Father Rha (center) celebrates Mass for Ssangyong Motors workers and laid-off workers in 2013 (Photo: Father Rha Facebook)
A day before the 25th anniversary of his ordination, Father Rha Seoung-goo of Seoul joined the families of the victims of the Sewol ferry tragedy in a hunger strike in Gwanghwamun Square.
On Aug. 17 the Sewol Families Committee commenced a hunger strike to demand an investigation into the true cause of the 2014 ferry tragedy. On Aug. 22 Father Rha joined the strike.
When the strike ended on Sept. 5, Father Rha shared with ucanews.com that his meditation during those 15 days was more precious than any other gifts he received for his jubilee.
"We believe in Jesus Christ, but it seems that we do not believe in His teachings," he lamented. Father Rha said that this led him to reflect on the foundation of his faith.
Father Rha was ordained on Aug. 23, 1991. As a seminarian, he was strongly influenced by Father Mun Jeong-hyeon, a South Korean priest who visited North Korea in 1989. Father Mun moved him to consider the impact of the national division, with Father Rha coming to realize that "unification is the core of all issues that we are facing."
Throughout his 25 years in the priesthood, whether serving as a parish priest or as chaplain of the Seoul Federation of Catholic Students, Father Rha has been a key member of the Catholic Priests’ Association for Justice (CPAJ). While advocating for unification and the abolition of the National Security Act, he also responded to other social justice issues as they emerged.
In 2009, he began to live with those who had suffered. That year residents in the Yongsan district resisted a redevelopment project. Five evictees and one policeman died in the unrest.
"Death was so near and we were afraid that more people would die," said Father Rha. On Feb. 15, after a national meeting, CPAJ marched from Myeongdong to Yongsan and set up tents there. For the next six months, they lived on the street with the evictees. "We think life is important. Life was under threat."
Fr Rha (left) stands in support of the 'Sewol' families before a march to Gwanghwamun Square on Nov. 12, 2016. (ucanews.com photo)
This experience taught Father Rha that, "What we have to do is not only talk to people about their suffering, but be with them. Instead of solving their problems or controlling the situation, we must be with them, be their strength, and prevent them from losing their life."
This brought Father Rha to a deeper understanding of why God became a human being. "God's salvation is not something that happens in a blink in heaven. God comes to the Earth. So when there is a poor person, what we need to do is not lift that person up to a high position, but to go down to them, to the bottom."
Father Rha extended the solidarity he displayed in a strike at Ssangyong Motors over lay-offs to the victims of the 2014 Sewol tragedy, and more recently, to Catholic farmer and activist, Baek Nam-ki, who died after a 316-day coma following being hit by water cannons at close distance.
In 2013, with the support of his bishop, Father Rha moved to a low-income, family area. His current parish is among those that the Catholic Urban Poor Pastoral Committee is developing.
Father Rha argues that South Korea’s growing Catholic population, and its increasing need for resources to support more parishes, has led to the growing influence of the rich and middle class in many parishes.
"If we demand something new," Father Rha said, "they think we are introducing chaos. They ask the socially active priest ‘why do you talk about politics? Are you communist?’"
Priests have been discouraged from talking about social justice in their parishes, while an atmosphere of indifference to social problems spreads in the church. "A priest who serves in a parish can hardly come outside," he said.
In midst of the political crisis of President Park Geun-hye, Father Rha hopes not simply for a new president who can do a better job but "a world which is a little bit better, a little bit closer to the Kingdom of God, and what the Sewol families are urging: a more secure Korea."
"A country is a nation that protects, cares for and respects the people. Unlike Ssangyong Motors employees or other workers who were kicked out and ignored, workers should be treated as very precious people. Those who are called sexual minorities, students and the powerless are all considered the most precious people. They should receive help and share in the common good."
"If we can walk step by step towards such a world," Father Rha said, "it is more important than who becomes the president. If all the processes take place through discussion, dialogue and the sharing of loving hearts, then the system that we create cannot be controlled by any one person or any power group."