14.08.14 - Pope Flies East With Some Surprises

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis' five-day visit to South Korea will be the first time in a quarter-century that a pope has been on the divided Korean peninsula. Francis plans to bring a message of peace and reconciliations to Koreans on both sides of the 38th parallel, while encouraging Catholics in the region to spread their faith. Here are [...] things to know about the trip, which got underway with Francis' departure Wednesday from Rome and arrival in Seoul on Thursday morning.

CHINA FLY-BY

Vatican protocol calls for the pope to send greetings to the heads of state of the countries he flies over when traveling. Usually, these telegrams aren't worth mentioning, except that Pope Francis will be flying through Chinese airspace en route to Seoul. China and the Holy See haven't had diplomatic relations since 1951, when the officially atheistic Communist Party took power and set up its own church outside the pope's authority. As a result, the papal fly-by will offer Francis a rare chance to speak directly to the Chinese leadership.

When St. John Paul II last visited South Korea in 1989, tensions were so high that China refused to let his plane fly through its airspace. Instead, the Alitalia charter flew via Russian airspace, providing John Paul with a first-ever opportunity to send radio greetings to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev. (He said he hoped to visit Moscow soon.)

Francis has already exchanged informal (and private) letters with Chinese President Xi Jinping, so the papal telegram should at the very least offer a first public view of Vatican efforts under Francis to engage the Beijing leadership.

KOREA'S MARTYRS

One of the highlights of Francis' trip is the Aug. 16 beatification of 124 Korean martyrs, killed for their faith by the anti-Western rulers of the Joseon Dynasty in the 18th and 19th centuries. Unlike most countries where missionary priests brought Catholicism and spread it, South Korea's church is uniquely homegrown: Members of Korea's noble classes discovered the faith in the 18th century reading books by the Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci that they brought back from China. Their interest spread, until finally the first Korean was baptized in Beijing in 1784.

Historians say early believers were struck by the idea of a religion that preached universal equality in divine eyes at a time when the nobility's discriminatory hierarchical system brutally exploited ordinary people. Despite its local roots, Korean Catholics weren't immune from persecutions waged against Christians across Asia and an estimated 10,000 Korean Catholics were killed by the Joseon Dynasty, which tried to shut the Korean Peninsula off from Western influence. Those being beatified were the founders of the Korean church. John Paul II canonized another 103 of these martyrs during his 1984 visit.

FRANCIS' OTHER NODS

While martyrs, missionaries and peace on the Korean peninsula are the main themes of Francis' trip, he'll have a few occasions to issue other messages. During his Aug. 15 Mass, Francis is expected to console survivors of South Korea's April ferry sinking, which left more than 300 people, most of them students, dead or missing. A day later, he is to pray at a garden for aborted fetuses and meet with a pro-life activist. Francis is also expected to briefly greet a small delegation of Korean women used as sex slaves by Japan's military during World War II. These former "comfort women" are expected at his final Aug. 18 Mass of peace and reconciliation in Seoul's main cathedral.

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MARTYRS AND PEACE WITH PYONGYANG TOP POPE'S AGENDA

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The Pope of surprises flies East