To all those who loved
Salesian Father John Tae-Seok Lee, (1962~2010)
SEOUL: 5 May 2012 - The
Provincial of Korea Province, Fr Stephen Nam, has issued a
formal
statement on behalf of the Province in the light of a growing
concern
that the life and spirituality of the recently deceased Fr
John
Tae-Seok Lee SDB, Korean Salesian missionary in what is now
South
Sudan, has given rise to much interest, devotion and
inspiration on the
one hand, but which on the other hand is clearly being misused
and
misdirected by commercial interests, especially in his
homeland, and
with inevitable difficulties for the Church, the Congregation
and
indeed the mission which he lived and died for.
The letter begins by pointing out the key facts relating to
John Lee's life as a Salesians:
"Fr Lee, a member of the
Salesians of
St John Bosco, was a great gift to the Korean Church and to
the poor
youth of South Sudan. We thank God for having sent him to
us. We also
thank all those who, after the death of Fr Lee, have striven
to
remember him in various ways and take example from his life.
As young Fr Lee, who was
born and
raised in a faithful Catholic family of Pusan, was finishing
his
military duty as a medical officer, he felt a strong and
concrete
calling of God. He decided to become a companion of the
young leading
them to God according to the spirituality of St John Bosco
and entered
the Salesian Society in 1991. At his Ordination as a
Salesian Priest in
2001 he volunteered for the missions. The Salesian Society
sent him as
a missionary to the Salesian Mission of Southern Sudan in
Africa.
He exercised his ministry by
offering
medical services at the poorly equipped clinic run by the
mission of
the place and he enjoyed going to treat those afflicted by
Hansen’s
disease living in the surrounding area. However, his first
love was
that of the playground, classroom and church where he could
be with
young people. The source of his joy was the morning
assembly, the
evening rosary while sitting outside in a circle around the
mango tree,
the direction of the brass band and the monitoring of
evening study
until late at night. He was a true Salesian who faithfully
followed and
practiced St John Bosco’s spirituality of love for young
people.
However, the life that God had provided for him was a short
one of 48
years. “Give me souls. Take Away the rest.” “Da mihi animas
cetera
tolle!” was the one motto that summarized his whole life. He
sacrificed
it as priest, religious, friend, teacher and father who
works for the
salvation of the young who are poor and in difficulty".
The problem now, however, is that "the
life and spirituality of Fr Lee is being sacrificed to
business
interests. The study of his roots and foundation is omitted
and a
one-sided fragmentary appraisal is put forward. Through
exaggerations
and by making him a secular hero his life and spirituality
are being
distorted. His use as dramatic and emotional material also
clouds his
real identity and makes him into a social entrepreneur. It
also leads
to the defamation of his good name". Without
citing precise
names of bodies involved, Fr Nam points out that a number of
public
bodies have gone ahead with films, broadcasts, pamphlets and
the like,
all without consultation and certainly without permission of
the
Salesians. Fr Nam reminds readers of his letter that John Lee
was in
the very first instance a "priest
of the Catholic Church and a religious of the Salesian
Society", then outlines in five clear points which he
wishes these public bodies and others to follow:
"1. As Fr Lee did in his
lifetime,
all activities and remembrances of Fr Lee must have the
objective of
building up the Church and showing forth the Love of God.
They must be
in accordance with Canon Law and the teachings of the
Church.
2. All activities and
remembrances in
Fr Lee’s name must help in expressing his spirituality and
virtue; that
is, they must express the Love that God, through Fr Lee, has
for poor
young people.
3. All activities and
remembrances in
Fr Lee’s name must show forth the missionary dimension of
the Church.
Also they must not disparage the honor of Tonj and South
Sudan and must
respect the past, present and future missionary pastoral
activity of
the religious community of the place.
4. We also make clear that
all the
corporate entities and groups that have come into existence
after the
death of Fr Lee, on January 14, 2010, and are using the name
of Fr Lee
Tae Seok, were neither intended by him nor have any
association with
him. We announce that all the commemorative activities in
his name were
never approved by Fr Lee nor have any of their activities
ever had the
consent of the Salesian Society. Presently, the Salesians of
St John
Bosco have no connection whatsoever with the planning and
execution of
these activities, especially those activities of collecting
money. If
anyone wishes to participate in fund-raising activities in
memory of Fr
Lee, we ask that they exclude explicitly any connection with
the
Salesian Society.
5. We also ask that all the
corporate
entities and groups that have come into existence after the
death of Fr
Lee and also those individuals that are using his name and
life to
produce anything of whatever kind, be they radio broadcasts,
films,
songs, books, performances, and the like, should obtain the
proper
permission and authorization from the Society of St Francis
de Sales".