SEOUL : Two cardinals, one from Seoul and the other from Manila, who saw their countries through transitions to democracy, epitomized two different aspects of pastoral leadership, says an Asian theology lecturer.

Father Jose Mario Francisco made the comparison between Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan and Cardinal Jaime Sin at a Sept. 17-18 conference conducted by the Graduate School of Theology of Jesuit-run Sogang University in Seoul. The conference was titled "Leadership of the Church of Asia: In memory of Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan."

Cardinal Kim died this year on Feb. 16 in Seoul. He was 86. Cardinal Sin died June on 21, 2005, at the age of 76.

Cardinal Kim came to be seen as a defender of human rights against dictatorships in the 1970s and 1980s. In 1987, when the government threatened to use force to suppress pro-democracy protestors staging a sit-in at Myeongdong Cathedral, the cardinal declared, "You must walk over me first, and the priests and nuns, before you get to the citizens and students."

Jesuit Father Francisco, a lecturer at Loyola School of Theology, part of Ateneo de Manila University, compared this incident with Cardinal Sin's call over the radio in 1986 that stirred a "people power" uprising. This led to the collapse of Ferdinand Marcos' 21-year presidency and paved the way for the restoration of democratic institutions in the Philippines.

Cardinal Kim's welcoming the suffering "into the sanctuary" of his cathedral symbolizes his leadership of "the little flock" in South Korea, where Catholics comprised less than 10 percent of the population, Father Francisco said.

On the other hand Cardinal Sin's calling people "out to the streets" clearly shows the leadership of the "Church of the majority" in the Philippines, where most people are Catholics.

The two Church leaders were not contradictory in their pastoral responses but two sides of the same evangelizing mission in different contexts, Father Francisco added.

Other speakers at the conference, which drew about 150 participants including students, highlighted Cardinal Kim's comprehensive understanding of the Second Vatican Council. They cited in particular the council's pastoral vision and attitude toward relations with other faiths and civil society.

Bishop Peter Kang Woo-il of Cheju recalled in his keynote speech that Cardinal Kim was not a fighter or an activist. But "the tide of the times pushed him forward, and he faithfully guided his sheep as a shepherd would," remarked the former Seoul auxiliary under Cardinal Kim.

Father Jeffrey Chang said Cardinal Kim pointed to Cardinal Kim's key role in establishing the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC). He said Cardinal Kim proposed the federation when Asian bishops first met together during Pope Paul VI's visit to Manila in 1970.

At that time, the Roman curia feared the Asian bishops might follow the liberation theology of the Latin American Bishops' Conference, but Cardinal Kim convinced Pope Paul otherwise and the FABC statutes were approved in 1972, the Filipino-American Jesuit priest added.

Pope Paul VI named Cardinal Kim as Seoul archbishop in 1968. The following year he made the 46-year-old prelate the first Korean cardinal as well as the youngest cardinal in the world at that time. In 1998, Cardinal Kim resigned as archbishop of Seoul and apostolic administrator of Pyongyang diocese in North Korea.

Courtesy : UCAN