S. Korean Catholics give 10 bln won in overseas relief

SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Yonhap) -- A South Korean Catholic organization said Thursday that
it contributed 10 billion won (US$8.8 million) to overseas relief efforts in
2008.
Caritas Corea said it calculated the amount by surveying 16 parishes, regional
orders and other church organizations from September through November.
It said of the total, 57.4 percent was used in Asian countries. Catholics
contributed 60 percent of the money, while another 17 percent was collected from
other churches and various religious organizations.
"The overseas contributions are aimed at transforming the Korean church into a
'giving' organization from one that benefited from foreign aid in the past," a
spokesperson said.
This year is the first time that the organization has released data on such
activities.
Caritas Corea, established by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea in 1975,
has been a member of the worldwide network of Catholic relief and development
organizations Caritas Internationalis since 1979.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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