Today, Pope Francis spoke at the Asia Youth Conference in Choong-Nam Province, Korea where he met with teenagers that gathered from countries all over Asia to experience Korean culture. The leader of the Catholic Church moved many in the audience by talking about Korean reunification which is something that must be eventually accomplished and that there is still hope.
Pope Francis is known to be rather informal when it comes to speaking in public. During his speech at the Asia Youth Conference he stated that he will stop reading off the notes he prepared and that he will speak out of his heart. He also surprised his audience by asking them if it will be all right for him to speak in Italian, explaining that his English was not so good. The crowd responded with applause and cheers.
The Pope started by emphasizing one must always seek the plan and guidance of the Lord before moving onto the topic of the divided Korea. He said, “It is a very sad thing that families and brothers are separated from each other. I hope that the brothers and sisters of the two Koreas will one day unite as one some day.”
Pope Francis told his congregation that the best advice he could give them regarding bringing the two Koreas back together was prayer, to pray constantly. “We must pray with the mindset that we are all a family. You are all a family. You speak the same language. In Bible says Joseph was able to share food with brothers he found to speak the same tongue as he did. The fact that you use the same language as your North Korean brothers is the first sign of hope for reunification.”
Before and after this meeting with this multinational audience, the Pope took time to make eye contact and shake hands with as many people as possible.
