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 1.86 million in 1985 to 5.14 million, nearly 11 percent of the total population, After yea
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