Archbishop Peter Chung Soon-taick urged Christians to defend life amid war, suffering, and moral uncertainty, calling the faithful to make concrete, life-giving choices rooted in the hope of the resurrection.
In his 2026 Easter message, the prelate said, “we remember those who suffer amid war and tension,” and prayed that “the Lord’s comfort and hope be with those living in anxiety, and all who strive to live according to their conscience.”
Quoting the Gospel, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen” (Luke 24:5–6), the archbishop said the empty tomb “is not a place of despair, but a place where new life begins.”
“We are called to a ‘life-giving life’ in this hope of the resurrection,” noting that such a life is directed toward “those who suffer and are marginalized, and we encounter the risen Lord in them,” he added.
Citing Dilexi Te, Chung quoted Pope Leo XIV as saying, “in the wounded faces of the poor and the suffering of the innocent, we see the suffering of Christ himself,” and urged the faithful “to remember all who suffer, pray for them, and stand in solidarity,” especially those facing threats to life amid war and violence.
He said this call must take shape in daily life, adding that “in the small acts of helping those in need and responding to the suffering of those near us, our faith becomes alive,” and that such witness extends to caring for creation and respecting life.
Amid rapid technological change, Chung also stressed the primacy of human dignity, saying “all technologies, including artificial intelligence, must not become tools that alienate human beings, but should serve to connect one another and give life.”
Quoting Mark 16:7, “You will see him there,” the bishop said, “that ‘there’ is the very place where we live,” and added that “we are invited to discern right and wrong according to our conscience and respond to God’s will through life-giving choices.”
Calling on the faithful to become witnesses of the resurrection, Chung said, “We must move forward not on the path of despair but of hope,” and “walk the path of love shown by the Lord.”
He also pointed to the upcoming World Youth Day in Seoul, saying the 2027 gathering “will be a time of grace for us to newly experience the joy of the resurrection.”
Chung is set to preside over the Easter Vigil on April 4 and the Easter Sunday Mass on April 5 at the Myeongdong Cathedral, where he is expected to deliver his homily reflecting the same message.
