Despite differences, Filipinos see Pope Francis visit to next door South Korea, now winding down, as a dress rehearsal for the pontiff’s trip to the Philippines Korean Catholicism has a history of surviving persecution set in an Asia that has the greatest potential for growth of Catholicism, notes New York Times. Francis was to beatify Saturday Paul Yun Ji-Chung, an 18th-century layman (Saints Lorenzo Ruiz of Tondo and Pedro Calungsod of Visayas were laymen.) Some 16,000 Catholics were martyred under the 18 th century Joseon Dynasty Francis plane landed in a Seoul awash with books on the pope, in Korean. Banners fluttered while coins and postage stamps to celebrate the visit were issued. President Park Geun-hye was baptized as “Juliana” at a Catholic church. Her government officially says she has no religion. Catholics in South Korea grew from 1...
Online edition of The Ilocos Times, a community newspaper based in Laoag City, Ilocos Norte.