Korean President Park to welcome Pope at airport Five days long visit of Pope Francis in the Christian majority nation South Korea. By Yi Whan-woo The late Pope John Paul II, left, walks with then-President Roh Tae-woo at a welcoming ceremony during his visit to South Korea in this file photo taken in 1989. President Park Geun-hye is expected to greet Pope Francis at the airport upon his arrival on Aug. 14 for a five-day visit. / Yonhap President Park Geun-hye will greet Pope Francis at the airport on his arrival on Aug. 14 for a five-day visit to Korea, according to the Catholic Bishops Conference of Korea (CBCK) Friday. The Vatican announced Park is likely to lead the welcoming ceremony upon the Popes arrival, the CBCK said. The ceremony will be informal because there will be another ceremony to greet the Pope officially at Cheong Wa Dae. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said the government is considering having Park receive the pontiff at the airport. He will arrive at Seoul Airport, a military air base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. This is first visit of a Pontiff to Korea in over two decades. The late Pope John Paul II visited the country in 1984 and 1989, during which each of the two then Presidents — Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo — greeted him. Pope Francis is scheduled to celebrate a gathering of Catholic youths in Asia and a ceremony to beatify 124 martyrs during his five-day visit. According to the preparation committee for the papal visit, he will also hold a face-to-face meeting with members of society. They include bereaved family members of the Sewol ferry disaster, laid-off workers of Ssangyong Motor, as well as residents of Gangjeong village on Jeju Island and Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province where there has been a conflict with the government over an electricity development projecs. The families of the victims of the Sewol sinking have called for a thorough investigation into the cause of the accident. Plant workers who were fired from Ssangyong Motor, one of the countrys major auto manufacturers, have demanded the company rehire them. Villagers in Gangjeong, Jeju Island have protested against the government for years against its plan to build a naval base in the region. Residents in Miryang have been against the state-run Korea Electric Power Corps (KEPCO) plan to set up power transmission towers across the region. They claim the towers will pose a threat to their everyday lives. Meanwhile, North Korea said this week it will not send a delegation to the papal Mass to be held in Seoul on Aug. 18 to pray for inter-Korean peace and reconciliation. At a meeting held in Shenyang, China, in May, South Korea invited members of the North Korean Catholic Church to the event. The Pope will call for peace on the Korean peninsula and reconciliation between South and North Korea during his stay. But he will not travel to the heavily fortified demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, according to Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi during a press conference Thursday. I dont think such a plan being considered. I dont expect it will happened though the Pope is always capable of surprises, he said. Regarding the possible visit by a North Korea delegation to attend the papal Mass, he confirmed that they are unlikely to come to the South. But he added the possibility by saying, the invitation from the South Korean church was still open. [email protected] koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2014/08/116_162593.html
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 13:03:11 +0000
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