Episcopal Leader: Korea Reunification Needs Churches
Churches need to act as a moral voice and work in partnership for the reunification of Korea, said a U.S. Episcopal leader Monday.
The Rev. Canon Brian Grieves, director of Peace and Justice Ministries, told Anglican leaders at the international Towards Peace in Korea (TOPIK) conference in Seoul that the joint effort to reunite Korea "would be a significant witness of Christ's reconciling love for all humanity," according to the Episcopal News Service.
Churches in Korea, Japan, China and the United States, in particular, were urged to work together.
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"The Churches role in seeking reconciliation globally – which is our mission embedded in Scripture – and specifically in seeking reunification on the Korean peninsula, means advocating our values in part to the corridors of power," Grieves said during a panel discussion titled "Efforts of Japanese, Taiwan, Hong Kong and American Churches for Peace and Reconciliation."
He called the Church a "counter cultural body" that places its faith and action in the "values of Christ" instead of militarism and wealth.
"Therefore, our task at this conference is to identify, in quite specific terms, what our voices, which hold no power other than moral persuasion, can say to advance the cause of reunification," the ministry director said.
Grieves also recalled U.S. President George W. Bush's labeling of North Korea as part of the "axis of evil" in 2001, which he said "greatly heightened tensions."
It also "fed North Korean fears that the United States might invade its country, which were further exacerbated when the U.S. invaded Iraq, another 'member' of the so called 'axis of evil,'" Grieves added.
Amid the tension, The Episcopal Church in the United States accepted the invitation in 2002 from the Anglican Church of Korea for members of the national peace commission to visit Seoul and the demilitarized zone (DMZ) – the heavily fortified dividing line between North and South Korea.
At the conclusion of the visit, the Episcopal Church adopted a policy urging the U.S. government to refrain from demonizing North Korea and from planning a pre-emptive strike to pressure North Korea into halting its nuclear weapon program.
The latest TOPIK conference, which concludes Tuesday, was first envisioned in response to a 2005 resolution from the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), the Anglican Communion's chief legislative body, which called for peace, reconciliation and reunification between North and South Korea.
It is being held in Paju, South Korea, which is just hours away from the DMZ.
