Korean Church raised donations equivalent to US$3.2 million after earthquakes in Turkey and Syria
Pope Francis and South Korean President Moon Jae-in exchange gifts during a private audience at the Vatican on October 18, 2018. The pope has sent a letter to Korean Church to thank for the donations to earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. (Photo: AFP)
Pope Francis has sent a letter of appreciation to Catholic bishops in South Korea for the church’s aid to the victims of the deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
“I thank the Korean Church for once again showing its great generosity which touched me deeply,” the pope said in the letter addressed to Bishop Matthias Ri Iong-hoon, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea.
The letter dated April 1 was made public by the bishops’ conference on April 6, according to a report from the Catholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation of Korea (CBCK).
The pope said he praises the Korean Church’s “gesture of charity.”
“I would like to thank all the donors for this gesture of charity, thanks to which many suffering people will receive aid,” Francis said.
He also assured the Catholic Church in Korea of his continual “spiritual closeness,” and conveyed his blessings to all those under the pastoral care of the bishops’ conference.
The papal letter came after all the 16 dioceses in South Korea carried out a special fundraiser to aid the victims of the deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Feb. 6, leaving more than 57,000 dead and over 121,000 injured.
Apart from collecting funds at the churches during gatherings, religious congregations resorted to various activities including selling traditional fish-shaped cakes on the street as part of a fundraising campaign for children.
The CBCK secretariat donated 4311.7 million Korean Won (US$3.2 million) to the Vatican on March 28 towards the aid campaign.
The Catholic Church in Korea which relied on financial and workforce assistance from missionaries until the mid-1980s has evolved into a ‘sharing church’ assisting those in need at a global scale directly and indirectly through organizations such as Caritas.
From 2011 to 2022, the Korean Church through its charitable agency, Caritas, provided aid worth 45.21 billion won (US$36.65 million) to 20 countries for 625 projects, according to church statistics.
The aid increased to 4 billion won in 2021 and 4.5 billion won in 2022 despite the setbacks stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine.
Since the outbreak of war in Ukraine, Catholics in South Korea generously offered donations to Caritas Korea, and a total of 711,295,864 won was raised through a special fundraising campaign from March to October 2022.
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