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Invitation to Membership of Supporters' Association
for Saenamteo Church(Martyrium)
The Korean Catholic Church is originated not with
the missionaries from other countries but with
the scholars of realism who opened their eyes
to the Catholicism in the latter period of Chosun
Dynasty. In 1770's, envoys to China obtained books
named 'Chunjusilui' and 'Chilguk' from Jesuits
there. Scholars studied these books and came in
contact with Catholicism. After a careful research,
they confirmed that it is the God's truth and
started to carry the doctrines into practise.
In 1784, Seunghoon Lee was baptized first in Peking,
China. He came back to Korea and propagated the
Catholicism to people. Some people accepted the
doctrine and made small community without priests.
This was the beginning of the Korean Catholic
Church.
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In 1794, the Korean Church which had been a Prayer
community of lay believers without priests received
Chines Father, Munmo Chu James and started to grow
largely. However, the decision of Church that prohibited
the worship on ancestors conflicted with the culture
and national policy of Chosun Dynasty, which respected
confucianism. After all, this conflict added to
political purpose brought on four large persecutions
between 1801 and 1866. In this period, 14 priests
including Daegun Kim Andrea and many believers were
died martyrs.
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During this period, in Saenamteo where the political
offenders were executed in Chosun Dynasty, many
lay believers and 11 priests including the first
Farther in Korea Munmo Chu James, 2 French bishops,
7 French fathers and the first Korean Father Daegun
Kim Andrea died for their believes.
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Then, Saenamtoe became the representative holy place
of Korea. Considering the fact there are 14 priests
who died martyrs in Korea, you can guess how important
position Saenamteo occupies in Korean Church. In
1984, the Pope John Paul II visited Korea and canonized
103 martyrs as saints, including 11 of Saenamteo.
In 1950, Korean Church designated Saenamteo as holy
place of martyrdom and Clerical Congregation of
the Blessed Korean Martyr founded an educational
facility. In 1984, Saenamteo was assigned as a parish
church and in 1987, present commemorative church
was constructed.
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However Saenamteo, the precious place not just of
Korean believers but also of the world Catholics,
is now in financial difficulties for preservation
of holy place and church, making it hardly thinkable
to construct the memorial museum and better environment
for pilgrimage.
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These difficulties are because of the following
reasons. Firstly, there are no national support
for Catholic Church in Korea, differently from many
western countries. Secondly, Saenamteo Church has
small extent of jurisdiction and therefore small
number of believers for its large scale. Finally,
the facilities of commemorative church are superannuated
and repairs are needed. If these financial difficulties
were not tided over, Saenamteo would become impoverished
and it would be a great loss not just to the Korean
Church but also to the world Catholics.
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We believers of Saenamteo are sincerely waiting
for the concern and the support of world Catholics.
No matter how small your support may be, it will
be a great help to us preserving and developing
this precious holy place. We are now reading mass
for you supporters every week and planning to invite
you to appreciate your help and to pray together.
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One who wants to join in the association please
fill in below application form. (Application) You
can alternatively visit Saenamteo and contact us
for membership.
Account of Supporters' Association
Bank name : Korea first bank
Account number : 457-20-002101
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| [Membership
of Supporters] |
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