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[NYT] Papal Visit That Thrills Catholics Is Unsettling to Protestants in South Korea

August 18, 2014
Pope Francis blesses upon arrival for the Closing Holy Mass of the 6th Asian Youth Day at Haemi Castle in Seosan, south of Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool)

Pope Francis blesses upon arrival for the Closing Holy Mass of the 6th Asian Youth Day at Haemi Castle in Seosan, south of Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Aug. 17, 2014. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man, Pool)

[THE NEW YORK TIMES]  Since the pope’s arrival, his visits to a center for handicapped children and his common-man touch have generated front-page news lavishing praise for his humility, which has been celebrated elsewhere. One news agency headlined its report: “Let’s Meet the Pope, ‘The Friend of the Poor,’ ” while the national public broadcaster gushed about his willingness to pose for cellphone pictures with ordinary Koreans.

But not everyone in South Korea has welcomed the pope, who is on a five-day visit meant to acknowledge Asia’s growing importance to the Catholic Church. And it is not Buddhists or Confucians — the country’s two major non-Christian religious groups — who are publicly expressing unhappiness with his visit, but members of Protestant groups who fear Catholic encroachment in a country where Christians make up 29 percent of the population. [READ MORE]