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Michael Kim
Professor
Course
14 January 2019
Title: Korean Christianity
Summary
In 17th and 18th century Korea, a struggle developed between progressive and conservative Catholics over the issue of authority CITATION Fra13 \l 1033 (Rausch). Bishop Gustav Mutel, who was the Korean apostolic vicariate’s bishop between 1890 to 1911, expanded his mission to nearly the entire Korea, and thus carried significant influence in shaping the policy of the Church then. Mutel condemned the Korean nationalist Catholic leader, An Chunggun, after he learned of his involvement in the assassination of Japanese colonial leader Ito Hirobumi. He was criticized by many, including his own community; however, as a missionary, Mutel saw the need for a strong government that would tolerate the Catholic Church, which would allow him to focus on his mission of spiritual salvation once the property and lives of Catholics were protected. Although reluctant from within, he accepted the Japanese colonial government over Korea and condemned the assassination of their leader.
There are a number of factors which led Bishop Mutel to make this decision. In Korea, Catholic persecution had a long history which had nearly destroyed the Church, destroyed the lives and property of thousands of faithful and made Catholic rites and rituals nearly impossible to practice. Mutel’s mission in Korea revolved around teaching, performing sacraments, carrying out pastoral tours and managing the overall growth of the Church. He saw the need for a government that would allow the Catholic Church a peaceful and stable environment, for them to spread and practice their faith. To maintain tolerance for his faith, he had to earlier decide when to oppose and when to obey the Choson state, striking a careful balance between priorities, as he further expanded his network with government officials. The respect and tolerance he would gain from state officials with regards to missionaries would encourage conversion and provide support to Catholics. The need for a strong government for this purpose led him to accept, albeit grudgingly, the new Japanese government that took over Korea. Similarly, for the Japanese government, the influence missionaries had on the masses of people in Korea as well as their home countries’ governments, they became a group who the Japanese rulers sought to attain support from. Any coercion against the Catholic Church and its institutions could alienate world powers with whom Japan wanted to forge ties. In addition, Mutel did not see Koreans having sufficient ability to govern their country effectively.
Thus, Mutel feared losing the tolerance he had strived so hard to develop within the government, he condemned the assassination and refused to have the spiritual needs of An Chungun attended to. He saw his actions as ultimately damaging to his mission and that of the Church.
Reflection
In my opinion, Bishop Gustave Mutel could be driven by different personal, organizational and spiritual factors which can explain why he would go the extra mile to win support from the government, despite criticism even from his allies. Mutel might have witnessed the Boxer Rebellion in China and may have foreseen the consequences of having a similar strife in Korea. The incident had led to thousands of Catholics being killed. Secondly, the time period in which these events were happening coincided with the events and aftermath of the French revolution in which an official separation between the state and the church was announced in France. In my view, Mutel may have thought that he would have little support from the French government in which those opposed to clerics had become dominant. Thus, he was possibly on his own and needed to forge ties with whoever was powerful in Korea or would govern it. I can understand his resentment towards the Japanese government for their history of persecution against the Catholics, but the demands of his mission required that he forges ties with their government instead.
This would naturally create divisions among the Catholic masses along with other missionaries, a difference of opinion is common in matters as sensitive as supporting an occupation. I am inclined to the view that many Korean Catholics desired a more nationalistic role of the Church and saw the binding force that the Church provided to strengthen themselves as a nation. One of those nationalists was An Chunggun, who went on to assassinate an important and influential Japanese leader, Ito Hirobumi. Often, nationalistic emotions can get the better of people. In my view, Bishop Mutel’s policy was more favorable and practical. His refusal to send a priest to attend to An when he was awaiting his execution was, in fact, a token of disapproval, as it clearly clashed with the overall mission of the Church. In my view sending a priest at that moment would have symbolized support of the Church for the assassination and Mutel could lose all that he worked for. Although the way events unfolded in the future was not disastrous for Catholics in the future, It is clear to me that Mutel’s policy was right in this regard and An’s decision to assassinate the Japanese leader was uncalled for.
Works Cited
BIBLIOGRAPHY Rausch, Franklin. "The Bishop’s Dilemma: Gustave Mutel and the Catholic Church in Korea, 1890–1910." Journal of Korean Religions 4.1 (2013): 43-69.
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