August 9, 2012: Cheju diocese South Korea, has demanded an official apology after
about 20 riot police disrupted a Mass yesterday on Jeju island. The police were clearing
a path for a cement truck to enter the construction site of a controversial new naval
base.
Father Bartholomew Mun Jung-hyun, who was presiding over the Mass at
the gates of the site, was knocked to the ground while administering communion. It
is claimed that a policeman also trod on the Eucharist. Father John Ko Buyeong-soo,
president of Cheju diocese’s Committee for Justice and Peace, visited the site shortly
after the disturbance and said that he would demand an explanation and an apology
from police.
“To step on or damage the Eucharist is an insult to Catholics,”
he said.The Jeju Provincial Police Agency yesterday issued a press statement in which
it denied any wrongdoing.
The construction of the naval base on Jeju island,
which will become home to a new fleet of 20 warships and other vessels, has sparked
vigorous protests from local residents, environmental activists and religious leaders.
Protesters say the project would cause irreparable damage to the ecosystem of the
island, which is a popular tourism destination and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.