Historic cathedral suspends Mass

A health worker conducts disinfection operations at Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul, Wednesday. The Archdiocese of Seoul announced earlier this week that the 232 Catholic churches in Seoul would suspend Mass until March 8 because of the deadly coronavirus. This the first time for the church to suspend services since the first Catholic Mass was held here in 1898. / Yonhap

Some big megachurches' Sunday worship unaffected

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Korea's Catholic and Protestant churches have reacted differently to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

Earlier this week, the Archdiocese of Seoul announced that 232 Catholic churches in the city would suspend Mass until March 8, in an attempt to stop the spread of the killer virus.

Within days, Catholic churches in other parts of the country had joined the move to suspend all public gatherings, including Sunday Mass, for the foreseeable future.

However, big Protestant churches are divided about their Sunday worships.

The Yeouido Full Gospel Church ― the nation's largest church, with some 560,000 registered members ― had said earlier that it would reduce the number of its Sunday services from seven to five starting this coming Sunday.

Senior members of the church met on Thursday to decide whether to suspend or continue to push for the Sunday worships. Later that day, it was agreed that the Sunday services would continue.

The church, however, abruptly backed down on Friday and has announced to suspend its Sunday worships temporarily.

Meanwhile, other big churches in Seoul and the surrounding suburban areas have said that their Sunday worship services will not be affected.

Ban Byung-yule, a professor of history at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul, was rueful about the “unheedful megachurches.”

“The coronavirus is a common threat to all community members and big churches are expected to work together with others and play a role to help the public remain safe,” he said.

The historian said the role of Protestants and Catholics in the community changed after World War II.

“Protestants were more community-oriented, particularly during the Japanese colonial rule, and they were very active in Korea's independence movement. But Protestant churches, particularly megachurches, have become more independent and passive since,” he said. “What we've seen since the 1970s is Catholics' increasing role in social or key national issues. Catholics are vocal on social injustice.”

The internet is divided over some megachurches' continuance of Sunday worships, with many people critical of them. “Are you doing this because you guys think you won't be infected with the virus?” one person wrote on social media. “Look at what Catholic churches did. Follow what they've done,” another wrote.

Others, however, tried to remain neutral, pointing their fingers instead at the government.

“Even though several churchgoers are confirmed to be infected with the coronavirus after Sunday worship services, I think we cannot blame (the churchgoers). This is because the government is ultimately responsible for the spread of the virus. Had it effectively coped with the epidemic in the incipient period, we wouldn't have seen a situation like this. So, don't blame the churchgoers or their leaders,” another wrote.

Some commenters are drawing critical comparisons between the Catholic and Protestant churches, praising the Myeongdong Cathedral for what they call a “thoughtful and courageous” action to put public safety ahead of religious bureaucracy.

Shelter for democracy fighters

The temporary shutdown of Korea's iconic Catholic Cathedral is the first of its kind in the church's 122-year history, since Mass was first held there in 1898 upon completion of the construction of the church.

As the nation's first Catholic place of worship, the Myeongdong Cathedral has come to represent a history of persecution and fight for freedom endured by the religion in Korea, starting with the sacrifices of early believers during the Joseon Dynasty.

The church site was once a housing area for Kim Bum-woo, the first Korean Catholic believer to be persecuted in the 1780s. Kim was an interpreter and a first generation member of the Catholic Church in Korea, who was baptized by Korean priest Lee Seung-un and given the Christian name Thomas.

Kim offered his own home as a location for secret gatherings among Catholics at the time, but the meetings were discovered by government authorities in 1785 and Kim was arrested and punished. It has been argued that class discrimination played a part in his persecution, as the other members ― all from upper-class families ― were released with a warning.

Lower-class Kim was severely beaten, and exiled to the remote southeastern town of Milyang. He died in 1787 from complications from his injuries.

In 1894, French priest Marie-Jean-Gustave Blanc purchased Kim's house in Seoul in order to construct a Catholic church. Construction was completed in 1898 under the supervision of another French priest, Eugene Jean George Coste. The church was named 'Jong-heon Cathedral', and changed to 'Myeongdong Cathedral' in 1945.

The cathedral's historical decision to shut down, albeit temporarily, has reminded many of its role in Korea's road to democracy.

During Korea's military dictatorship from the 60s to 80s, the Catholic Church was known for offering a helping hand to those who were vulnerable and oppressed. Because of this, Catholic leaders had a choppy relationship with the authoritarian government and, in 1974, a Catholic priest was arrested and interrogated by the national spy agency for allegedly assisting student activists.

Myeongdong Cathedral became a hideout for democracy fighters in the 1980s, when the country's pro-democracy movement reached its peak.

After the Gwangju Uprising in May, 1980, Cardinal Stephan Kim Sou-hwan (1922-2009) sent an open letter to all Catholics, requesting they pray for Korea and the victims of the mass killing in the southwestern city. The priest also issued a special declaration on the uprising. At the time, Catholics gathered at the Myeongdong Cathedral for an overnight Mass to pray for the nation in turmoil.