ica visited by millions of worshipers and tourists each year.

“To the left, decked in yellow and purple, is Bryant, the young star of the Los Angeles Lakers, taking up the side of a building in an advertising mural for Adidas.

“In the bumper-to-bumper traffic that usually clogs the expressways in that area, the 80-foot-high Bryant is harder to miss than Sacre Coeur.”

As Faith Exits Ireland, the Culture of Death Enters

In Ireland, activists have struggled to make their country more “modern” in several respects: more liberal abortion laws, legal divorce, less church attendance — and, in 1993, a legalization of suicide. They may have gotten more than they bargained for.

Reuters reported June 8 that the suicide rate there has skyrocketed — and some attribute it to the nation's move away from the traditional bulwarks of individual and social strength: family, religion, and morally strong laws.

“More people killed themselves in Ireland last year than died in traffic accidents, official government data showed,” said the report. “The 14% increase from 1996 to 433 suicides was the highest figure ever recorded in the republic, and exceeded by two the number of deaths on Irish roads.

“Male suicides outnumbered female by 355 to 78, and young or early middle-aged people formed the largest group of suicides. Eight of the suicides were by children aged between five and 14. Health expert Feargal Bowers said the figures were surprising in the context of Ireland's booming economy, growing so fast it has earned the sobriquet the ‘Celtic Tiger.’”

“Bowers said an increase in the divorce rate, and the diminishing number of people attending church could have contributed to the high suicide rate.”

“Ireland's highly orthodox Roman Catholic traditions have been eroded in recent years, with new legislation on such issues as abortion and divorce winning approval.”