Interreligious greetings
In Andong, Confucian culture, shamanism, Buddhist temples, Catholic and Christian churches are mingled together. There is even a "religious town" where many denominations co-exist in the same area in the city.
Among various religions and spiritualities, the Confucian spirit is deeply rooted throughout society here in Andong and the residents regard Andong as the capital of Korean spiritual culture.
In Andong, there are about 53,000 Catholics in 40 churches, but only 17 percent of them are participating in Sunday Mass.
On Christmas, the head monk of the local Buddhist temple sends a wreath with a celebratory message to Mokseong-dong Catholic Church, which displays the wreath from the temple near the virgin Mary statue on the second floor.
On Buddha’s birthday in spring, the Catholic bishop also sends glad tidings to the temple. In this way, we give and receive joy on different religious feast days.
Behind Bonghwa Village in Gimhae, there is a little mountain called Mount Bonghwa. Although it has only an elevation of 140 meters, we can see at a glance the Gimhae fields with rice paddies and the Nakdong River from the summit.
On Mount Bonhwa, there are such famous places as Owl Rock, Lion Rock, Beacon Tower and a Jeongtowon temple, a Pure Land Buddhist retreat center that pursues a clean body and mind as well as clean surroundings. When I was there last, I saw a small, transparent box presenting the coexistence of a Buddha statue with a holy family image of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.
The female Buddhist monk I met at Jeongtowon said that the office manager suggested a symbol of the coexistence between the two faiths this year. His creative idea was adopted, and the head monk authorized the symbolic gesture of peaceful coexistence of religions.
This gesture reveals an interreligious communion among people. When the late Bishop Dubong was alive, he was very conscious of the need to build friendly relationships among religious people with different faiths.
We are walking on various paths to the truth, but we are all in the same boat. On the way to the truth, we are encouraged to appreciate, respect and cooperate with one another. That is why Pope Leo XIV invited representatives of the Eastern Orthodox Church during his first overseas trip to Turkey in late November 2025.
He visited the Blue Mosque, also known as the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, in Istanbul and the ruins of Nicaea. He also met with Muslim and Orthodox leaders to deliver a happy message of interreligious harmony and dialogue in the midst of international conflicts and confrontation.
Harmony and dialogue are important not only in international relations but also in community life. Without keeping these in our individual and social lives, we will be at a loss while instead pursuing individualism, convenience and exclusionism.
God creates each of us in different ways. We are all to be respected and honored according to his creative intention. Therefore, as our confessor priest said one day, we shall not disturb the Lord’s order of creation by condemning, judging or rejecting others.
“How good and how pleasant it is, when brothers dwell together as one!’ (Psalm 133:1)
The author is a member of the Daughters of St. Paul (Figlie di San Paolo) living and giving the good news to the world by means of social communication.