The Korean Bishops' Conference reports strong growth in the number of Church-run retreat programs since 2005. It claims that the number of non-Catholics who are interested in Catholic retreats is also on the rise. According to the report, which was released on June 28, the number of publicly available retreat programs rose from 23 in 2005 to 75 this year, while the number of available venues jumped from 88 to 134 in the same period. The report noted a particular surge of interest in retreats at convents, where the number of programs has soared from five in 2005 to 24 this year. In some instances the program format has been changed, which has brought a positive response from young people and higher participation among non-Catholics. The Sisters of Our Lady of Perpetual Help hold one-day programs where people can experience convent life. Around 10 percent of the participants at these events are Protestants and another 10 percent are non-Christian. Sister Rosa Kim In-sun of the Religious Missionaries of the St. Dominic also reports that around 20 percent of participants at their specially tailored program for families are non-Catholic. “The program attracts non-Catholics because it focuses on dialogue between family members as well as on the Catholic faith,” she said. Father Louis Cho Su-man, vocation director of the Order of Friars Minor Korean Province, has noticed another positive effect of the rise in interest. “The number of young people who want to enter religious life after participating in one of these programs has been increasing,” he said. The Bishops’ Conference attributes the rise in popularity to an ever increasing thirst for psychological and spiritual peace. Related reports ‘Catholics, Protestants go on joint retreat’
