ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - Three missionaries of St. Columban among Korea's "heroes of independence"

Seoul (Agenzia Fides) - The Korean Ministry of Patriotic and Veterans Affairs has recognized three missionaries of the Society of St. Columban as "heroes of independence", highlighting them as examples of life and models of inspiration in the present. This distinction, awarded in December 2024, honors Father Patrick Dawson (1905-1989), Father Thomas Daniel Ryan (1907-1971) and Father Augustine Sweeney (1909-1980), Irish priests who served in the diocese of Jeju during the 1930s and 1940s.
The Korean government has promoted a special registry aimed at recognizing and rewarding those who actively participated in the independence movement, awarding them medals and national distinctions. This recognition coincides with a delicate political and social phase in the country, marked by the recent dismissal of President Yoon Suk-yeol by Parliament.
Against this backdrop, the nation has seen a resurgence in its collective consciousness of pride in national independence and the defence of its democratic institutions, achievements made with great sacrifices in the past century.
The story of the three missionaries is a reminder of the contribution of the Catholic Church to the Korean people, both in the past and in the present. These three missionaries, active during the period of Japanese occupation, in one of the darkest moments of Korean history, conveyed hope and a message of peaceful resistance. At that time, the Japanese controlled the media and exaggerated news of their victories.
Father Patrick Dawson, sent to Korea in 1933, worked as a parish priest in the Diocese of Jeju. In addition to his sacramental ministry, he dedicated himself to initiatives of consolation and charity for the oppressed population. In April 1941, during a missionary meeting, he commented: “According to the Japanese press, the army is advancing towards Changsha, but Shanghai radio reports that Japan has been defeated. What the Japanese newspaper writes is false. If the Sino-Japanese war were to drag on, Japan would lose due to lack of supplies.”
Father Thomas Daniel Ryan, also a parish priest in Jeju, encouraged the Korean faithful to keep faith in God and to resist with hope, assuring them: “If China receives help from the United Kingdom and the United States and the conflict drags on, Japan will be defeated.”
Meanwhile, Father Augustine Sweeney, known for his tireless apostolic and charitable service, told the population: “Japan has no chance of emerging victorious from this war.”
The statements and work of the three priests led to their arrest in December 1941, on charges of spreading false information. They were sentenced to prison, leaving their communities deprived of their presence for years. Despite their imprisonment, the three missionaries faced that difficult period with faith and hope.
During that time, Japan, in conflict with the national liberation movement in its colony of Joseon (Korea), used the region as a logistical base for its war effort, especially after the start of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937 and the Pacific War in 1941. In this context, the colonizers imposed strict control over the daily life of Koreans, including their spiritual and religious life. Historians describe the period between 1937 and 1945 as “the darkest of Japanese colonial domination in Korea.” In the midst of this oppression, the pastoral closeness and charitable works of the three missionaries represented a valuable spiritual and material support for the population. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 28/12/2024)

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