The death of a 'giant' of the Catholic Church in Asia

One of the "giants" of the Catholic Church in Asia, has died. Cardinal Stephen Kim Souh-wan, Archbishop Emeritus of Seoul, South Korea passed away on Monday, February 16. "A personality that has marked the history of his church and his country," says 'Eglises d'Asia' at the announcement of his death Monday evening by the Archdiocese of Seoul.Cardinal Kim passed away at 87 years of age, having resigned from his position in 1998, after long governing the South Korean church, currently 9% of the population. For Koreans, the Archbishop Emeritus of Seoul was a real "guardian of human rights and democracy," said the office of Foreign Missions of Paris. Stephen Kim was born on 8 May 1922 in Taegu. Ordained in 1951, during the war of Korea, he was appointed Bishop of Masan in 1966. In 1968, Pope Paul VI named him archbishop of Seoul and a year later, he was made cardinal. At 46 years old, Cardinal Kim was the first cardinal of South Korean and the youngest cardinal of the Church.According to 'Eglises d'Asia', his body was to be transported to Seoul Myeongdong Cathedral, a cathedral whose square is fixed in our memories as the symbolic place of the people's protests of the '90s. Cardinal Kim was concretely invested in the unity of the Korean Catholic Church, effectively working to promote economic development, social justice and political democratization.In his first message immediately after being named Archbishop of Seoul, he called the Church of Korea to serve the poor of society, according to the teachings of Vatican II. In a telegram of condolence sent to Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jinsuk, present archbishop of Seoul, the Pope paid tribute to Cardinal Kim, recalling the long years spent "in the service of the Catholic community of Seoul, in fidelity to the Successor of Peter."www.mepasie.org

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