Korean Catholics donate RM1.3 million to provide COVID-19 vaccines for poor countries

Dec 11, 2021

SEOUL: Catholic individuals and organisations in South Korea are answering Pope Francis’ call to provide COVID-19 vaccines for poor countries.

In the latest effort, the Catholic Lay Apostolate Council of Korea, the Catholic Peace Broadcasting Corporation (CPBC) and the Catholic Times of Korea donated funds equivalent to US$300,000 (RM1.3 million) at a ceremony organised by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea (CBCK) in the capital, Seoul, on December 7.

The money will be sent to the Vatican through the CBCK, according to a press release from Seoul Archdiocese.

The three organisations established a task force for the campaign, aiming to raise awareness among the faithful and all South Korean citizens to ensure equitable, timely and universal access to COVID-19 vaccines for every country in the world.

The task force ran a telephone fundraising campaign backed by a theme song and a music video, which can be found on CPBC’s YouTube channel.

The initiative came as the Korean bishops launched the vaccine-sharing campaign at its general assembly from March 8-12.

Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, the retired archbishop of Seoul, earlier made an appeal to Catholics to open their hearts to express their solidarity with the poor.

“We are living through difficult times caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The social and economic crisis remains severe, especially for those who live in poverty. It is the weak and the poor who suffer the most when a crisis hits. Therefore, I would like to turn this crisis into an opportunity to show our solidarity with parishes, organisations, and congregations around the world and lend a helping hand to those in need,” Cardinal Yeom said. -- ucanews.com