Korean WWII sex slaves invited to Seoul papal mass

I really hope the Pontiff explains the virtue of honesty and forgiveness.

South Korea expressed “deep regret” and summoned Japan’s ambassador last week to protest at Tokyo’s recent >review of a landmark 1993 apology for wartime sex slavery.

They protested that it was "reviewed". Even though Japan said that they would not retract or change it. Does this make any sense? For what reason would they NOT want it reviewed?

The review upheld the apology, but angered Seoul by asserting there was no evidence to corroborate the testimony of >Korean comfort women that they were forced to serve as sex slaves.

Is Seoul angered by the South Korean finding in 1993 that the testimony of 40 former Comfort Women was "not credible"?

Seoul also rejected the review’s finding that Japan’s 1993 apology was partly drafted by South Korea.

The way Seoul hid the fact that Japan had paid compensation back in 1965? Japan should just make the correspondence public.

I really hope the Pontiff explains the virtue of honesty and forgiveness.

As for forgiveness, a Christian is required to forgive, but only when the party committing the wrong has expressed genuine repentance. (It is the duty of the wronged party to continue to bring the wrong to the perpetrator's attention, in order to help with the perpetrator's spiritual restoration.) If the party committing the wrong is not sincere, forgiveness can not be granted. A party which is demanding forgiveness without sincerely repenting is heaping wrong upon wrong.

One way so many in Japan's leadership demonstrate they have not repented is by calling the women they have abused liars, on top of having abused them.

over Tokyo’s recent allegations that there was no evidence to corroborate the testimony of so-called “comfort women” who were forced to work in Japanese military brothels.

The evidence is in the testimony. The scripture the pope follows cites that two witnesses are sufficient. There have been many more than two comfort women who have come forward claiming they were forced into sexual slavery. These Japanese who are calling them liars -- let's face it -- are looking for Japanese evidence to corroborate the claim. This is self-serving, and undeserving of forgiveness.

Is Seoul angered by the South Korean finding in 1993 that the testimony of 40 former Comfort Women was "not credible"?

The reality is that there need to be at least two who are credible. Koreans satisfied that. An individual's subjective opinion that some parts of some of the women's stories were not credible to him, is just that: a subjective opinion.

For what reason would they NOT want it reviewed?

A review of a past apology casts serious doubt on its sincerity -- and that party making it was not truly repentant. A child can see this. Refer to the recent series of lies told by a Japanese right-wing politician when he subjected a female member of the government to sexist heckling. Deny, deny, deny. Lie, lie lie. It's a standard pattern with the right wing.

I really hope the Pope will say some prayers that the Japanese who continue to disparage these women (and who disparage South Koreans in general) will develop some honesty, humility and integrity.

Yabits... your understanding of the catholic faith is poor... very poor...

Sex slaves? But, the Japanese government keeps telling us they were volunteers.

DisillusionedJul. 02, 2014 - 11:39AM JST Sex slaves? But, the Japanese government keeps telling us they were volunteers.

The vast majority were volunteers either willful or forced by debt ridden families but deceived by Korean agents who supplied "recruits" for the Japanese military, and ended up in Comfort Stations often managed by Koreans. Read "The Comfort Women" by Sarah So, a native South Korean. It is he most, possibly only, truly objective book on the subject around. .

I really hope the Pontiff explains the virtue of honesty and forgiveness.

Doesn't the person who inflicted harm have to own up to what they did before that can really take place?

**

Good| Bad

OssanAmericaJul. 02, 2014 - 11:51AM JST

DisillusionedJul. 02, 2014 - 11:39AM JST Sex slaves? But, the Japanese government keeps telling us they were volunteers.

The vast majority were volunteers either willful or forced by debt ridden families but deceived by Korean agents who supplied "recruits" for the Japanese military, and ended up in Comfort Stations often managed by Koreans**

Proving my point very well.

What about the "other" comfort women? Were they invited too?

http://rt.com/news/169232-military-comfort%20women-korea/

@kickboard

Maybe this explains the recent memorials built on US soil?

The vast majority were volunteers either willful or forced by debt ridden families but deceived by Korean agents who supplied "recruits" for the Japanese military, and ended up in Comfort Stations often managed by Koreans

It would be the complete and total responsibility of the Japanese military to vet the women to ensure they had not been deceived, tricked or otherwise forced. The Japanese knew they were dealing with the kind of men who would betray their own families if it meant getting favors from the Japanese. This is now deep the corrupting influence of Imperial Japan ran. (And such is the corruption of the revisionists and those who make excuses for them.)

There would need to be a record of a personal interview with each woman, and her signed statement indicating she was entering into the sex trade willingly. If such evidence is not produced, then the woman's word must be taken as the best evidence regarding her personal experience. It's an amazing scene: Japan corrupts the women, and then castigates them before the world as "corrupted" for telling their stories.

Read "The Comfort Women" by Sarah So, a native South Korean. It is he most, possibly only, truly objective book on the subject around. .

Soh's book puts the comfort women system in the context of Imperial Japan's overall exploitation and debauchery of Korean society. The way of the nationalist Japanese was to treat the Koreans as second-class human beings, and carefully train and reward those who would turn against their own, which included many in the Korean patriarchy. Then, later, the Japanese could shrug off responsibility, claiming it was all the work of "Korean agents". (The way of the Japanese nationalist and apologist today. This is how deep the moral corruption runs.)

Doesn't the person who inflicted harm have to own up to what they did before that can really take place?

Yes. Note how the Catholic popes, starting with John Paul II, have been making atonement for the Church's antisemitism of many centuries. Note also, that the college of cardinals deeply opposed John Paul II's initial efforts. So people who make ignorant claims of who and who does not understand the faith might well be on the side of the cardinals -- and, by extension, the Japanese nationalist/apologists -- rather than the Pope himself.

The fact the atonement money was coming directly from citizen donations did not mean the JPN government was any less sorry!

This is an absurd statement. Money from the government would have meant national culpability, since it consists of all taxpayers funds. There needs to be national culpability and admission of guilt on the part of Japan's colonial and wartime crimes. Something that can't be abrogated to "future review" or interpretation. (As we witness the corrosive influence of the rightists on Japan's constitution.)

“We will inform the pope of their participation in the mass,”

They already invited those women and they have not informed the Pope yet? Is this kind of protocol normal in Catholic? It seems to be not too polite to Pope.

Silly farce.

The equivocation is a huge irritation in Tokyo’s relations with East Asia, and with South Korea in particular.

What kind of party, who claims to want to reconcile, later "equivocates?" (answer: an unrepentant party)

They already invited those women and they have not informed the Pope yet? Is this kind of protocol normal in Catholic? It seems to be not too polite to Pope.

It is very simple: The Pope will have a message for the comfort women. Because so many are of advanced age, it is not yet known how many can attend the mass. Once it is closer to the date (still six weeks away), it will be known if any can attend in person and the Pope will be informed of that fact.

SidekickJul. 02, 2014 - 10:31PM JST Silly farce.

No doubt.

@ yabits The evidence is in the testimony. - No. Actually Korean government said they would give firm evidences many times before, but there is nothing such so far.

A review of a past apology casts serious doubt on its sincerity. - Actually, yes, in a different meaning. Japanese people are now well aware of the incredibility of Kono Statement, and it is S. Korea first lied.

No. Actually Korean government said

Yes, I believe the women's stories. I do not believe what you are saying about the "Korean government," and I would not believe the "Korean government" over the women.

Actually, yes, in a different meaning. Japanese people are now well aware of the incredibility of Kono Statement

So, every time a Japanese mentions the Kono statement in support of a position, we should not trust them.

@yabits

Yes, I believe the women's stories. I do not believe what you are saying about the "Korean government," and I would not believe the "Korean government" over the women.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3rieiEoXbg

So, every time a Japanese mentions the Kono statement in support of a position, we should not trust them.

After forced Japan to compromise with the promise to make Kono Statement the final solution, it was S. Korea who betrayed Japan. The Statement would not be retracted as you wish. Japan did review the history as told to face it. If you are against the results of the review, explain it with convincing evidences. Which part of the review is against the fact?

yabits

demanding evidences is not a game.

"explain it with convincing evidences. Which part of the review is against the fact?" is quite a fair request. can you respond?

do you just believe what you say or do you know what you say based on facts?

demanding evidences is not a game

The way the Japanese nationalists are doing it, it most certainly is a game.

Where is the evidence that each and every one of the comfort women was willingly and voluntarily providing her body for the use by the Japanese military?

If you can't provide that evidence, the women's word will carry the day. If you can't provide that evidence, your "reviews" are moot, irrelevant and not worthy of consideration. If the women report they were forced, and there are more than two witnesses, their story stands. Anyone asking for additional evidence when they know that such evidence does not exist to corroborate the women's story is playing a game.

Japan ran the sex slave "business." It was therefore Japan's complete responsibility to keep the evidence of each woman's understanding and agreement. The consequences of the failure to do so are Japan's to bear. This is the business Japan got itself into. Nobody forced the Japanese to "recruit" women into a way of life that demeaned and degraded them.

This is a moral issue, and one that the Pope will surely remind the world of. That other nations are failing in this does not excuse Japan in any way.

zichiJul. 02, 2014 - 08:33PM JST "Korean agents who supplied "recruits" for the Japanese military, and ended up in Comfort Stations often managed by Koreans. Read" There were no Koreans since technically from the time of the imperialist occupation of Korea all its citizens were >classified has Japanese

Classic zichi. So by your definition there were no Korean Comfort Women, no Korean soldiers in the Imperial Japanese military, and no Korean laborers because technically they were all Japanese from 1910 to 1945. Read the book I suggested, it is written by Chunghee Sarah Soh, a native South Korean Professor of Anthropology at San Francisco State.

The review upheld the apology, but angered Seoul by asserting there was no evidence to corroborate the testimony of Korean comfort women that they were forced to serve as sex slaves.

Read the book I suggested, it is written by Chunghee Sarah Soh, a native South Korean Professor of Anthropology at San Francisco State.

Soh's book, Comfort Women, provides plenty of evidence of Korean women being forced into sexual slavery. Although she documents the culpability of Korean elements, she specifically warns that her book should not be used by Japanese nationalists seeking to exonerate Imperial Japan in any way. it was, after all, a Japanese system that exploited Korean weakness

Just as important, Soh calls the experiences of many of the women "horrific," which emphasizes that even if a person volunteered, they were very often brutally mistreated by the Japanese.

I pray for the success of this special mass, and that it will lead to a genuine repentance an the part of those still attacking the victims and treating their nation with contempt.

Shame on Koreans trying to get Pope involved in their political agenda!!