wfn.org | [ENS] Korean peninsula reunification affirmed by Presiding Bishop

["Matthew Davies" <mdavies@episcopalchurch.org>]

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

Korean peninsula reunification affirmed by Presiding Bishop

Griswold meets President in Seoul, offers message of solidarity to
Korea's Anglican Church

ENS102505-01

[Episcopal News Service, Seoul] Emphasizing the work of Anglicans locally
and internationally in support of reunification of the Korean peninsula,
Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold met October 25 in Seoul with South
Korea's President Roh Myoo-hyun and issued a message of solidarity to
the Anglican Church in Korea.

[Text of the Presiding Bishop's message follows here; ENS photos and
full coverage of his visit to Korea will follow in subsequent postings.]

A Message from the Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church,
USA, to the Anglican Church in Korea on the Reunification of the Korean
Peninsula:

My dear sisters and brothers in Christ: I address you today in the midst
of my visit among you with deep gratitude for your warm hospitality. I
am enormously thankful to Archbishop Matthew Chung for his invitation
to visit you and to share in the ministry of this branch of the Anglican
Communion.

While here, I have been deeply impressed by the Church's commitment
to peacemaking in the midst of suffering and division. I commend the
work done ecumenically over many years to promote democratic and civil
society in the Republic of Korea (South Korea), stressing freedom,
peace and human rights for the people of your country.

In more recent years, your Church, along with other denominations,
has manifested a reconciling role through its work on behalf of the
reunification of the Korean peninsula. I have heard many voices in my
brief visit and have been made acutely aware of the pain that division
causes.  The stark reality of this division that divides this peninsula
was brought home to me yesterday on a visit to the demilitarized zone
(DMZ) at Panmunjom, which remains one of the few explosive flashpoints
lingering from the end of the Cold War.

I have learned from you about hopeful contacts between the governments
of the north and south. I note that both sides have made a commitment
to reunification, called the Sunshine Policy, and a number of exchange
visits have now taken place allowing families to make contacts and
build positive relations for the future. Plans for rail and road links
to increase communication are also hopeful signs. But I know much hard
work remains to be done.

During these past years, the Episcopal Church in the United States has
been a partner in supporting this process of reunification. At our
General Convention in 2003, your sister Church in the United States
adopted a resolution in support of reunification. It is my intention now
to emphasize my Church's commitment to reunification by bringing before
the United States government several concerns.

I will urge my own government to reject the policy of preemption that
heightens tensions and threatens the well being of peoples both in
the north and south. As the two Koreas move forward towards the goal
of reunification, I will urge the United States to take the following
further steps:

     - support and promote a nonaggression pact that will move all
parties toward a comprehensive peace formally ending the "state of
war" that has existed since 1953 by following through in the current
negotiations to pledge not to preemptively attack the DPRK in exchange
for the DPRK's abandonment of its nuclear weapons program

     - refrain from demonization of the DPRK in favor of supporting the
building of relations between the north and south which hold the promise
of peace and reunification

     - make every effort to invite the DPRK into the international
community as a full member so that the country can develop and pursue
internationally recognized norms and standards for its people to enjoy,
specifically to provide humanitarian relief and development assistance
to the DPRK including poverty alleviation, food aid, energy development
and transportation

     - assure access to all mechanisms for redress of grievances between
U.S. military personnel and Korean civilians in the ROK.

I am heartened at what appears to be a breakthrough in the impasse
between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) and
the United States and strongly urge both sides to find common ground
on which to build future relations. The end of the Cold War has not
yet produced the peace dividend that both peoples in North and South
Korea deserve. My prayer is that the ongoing climate of hostility and
the continuing division of the country will give way to a new day of
cooperation, peace building and ultimate reconciliation.

I commend you for your unwavering leadership towards reunification and
assure you of my Church's continuing partnership with you. We are told
in Scripture that "In Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself."
May we be a sign of that reconciliation achieved by Christ through the
blood of the cross, a reconciliation of which we have all been made
ministers by virtue of our baptism. God bless and sustain you in the
days ahead.

The Most Reverend Frank T. Griswold Presiding Bishop and Primate The
Episcopal Church, USA October 25, 2005 Seoul, Korea

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