Korea: Archbishop mourns victims of Halloween crush

Archbishop Peter Chung and Bishop Matthias RI prayed at a memorial altar in front of Seoul City Hall for victims of the disaster

Source: Archdiocese of Seoul, Vatican News

Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick, the Archbishop of Seoul, expressed his condolences and prayed for all the victims and their family members.

In his message, the prelate expressed "sincere condolences to all the victims and pray that the Lord's grace and comfort are with those who are suffering from the sudden loss of loved ones and family members." Archbishop Chung also prayed for the "authorities involved in the accident and all those who are working on rescue operations at the scene." He lastly expressed hope that "such a tragedy will not be repeated anymore."

Meanwhile, religious leaders in South Korea on Tuesday visited a mourning altar for those killed in the country's worst crowd crush in history. The representatives of the country's seven main religious orders paid tribute to the victims at a joint memorial altar set up at the public plaza in front of Seoul City Hall.

More than 150 people were killed and more than 80 were injured in the crush. Speaking during the Sunday Angelus Pope Francis said: "Let us pray to the Risen Lord for all those-mostly young people-who died last night in Seoul from the tragic consequences of a sudden crowd stampede."

It is unclear why the crush occurred, but eyewitnesses said there was little or no crowd control. Revellers kept arriving and pushing into streets that were already full.

South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol called it a "tragedy that should not have happened." He said South Koreans will mark a week of mourning.

In a written statement, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Korea said South Koreans must "break the cycle of injustice and irresponsibility that has become a common practice in this society... To do that, we must first be faithful to our respective roles," the Bishops said. "Authorities must thoroughly examine the cause and process of this tragedy, and ensure that irresponsibility and oblivion are not repeated."

The bishops added that it is important to ensure there are "no further sacrifices" from people, especially young people.

"Human life and dignity are the most precious values, and nothing in our society can take precedence over it."

The death toll is the worst in South Korea since the sinking of an overloaded ferry eight years ago. In that disaster, 304 people died, many of them school children. But it led to a tightening of maritime transport regulations.