Being Lights to the World

In its Science and Faith column, the Catholic Peace Weekly recalls a science teacher who saw the movie 'City Lights' and shared his thoughts. 

It was a 1931 black-and-white silent film starring Charlie Chaplin, a wandering tramp who meets a blind girl selling flowers on the street and struggles to raise money for her hospital bills to help her regain sight.

The blind girl can see the world with his help and eventually recognizes the poor but warm-hearted protagonist at the movie's end. Charlie Chaplin's shy smile toward the girl who recognizes him in the film's last scene is a famous scene that remains in the memory of many who saw the movie.

The title of the movie City Lights refers to the city streetlights illuminating the night's darkness. The audience watching the movie realizes the warmth and light illuminating the world's darkness is ultimately the poor, wandering protagonist. The city streetlights illuminate the darkness, showing people where to go and promoting safety and security. They don't have the light and warmth of the tramp.

Historically, the first streetlights were torches installed in public places and major roads during the Roman era. In the 18th century, streetlights using whale oil lit up the nights of major European cities such as London, Paris, and Amsterdam. In 1807, the world's first gas lamp was installed in London, illuminating the streets at night until the early 19th century.

After Edison invented the incandescent light bulb, the world's first electric street light was installed on the Champs-Élysées in Paris in 1878. Streetlights using electricity are still in use today. With the advancement of science and technology, LEDs are now used in streetlights instead of incandescent bulbs. 

Until a few years ago, yellow light was widely used in street lights. Yellow light is generated by sodium lamps that emit light by discharging sodium gas. Since it has the second-longest wavelength after red, the light can be transmitted far, making it easy to see even in foggy and dusty weather conditions. That's why car fog lights and signals are yellow.

Unlike white lights, which help distinguish the color of an object, the disadvantage of yellow street lights is that it is difficult to determine the color of an object. However, when driving at night, this is not a problem because you only need to check the size and shape of the car for safety, rather than the car's color coming from the opposite direction.

These days, they are replaced with white LED lights that consume less electricity.  Pope Leo XIV, elected in the conclave on May 8, 2025, delivered a message in his homily at his first mass on the 9th, saying, "I hope that the church can brighten the night of this world."

There is still much darkness in the world, such as poverty, hunger, the gap between the rich and the poor, human rights issues, war, and various crimes. As the new pope said, I hope that the Catholic Church will drive out such darkness and become a light that brightens the world and a light to the world. Every Catholic believer should strive to become a light that dispels the darkness of the world and a light source that does not let the light that the church has lit go out.

"You are the light of the world." Let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)

Artificial Intelligence In Our Lives

 

In the Catholic Peace Weekly, a Catholic priest and university professor gives us his thoughts on AI (Artificial Intelligence) and its place in our lives.

AI is leading the world to a superintelligent and superconnected society. Most people nod their heads in agreement that we are now living in the AI ​​era. 

According to the 2024 AI-related national awareness survey, more than 60% of the public are interested in understanding AI. Eight out of ten people responded that they have experienced the development of AI and have experience using AI. Most people who have experience using AI responded that AI will have a ‘positive impact on their life and our society as a whole.’

The new AI technology will change the social structure as the latest technologies have in the previous industrial revolutions. It is clear that occupations and the work environment will change, and structural changes will occur in welfare, medical, education, arts, and cultural services. Looking back, in 2010, when AI first began to take hold in our society, there were many large and small debates about the social impact of AI and its scope. Now, such debates have ended. This is because AI has recently been rapidly developing in various fields across society, such as chatbots, creative arts, education, economics, and medical data analysis, and its impact has already been confirmed worldwide.

What should the Catholic Church and local churches in Korea do in the AI ​​era? What does it mean for the church to accept the new AI technology? Is the church prepared to wisely respond to the changing times? Is it properly heading in the direction of the latest AI technology?

The church predicted the destructive power of the new AI technology early on. Starting with the 2017 Plenary Session of the Pontifical Council for Culture (the theme was ‘The Future of Humanity’), we have continuously considered our role in preparing for the threat of advanced science and technology. We must move beyond the consideration stage and pursue changes and acceptance plans utilizing new technologies. Given the recent pace of AI development, it will soon have a ripple effect in all areas, including church administration, finances, liturgy, prayer, education, spirituality, pastoral care, and missionary work. The ripple effect is unpredictable due to the nature of advanced AI technology.

The first card that the church should play in the AI ​​era is ‘AI Literacy". This does not require professional skills, but rather the basic ability to understand and utilize AI technology, and is like the clothing that everyone in the AI ​​era should have. If Christians use and rely on AI services without basic knowledge or thinking, they are likely to be under the control of AI, which can be very threatening to their faith. Experts are concerned that AI technology should be a good that improves human life, but if misused or abused, it can become an evil that causes various side effects.

AI literacy goes beyond understanding and utilizing AI technology to critically analyze its operating principles and effectively use it. It also includes the ability to ethically utilize AI and make correct judgments. Therefore, all organizations, including the government, companies, and churches, should form an organic cooperative relationship to resolve policy, law, and ethical issues related to the development of AI while at the same time providing education and programs to enhance people's AI literacy.

In the AI era, I hope that our church will make improving the AI ​​literacy of believers and pastors a significant task. The church should respond to AI while maintaining its faith context. It is necessary to jointly research and utilize AI technology and functions. That process is Christian AI literacy.

Sword of Gideon

The Science and Faith column in the Catholic Peace Weekly revisits a classic movie to offer some thoughts for reflection.

The 1986 TV movie Sword of Gideon deals with Israel’s revenge for the massacre of Israeli athletes by the Palestinian militant group Black September at the 1972 Munich Olympics. It is a spy movie with action and thrills, but it is a masterpiece that prompts reflection on where violence ends and what true peace and forgiveness truly mean in the vicious cycle of revenge begetting revenge. 

This movie influenced Steven Spielberg’s film Munich (2005), which deals with the same incident. Israel seems to be taking the Old Testament passage, “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth (⋯) literally. Since starting the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip in 2023, Israel has been devastating the Gaza Strip. On the morning of June 13, it conducted an airstrike on Iran with the aim of eliminating Iran’s nuclear research facilities and scientists. There are also reports of many civilian casualties, and Iran is responding with missile attacks, heightening the risk of war spreading to the Middle East. 

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called the airstrike operation against Iran “Rising Lion” and passionately argued the legitimacy of their military actions. 

There are concerns when examining Israel’s series of actions from an ecological perspective. In the latter half of the 20th century, ecology emerged as an essential field of biology because humans are ultimately one of many groups of organisms that form an ecosystem, and the principles of nature that occur in the animal kingdom also apply to humans.

It is becoming increasingly clear that many of the social and geopolitical problems humanity faces, such as population growth and the resulting shortages of food and resources, lack of housing space, environmental pollution, and destruction of nature, can only be solved by viewing them from an ecological perspective.

In an ecosystem, the position that a creature occupies in the food chain is called the food position, and the position that the creature occupies in its habitat is called the space position. These two are combined to form the ecological position. If the ecological positions of two different creatures overlap, a fierce competition occurs over the limited food and living space. When the fight between two competing species becomes fierce, the principle of competition and exclusion comes into play, causing one species to completely wipe out the other. This is a harsh reality commonly seen in nature.

However, humans have reason that is not found in animals, and they have tolerance, forgiveness, and a heart of philanthropy. Mahatma Gandhi emphasized, “If you insist on an eye for an eye, the whole world will become blind.” “There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.”

The words of the second reading of the “Mass for the Unification of South and North Korea” on June 25, the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, carry more weight today. “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, abuse, and slander be taken away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:31-32)

Returning to Normalcy In Korea

Both Catholic newspapers have given the present government a very welcoming response for its efforts in returning to normalcy.

State affairs that had been at a standstill due to martial law and impeachment are quickly recovering with President Lee Jae-myung's inauguration. The new government is putting all its efforts into ‘setting state affairs straight’ to the point that even the presidential office staff collapsed from overwork during a cabinet meeting.  It has been barely two weeks since its inauguration. From domestic affairs to summit diplomacy, it is proceeding breathlessly.

The foreign policy of the Lee Jae-myung government is “pragmatic diplomacy centered on national interests.” The security policy is “winning without fighting.” President Lee made his first phone call with the leaders of major interested parties, led by the United States. Then, he jumped into multilateral summit diplomacy while the diplomatic and security personnel were not even finalized.

He attended the G7 Plus Summit in Canada (15th-17th) and is reportedly carefully considering attending the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Summit in the Netherlands. The background is that there is no reason to avoid economic and security multilateral diplomacy that is helpful to the national interest due to internal affairs.

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the division and the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. In his message on the 25th anniversary of the June 15th South-North Joint Declaration, President Lee diagnosed, “Unfortunately, over the past three years, the clock on the Korean Peninsula has rapidly regressed to the cold past before June 15th.” Inter-Korean relations have been severed and tensions in the border region have heightened. However, the atmosphere of peace is now sprouting again on the Korean Peninsula.

When our military stopped broadcasting loudspeakers toward the North on the 11th, North Korea responded by stopping broadcasting noise toward the South. There are also signs of dialogue between North Korea and the United States, which was halted by the Hanoi No Deal in February 2019. North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un initially refused to receive a personal letter from President Trump. However, the White House announced that “communication with North Korea will remain open.”

The Korean Peninsula peace process promoted by the Moon Jae-in government began in 2018 during the nuclear crisis. When President Trump hinted at a nuclear attack by talking about “fire and fury,” Chairman Kim Jong-un responded in his New Year’s address that year by saying, “There is a nuclear button on my desk,” heightening tensions. To resolve this crisis, the government promoted a project for the Pope, the “Apostle of Peace,” to visit North Korea.

Former Korean Ambassador to the Vatican Lee Baek-man said in his book “I Will Go, Sono Disponibile,” which contains the story behind the incident: “Pope Francis tried to build an ark of peace on the Korean Peninsula, and to do so, he tried to build a ‘bridge of peace’ between Pyongyang and Seoul, and between Pyongyang and Washington.”

The Vatican’s diplomatic tone remains the same even when the pope changes. The first words the resurrected Jesus spoke to his disciples when he met them were “Peace be with you!” (John 20:19). Pope Leo XIV’s first blessing message was also “peace.” He appealed for “a humble and patient peace that disarms without arming.” President Lee also said during his candidacy that he “expects the new pope to play a big role in peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

From weak countries to superpowers, top leaders of each country rush to the Vatican to meet the pope. Why do they visit the Vatican, which has no physical power, such as economic or military power? It is because it possesses the unique “superpower” that can realize universal values ​​such as peace, justice, and human rights.

Except for former President Yoon Seok-yeol, whose term was cut short due to impeachment, all previous Korean presidents have visited the Vatican to meet with the Pope. It was to seek support for peace on the Korean Peninsula and to request mediation.

Peace comes when we prepare and act. As this president said, the economy, security, and daily life are shaken when peace is shaken. Pope Leo XIV is a ‘Korea expert’ who visited Korea five times during his time as the head of the religious order. In particular, he visited the DMZ and personally witnessed the division of the Korean Peninsula and was heartbroken.

It is hoped that President Lee will meet Pope Francis and restore the diplomatic lines between Seoul and the Vatican, as well as between the Vatican and Pyongyang, which were established in 2018. Additionally, it is hoped that the unfinished ‘Pope’s visit to North Korea project’ will come to fruition.

Hope For Korea

The Catholic Peace Weekly Peace Column gives readers some good news on what is happening in Korea, which many citizens welcome.

The national government, which had been at a standstill due to martial law and impeachment, is quickly recovering with President Lee Myung's inauguration. The new government is putting all its efforts into ‘setting the national government straight’ to the point that even the presidential office staff collapsed from overwork during a cabinet meeting. It has been barely two weeks since its inauguration. From domestic affairs to summit diplomacy, it is proceeding breathlessly.

The foreign policy of the Lee Jae-myung government is “pragmatic diplomacy centered on national interests.” Its security policy is “winning without fighting.” President Lee made his first phone call with the leaders of major interested parties, led by the United States. He then jumped into multilateral summit diplomacy even before the personnel for foreign affairs and security were finalized.

He is known to have attended the G7 Plus Summit in Canada (15-17) and is also carefully considering attending the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) Summit in the Netherlands. The background is that there is no reason to avoid economic and security multilateral diplomacy that is helpful to the national interest. 

This year marks the 80th anniversary of the division and the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War. In his message on the 25th anniversary of the June 15 Joint Declaration, President Lee diagnosed, “Unfortunately, over the past three years, the clock on the Korean Peninsula has rapidly regressed to the cold past before June 15.” Inter-Korean relations have been severed, and tensions have heightened in the border region. However, signs of peace are now sprouting on the Korean Peninsula again.

When our military stopped broadcasting through loudspeakers toward the North on the 11th, North Korea responded by stopping broadcasting noise toward the South. There are also signs of dialogue between the US and North Korea, which was halted in February 2019 with the Hanoi No Deal. North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un temporarily refused to receive a personal letter from President Trump. However, the White House announced, “Communication with North Korea will remain open.”

The Korean Peninsula peace process promoted by the Moon Jae-in government began during the nuclear crisis in 2018. When President Trump hinted at a nuclear attack by talking about “fire and fury,” Chairman Kim Jong-un responded in his New Year’s address that year, saying, “There is a nuclear button on my desk,” heightening tensions. To resolve this crisis, the government pushed forward a project for the Pope, the “Apostle of Peace,” to visit North Korea.

Former Korean Ambassador to the Vatican said this in his book “I Will Go, Sono Disponibile,” which contains the story behind the incident. “Pope Francis sought to build an ark of peace on the Korean Peninsula, and to do so, he sought to build a ‘bridge of peace’ between Pyongyang and Seoul, and between Pyongyang and Washington.”

The Vatican’s diplomatic tone remains the same regardless of the change in the Pope. The first words the resurrected Jesus spoke to his disciples when he met them were “Peace be with you!” (John 20:19). Pope Leo XIV’s first blessing message was also “peace.” He appealed for “a humble and patient peace that disarms without arming.” This president also said during his candidacy, “I expect the new pope to play a big role in peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

From weak countries to superpowers, top leaders of each country rush to the Vatican to meet the pope. Why do they visit the Vatican, which has zero physical power, including economic power and military power? It is because it possesses the unique ‘superpower’ that can realize universal values, such as peace, justice, and human rights.

Except for former President Yoon Seok-yeol, whose term was short due to impeachment, all previous Korean presidents visited the Vatican and met with the pope. It was to seek support for peace on the Korean Peninsula and request mediation.

Peace comes when we prepare and act. As this president said, if peace is shaken, the economy, security, and daily life will also be shaken. Pope Leo XIV was a ‘Korea expert’ who visited Korea five times when he was the head of the religious order. In particular, he visited the DMZ and witnessed the division of the Korean Peninsula with his own eyes. 

He hopes the President will meet Pope Leo XIV and restore the diplomatic lines between Seoul and the Vatican, and between the Vatican and Pyongyang that were in operation in 2018, and that the unfinished ‘Pope’s visit to North Korea project’ will be successful.

June 25th the 75th Anniversary of the Start of The Korean War

 

Recently, we have seen serious events that have caused many people to fear. The world waits. The United States has entered the battle.

The Catholic Peace Weekly's column on Faith and Science provides some background to understand our events.

The 1986 TV movie Sword of Gideon deals with Israel's revenge for the massacre of Israeli athletes by the Palestinian militant group Black September at the 1972 Munich Olympics. It is a spy movie with action and thrills. Still, it is a masterpiece that makes you think about where violence ends and what true peace and forgiveness are in the vicious cycle of revenge begetting revenge. 

This movie influenced Steven Spielberg's film Munich (2005), which deals with the same incident. Israel seems to be taking the Old Testament passage, "Eye for eye, tooth for tooth (⋯)  (Exodus 21:24-25) very literally. Since starting the war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip in 2023, Israel has been devastating the Gaza Strip. On the morning of June 13, it conducted an airstrike on Iran to eliminate Iran's nuclear research facilities and scientists. There are also reports of many civilian casualties, and Iran is responding with missile attacks, heightening the risk of war spreading to the Middle East, and the whole world is on edge.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu called the airstrike operation against Iran "Rising Lion" and passionately argued the legitimacy of their military actions. The original meaning of "Rising Lion" is "a nation as brave as a lion," which stems from Israel's perception of itself as strong and brave.

Israel's series of actions from an ecological perspective raises some concerns. In the latter half of the 20th century, ecology emerged as an essential field of biology because humans are ultimately one of many organisms that form an ecosystem, and the principles of nature that occur in the animal kingdom also apply to humans.

It is becoming clear that many of humanity's social and geopolitical problems, such as population growth and the resulting shortage of food and resources, lack of housing space, environmental pollution, and destruction of nature, can only be solved by considering them from an ecological perspective.

In an ecosystem, the position that a creature occupies in the food chain is called the food position, and the position that a creature occupies in its habitat is called the space position. These two are combined to form the ecological position. If the environmental positions of two different creatures overlap, fierce competition occurs over the limited food and living space. When the fight between two competing species becomes intense, the principle of competition and exclusion comes into play, causing one species to completely wipe out the other. This is a harsh reality that can be commonly seen in nature.

However, humans have reasons not found in animals, such as tolerance, forgiveness, and a heart of philanthropy. Mahatma Gandhi emphasized, "If you insist on an eye for an eye, the whole world will become blind." "There is no way to peace. Peace is the way."

The words of the second reading of the "Mass for the Unification of South and North Korea" on June 25, the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, sound more weighty today. "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, abuse, and slander be taken away from you, along with all malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you." (Ephesians 4:31-32)

Education for Peace

Peace Education: Where and How to Start Again. The Now/Here Catholic website reported on a regular Symposium of the National Reconciliation Committee of the Bishops' Conference. A few of the statements made during the conference are reproduced to give some understanding of this important issue for Korea.

“All discourses and practices on peace always implicitly presuppose overcoming specific forms of violence. For this reason, peace cannot fully realize its meaning without the background of violence.... In this way, the analysis of violence becomes the foundation for creating the specific content of the concept of peace, and conversely, planning for peace always presupposes the presence of specific violence and the possibility of its transformation.”

During the symposium, two professors presented their positions. The first presenter, who spoke about Conflict Psychology and Peace Education—From Conviction to Doubt: Reconstructing Peace Education on the Korean Peninsula, started from the awareness of the problem that uncritical convictions about peace can harm peace.

He emphasized peace education should not be an absolute belief or a dogmatic moral declaration but a process of doubt, debate, exploration based on specific reality, and inner reflection. He also said that in order to properly talk about peace, it is necessary to ask and answer about particular violence.

The ethics that peace education should pursue are not self-confidence but self-reflection. Rather than trying to enlighten others from the position of ‘teaching peace,’ it is necessary to acknowledge that we are also part of the violent structure and need to create a new imagination with the community.

In a situation where peace is complex and diverse, a single definition of peace and confidence in it becomes the first challenge that peace education faces. If there is no social consensus on ‘what is peace,’ peace cannot be taught.

The second challenge is that various concepts of peace combine with the ethical absoluteness of peace. He explained that “peace is an open and controversial concept, but at the same time, it has strong social moral legitimacy in that ‘peace must be pursued’”, and “it puts us in a paradoxical situation where we must teach something that is not clearly defined.” 

The tendency of peace education to preach about social issues based on moral superiority and education that demands individuals become ‘better people’ can only deepen learners' sense of helplessness. He also pointed out specific rules, principles, and methodologies for peacebuilding that are independent of cultural, historical, and geopolitical contexts.

“This approach oversimplifies the complex dynamics of conflict and multi-layered ethical dilemmas in the real world and runs the risk of becoming a dogmatic approach that assumes only a single ‘correct answer.’”  “A perspective that focuses on the specific aspects, operating mechanisms, and conditions of occurrence of ‘violence’ on the other side, rather than the concept of peace itself, is needed.”

He explained, “Peace is inherently a concept that is subject to various interpretations and is controversial, while at the same time tending to be normatively absolutized, while violence has more specific forms and operating methods, and is a phenomenon that can be empirically analyzed according to social and political contexts.”  “First, understanding the specific aspects of violence and dismantling its operating structure can serve as a more solid foundation and starting point for practicing peace.”

Therefore, proper peace education should not indiscriminately spread the abstract and generalized ideal of 'peace' but should aim for critical recognition and response to specific forms of violence experienced in specific times and spaces. "This means that the content, goals, strategies, and methodology of peace education should fundamentally vary depending on the nature of the conflict, historical context, and sociopolitical conditions faced by the society in question."

The second presenter wanted participants to understand, "to educate about peace, it is necessary to know the specific forms of violence and the social, historical, and cultural contexts."

He emphasized, "In order to understand and educate about peace, it is necessary to know the specific forms of violence and the social, historical, and cultural contexts."  'To whom, from what violence?'

With this awareness of the problem, he asked the questions, 'What is the specific violence we face in the context of the Korean Peninsula?' and 'To whom, from what violence, does peace on the Korean Peninsula mean liberation and freedom?' He looked into the structure of violence on the Korean Peninsula with a ‘social psychological approach’ to reveal the violence of its division.

The violence of division on the Korean Peninsula can be seen not only in the military confrontation or political tension between the South and the North, but also in the specific psychological structure, way of thinking, emotional types, and behavioral patterns created in the process of interpreting and internalizing external situations. “This social psychological approach naturally corresponds to the basic orientation of peace education, which aims to change individuals’ perceptions and reflectively realize internalized violence.”

From this perspective, he discovered that the collective psychological structure and method of Korean society's recent response to the COVID-19 pandemic are surprisingly similar to those during the Korean War.

The main socio-psychological characteristics that emerged from the endless war that has continued for over 75 years, and the COVID-19 pandemic were “security-centeredness and internalization of control, suppression of diversity through the absolutization of internal unity, assumption of the enemy and personal stigmatization, and justification of structural sacrifice.” “This psychological mechanism of justification is the core reason why we cannot recognize the structural violence of division.”

“An important prerequisite for peace education on the Korean Peninsula is not to find the cause of the division of violence in others, the system, or ideological conflict (progressive vs. conservative), but to recognize and reflect on the violence inherent in oneself, and the painful process of realizing that one is unconsciously participating in the maintenance and reproduction of violence, becoming conscientized, should be the starting point of true peace education.”

Finally, he said, “Peace education should not simply teach ‘what is right,’ but should make people ask— ‘what is right?’” and suggested specific practical strategies for peace education on the Korean Peninsula. 

This is “a gradual and step-by-step approach that combines experience and reflection, a balanced presentation of various narratives and perspectives, a balanced development of empathy and critical reflection, expanding peace education beyond the school’s sole task to a social project, and strengthening and supporting the capacity of educators.”