The following is a guest blog by Steve Townsend, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy to the Holy See
On 14-18 August Pope Francis will make his first visit to Asia, to attend the Asian Youth Day in Daejon, South Korea. He will also beatify 124 martyrs, killed in the eighteenth century for adopting Christianity. The visit will give Pope Francis the opportunity to preach his messages to youth from across the region, rather than to a solely Korean audience. Apart from a courtesy call on the South Korean President, the programme will include meetings with disabled and homeless people, families of the victims of the April Sewol ferry disaster and surviving “comfort women” who were forced to work in brothels by the Japanese army in Korea during World War II. He will also celebrate a special Mass for Peace and Reconciliation.
This will be the first visit by a Pope to Asia for more than ten years, as it was the one continent that Pope Benedict XVI never reached. Pope Francis will also visit Sri Lanka and the Philippines in January 2015. So he will have visited Asia twice before setting foot in Africa, North America, or much of Europe. Asia is a young and vibrant continent, with almost half the total population under 25 years old. The number of Catholics in Asia has grown, and they now make up almost 11% of the global population.
This is a huge potential audience for Pope Francis’ messages of peace, hope, reconciliation and mutual respect between religions. Pope Francis has been clear in his messages for the faithful to go and evangelise, and the Catholic Church in South Korea has been in the forefront, increasing its numbers from representing only 2% of the population (about 500,000) to 11% (about 5 million) in the last 50 years. The Holy See’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin, in a recent interview described the church in South Korea as “one of the most dynamic and lively churches, not only of the continent but of the planet”.
The visit is billed as a pastoral one. But the shadow of North Korea will provide a backdrop for messages of peace and reconciliation. And the visit will also give encouragement to the faithful in countries where the Church faces difficulties in operating freely.