Thursday, February 28, 2019

Detachment, Emptyness and Discarding

A member of the press staff of the Catholic Peace Weekly writes in the Word and Silence column about the dream he had of a library full of books. The day never came and even after moving over ten times, the bookcase stands on one side of the living room.
 

When someone turns on the TV, the gleaming light and sound dominate the space. The bookshelf is in the wrong place. He spent the New Year holidays throwing away his books. Books were scattered throughout the house. The solution was to thin them out.

Books are not just a treasure house of knowledge and a fountain of wisdom. Ready to throw out a book memories come back. The coffee stain on the page, the words underlined, remarks in the margins, the memory of the book on the beach, summer, do you want to erase all these memories?
 

He thought the selection of the books would take only a few hours but continued until the next day. In front of the books, reasons for their survival made the trial stretch out indeterminately. When appeals for survival came from certain books they were put on a list to be read. He was forced to set up a strict standard for the slaughter. A book unlikely to be read is boldly discarded. He ignored the memories, passions, and virtues of youth. Only books he would read would remain.

So he ended the Chinese New Year with this slaughter. He filled three bookshelves and got some free space. Looking at the books that survived, the trial was never fair. Another hidden criterion exerted its force. It was a camouflage to hide his lack of  knowledge. This was vanity, he wanted to show off the books he had read. Maybe merely an excuse for oneself. What was left on the bookshelf were not books, but lies and greed? It was the size of his desire and obsession that he still had not forsaken.

Looking back, not just books, things are scattered all over the house. Objects he wont use and regrets throwing away; clothes that he won't wear again, bowls not seen in years, a gift unwrapped never used, and the giver just a flickering memory. 


Many things should have been given away. Things that did not go to the person who needed it lost value and became one of his odds and ends. Not a sign of thrift and diligence but a token of stupidity and egotism.
 

Space becomes bigger the emptier it is. The more you throw away, the more space you have. Objects encroach upon space and gradually infiltrate the mind. The soul overcome with a desire for gain does not contemplate heaven because of its eartly weight.
 

Obsession is a property of fragile souls. Greed reveals the emptiness of the mind. A person who has not accumulated treasures in his heart is obsessed with wealth. The less a person has to show the greater the ostentation. He wants to begin to get rid of what he has.
 

He is not far from retirement both from work and society. He will no longer be on active duty or given a role to fill and should be learning the wisdom of emptying and abandoning. He'll be throwing things out one by one, no more collecting. He wants at the end of life to pray in an empty room with only a Bible on his desk.

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Acedia:The Noonday Devil

Are we really lazy? In the movie Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds, the second most popular movie in Korean film history, the hero was able to escape the hell that punished those who were lazy, giving us a glimpse of Dante's Divine Comedy on the same subject with a Buddhist understanding of the after-life. In Purgatory the lazy, race about proclaiming the benefits of being zealous.
 

However is this a problem in our society? A Catholic university rector, in the Kyeongyang magazine, asks the readers. It seems that we are far from the vice of sloth. People work too late at night, one job is not enough. Married couples both have to work and with great intensity. People waiting at a red light often use the few moments with their handphones—good picture of modern life. Rather then more diligence we need to call for a moratorium on busyness. That would be a religious approach to the issues facing us in modern society.
 

Sloth is listed among the seven capital sins but it's not primarily dealing with the laziness of our bodies and minds but failure to be concerned on this earth with God's kingdom and our relationships with others. Sloth is being busy about many things with little concern for God and neighbors. This is the sloth we as Christians are meant to examine.
 

Within the church's tradition theologians, literary people, and critics use the word 'Acedia' to mean laziness, sloth, lack of interest, depression, and tediousness all contained in the word 'Acedia' of the seven capital sins.
 

Evagrius Ponticus and his disciple St. John Cassian listed eight principal vices: gluttony, fornication, greed, anger, sadness, acedia, boastfulness, and pride.  They distinguished between sadness and acedia (sloth)— connected but different. It was Pope Gregory I who included sadness in Acedia and added envy and added boastfulness to pride.  St.Thomas Aquinas many centuries later excluded sadness and we have the list of seven that we know now. However, we must remember sadness is a part of laziness.

In English, the word sloth also refers to the animal tree-dwelling mammal noted for its slowness of movement. However, more than the physical lack of movement it is a lack of interest, laziness of the spirit, spiritual lethargy. Use of the word by the hermits and religious of the early church has more to do with the internal attitude rather than our external activity—slowness of the body. Rather it was the sickness of the soul—lack of volition and vitality.
 

" The demon of acedia, which is also called the noonday demon (Ps 90,6) is the most burdensome of all the demons... It makes the sun appear to slow down or stop, so the day seems to be fifty hours long...Then it assails him with hatred of his place, his way of life and the work of his hands; that love has departed from the brethren and there is no one to console him (Praktikos # 12).
 

Unlike the other capital sins where it is the doing that is sinful here it is the non-doing. First, we have a distaste an antipathy in acting for the good. Secondly, it's a disinterest in God's working within us, the needs of others, our obligations that fail to alert and move us to answer the call of love.
 

Evagrius Ponticus was a 4th-century monk and ascetic. He concludes the chapter on the afternoon devil with a great consolation: "No other demon follows on immediately after this one but after its struggle, the soul receives, in turn, a peaceful condition and unspeakable joy."

Sunday, February 24, 2019

Is There a Right Side?

Fr. Kim is considered a good priest by his parishioners. He doesn't get upset and treats all the parishioners kindly. He doesn't take sides in disputes in society and wants to avoid showing any preferences with problems of society. Even when there are positions to be promoted if there are objections he avoids them. He doesn't like conflict among believers, he wants quiet and peace. 

A retired priest who was active in social justice, writes in a bulletin for priests on taking sides and introduces the article with the above as the first paragraph. He reminds the readers that we have parishioners who criticize this attitude in their priests. It's not black or white but always grey; he doesn't want to go deeply into problems. Fr. Kim doesn't concern himself with these differences of opinions within the parish but they continue to exist.

If nobody has problems with the priest,  maybe something needs to be corrected. Possible too much effort trying to please everybody without any deep conviction of what we are called to do. The writer has met persons who are not happy with those who see no problems in life and all is hunkey-dory. Maybe there is a  need for us to reflect on this position with a little more deliberation.

There is a large company in Fr. Kim's parish, and because of labor disputes it was noisy. Workers demonstrated and some were taken to the police station. A member of the pastoral council of the parish recommended that the priest mention it to the community since it happened in the parish. The council took the side of the workers.

The parish priest heard his side of the  story and said: "You  must be fair. You have to listen to both sides of the story. There are always right and wrong on both sides. Christian faith is not about raising conflict, but about reconciliation, forgiveness, and peace."

Is this the entire teaching of Jesus? But reconciliation and forgiveness apply in most cases to personal conflicts. Many conflicts and struggles are not private. Some conflicts are wrong on one side and right on the other. One side is unfair and oppressive, and the other suffering from injustice and oppression.

In such cases, it is a mistake not to choose one side over the other. In this case, neutral is to accept the current immoral situation. In a situation of suffering, silence will tolerate the condition and stand on the side of the oppressor. We are not to reconcile good and evil, justice and injustice, but to work against evil and unrighteousness as Christians. Granted that this needs to be done civilly, with dialog and openness.

When Pope Francis came to Korea, he gave a good example of what is demanded from us. At that time, there was a serious conflict between the government and the family of over 300 who died in the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014. It was one of the worst peacetime disasters that led to criminal convictions.
  
At that time, the pope said to those on the side of the government who were calling for neutrality: "neutrality is not correct when you have those suffering." The Pope met with the families of the Sewol six times. And he wore a yellow ribbon in support of the family members.

Jesus' peace is not an orderly and quiet peace, but a peace based on truth, justice, and love. The peace that the world presents us is a superficial peace that distorts truth and conceals injustice to achieve cleverly selfish purposes. Jesus emphasized the inevitability of conflict in order to break this false peace and achieve true peace.

Friday, February 22, 2019

Media Literacy

Everyone has a natural right to defend themselves, be it life, liberty or property. This is part of our code of law: preventing an unlawful infringement of one's own or another person's interest shall not be punished if there is a good reason. So begins an article in the Believer's Column by a one time newspaper man in the Catholic Times. 

Consequently, even if one is convicted of a felony one is given a chance to defend oneself. Also, when a child does something wrong the adult should give the child a chance to give their reasons.
 

What about the press? As is well known, 'surveillance and criticism' is an important function of the press. In the meantime, media criticism of public and public issues is almost unlimited. Freedom of speech is guaranteed by the Constitution. However, the Constitution restricts freedom of speech when it dishonors the rights of others,  public morals or social ethics. Accordingly, one has the right to claim reparation and compensation if they feel they have been wronged.

Journalism has some limitations on criticism. When a news story contains criticism or misrepresentation about an individual or an organization, it is necessary to give those criticized the opportunity to clarify and respond to the contents. For this reason, media, which can criticize almost unlimitedly against public officials, are often subject to ethical sanctions because they do not give the parties an opportunity to explain.
 

The Korean Newspaper Ethics Committee issued a caution against an article last year on one of these issues. There are so many reports that criticize unilaterally without giving the ones criticized a chance to explain. This means that we are in most cases left with the reporting of the newspapers and the media; the rights of the parties criticized are ignored. If you have been criticized unilaterally from the media, you can ask the Media Arbitration Commission for corrections of the reports.
 

It's a basic human rights issue when a person or organization is criticized and does not have the opportunity to speak in their defense. Some might say that it is not fake news because the facts have not been manipulated. But the writer thinks that this "non-truth news" which cannot be real news and should be included in the fake news category. This is because the basic principles of journalism, namely accuracy, objectivity, and fairness, are not being met adequately.

Wednesday, February 20, 2019

Hate Speech in Society

We are living in an in a hate-filled society which the recent newly coined words bear witness—words that demean others in society.  The head of a  research center concerned with changes in social mental states writes in the Kyeongyang magazine on what he sees happening in society.
 

What are we talking about with this hatefulness he sees in society? It's a feeling of disgust which one feels coming into contact with certain things or people that triggers a revulsion. It's a concern with the emotional revulsion and not with the rational part of our makeup, consequently one has difficulty reasoning with the feelings experienced. We are dealing with subjective feelings and not with intellectual opinions that come from our reasoning, right or wrong.

Some people who hear the words ox blood soup, the saliva begins to flow and others a feeling of queasiness in the stomach.  Which shows we are dealing with a subjective matter. When we have this situation and face it with an open mind and understand it as a personal subjective feeling there is no social problem. When this is not the case and express this hatefulness both in words and actions, hatefulness spreads in society, now especially on the internet that becomes a serious threat to society.

Why is this the case in our present society?  We have always had a situation where subjective feelings of likes and dislikes were experienced with objects and people but it was managed with our ethical codes of conduct. However, recently we have come to the understanding that we have the right to express our hateful feelings.
 

Democratic education considers important our individual rights and the expression of these rights: in government, in department stores with the customers and salespersons, restaurants, apartment buildings with the security persons. We have many rolls and postions in society but the reason for the problems are all pretty much the same. Our rights are primary; we forget the obligation to respect the other and our place in  community.
 

No blame on the democratic education received but our place in community is forgotten and the individual becomes primary. We see this in the dramas, movies, novels, not only in Korea.  In the United States coming into the 21st century, we see Sex and the City as the dramas that are popular. The community is not as important as the individual and their tastes. What in the past was considered selfish by society today is a natural right and this is now seen worldwide. Jean Twenge has written a book Narcissism Epidemic which she considers spreading wildly. 
 

He sees the cure for this in three ways. We first need to change our perspective. It's not to change our tastes of what we like or dislike for that is a natural outcome of being human but rather wanting it excessively to become part of society. Because we don't like ox blood soup, we don't want everybody to do the same. Secondly, is to examine ourselves. Because someone was hateful to me doesn't mean I should return that hate.  Opposed for opposition sake tells us who we are. Thirdly, efforts to have an open mind, magnanimous. Even though we feel disgusted and hatefulness emotionally,  it does not become a social problem. As believers, we should be open to embracing all in society absent the hate speech that is so common.

Monday, February 18, 2019

Small Thrills Present in Our Daily LIfe

In one of the diocesan bulletins, a college professor recalls his days as a child and the joy he had in finding the items in the picture puzzles that appeared in the newspapers and magazines. They were like any ordinary pictures at first glance but you were told to find the items hidden: animals, people, household goods and the like.

For most to find all the different hidden objects without any hints would be difficult.  Even after looking closely at the pictures tens of times, without the words: apple, boots, umbrella, cat, grandmother... as helpful indicators one would give up easily. Once he knew what to look for, the hints made the task easy. One after another, the items began to appear.
 

The writer moves from the picture puzzle to our own lives and the big picture that comes to us daily. He wonders if our lives are not in some way similar to the picture puzzles he remembers as a child. We have little thrills hidden away in our daily lives which we do not see because of our busyness.
 

Without any clues, every new day will be seen as a rehash of yesterday. The thrill we should have of a whole new day with all its possibilities passes us by. We need to be like the child looking for the many new things that we have missed in the past.
 

God has given us many clues to live each day to the full. Not only in pictures to the eye but also words to the ear and the non-verbal we need to unravel with our senses all working together.
 

We should be able to see and hear much more than we are accustomed if we were cognizant that it was there to be apprehended. Much more can be seen than what the eyes can behold; much more to be heard than what the ears can hear. Our spiritual eyes and ears permit us to see and hear not only with our external senses but with the inner eye and ear.
 

Each day is a new day filled with all kinds of possibilities of seeing the uncommon in the common the extraordinary in the ordinary. We miss so much because of the limits we have imposed on our senses, the lack of expectations and oblivious to the presence of grace.

Saturday, February 16, 2019

Place of Endurance in Happiness

Happiness has been the goal of life for many generations.  Psychiatrists and psychologists of course, and also popular novelists, scientists of the mind, in their own way repeat this teaching. So begins an article in the Kyeongyang magazine on the virtue of patience by a psychiatrist. He looks at the Korean culture and comes to some interesting conclusions on happiness.
 

On the bestseller lists are a great many books with the psychology of happiness included in the subject matter. Religion also has this as a subject. Even sermons treat the subject psychologically, flavored at the end with some Scriptural quotes.

We all want to be happy. Is this not our true self? Consequently, we have to have it at all costs.The world's thinking is that you have to be happy to succeed and not happy because you succeeded. So the efforts to smile at our pain and failures to cover over our unhappiness. It's like spitting out food that we don't like. We have an obsession to find happiness
 

Patience in the past was an important virtue. Happiness until recently was not mentioned that often. It was rather something that happened when one received an unexpected good fortune. But recently the sphere has greatly expanded: bodily pleasure, mental joy, respect in society, financial security, relief from pain,  all clumsily wrapped up into one.
 

In the past patience was considered necessary to endure the difficulties of life. This was like bitter medicine we had to swallow. The medical profession unless it was some very serious mental problem did not think small unhappinesses were a matter for medical concern, but temperance and patience were in order.
 

This was true in the religious world also. Confessing our sins, self-denial, prayer, meditation were necessary to find answers to our problems. One was expected to refrain from many of the pleasures of life, since difficulties were part of life. We did not desire excessive recognition by the world or material wealth. Happiness was not the goal of life but rather often considered a temptation.
 

The psychology of happiness now becomes center stage as a new industry. We are much better off than our ancestors, securer, freer, but also a greater thirst for happiness—we want more comfort, wealth, and freedom.
 

Clergy who recommend patience are not popular. Since demand requires supply— are not religious organization now the agencies that supply happiness?

In Korea we have the new word heard often: YOLO the abbreviation for You Only Live Once so eat and be merry.  St. Paul said the same thing in I Cor. 15:32: "But if the dead are not raised to life, then, as the saying goes: Let us eat and drink for tomorrow we will die." He also in Rom. 5:3-4: "We also boast of our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance, endurance brings God's approval, and his approval creates hope."

Happiness for a Christian is not an object of search, a pursuit, it's a by-product of a well-lived life the results of living the life of virtue.

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Chaos And Religious Belief

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep...." These are the first words of Genesis. 

An article in the Kyeongyang magazine by a computer scientist gives the readers an understanding of Chaos. Originally coming from the Greek word abyss and emptiness. God gave the order to this Chaos and we have the Cosmos.
 

A new meaning was given to Chaos in the 20th century. Sir  James Lighthill who held the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at the Cambridge University in England at the 300th anniversary of Newton's Principia said that the scientists need to apologize to Newton for misunderstanding the Newtonian laws of motion as if all was predictable.
 

Chaos Theory is the science of unpredictability. Traditional science dealth with predictable phenomena, however, from the 1960s, Chaos Theory, the nonlinear things are impossible to predict or control.
 

St. Thomas said in arguing for the existence of God, the movement we see around us was his first proof. Anything that moves must be moved by another. But we cannot have an infinite retrogression of movers, so we come to the something that is not moved, the  Unmoved Mover which accounts for all the other movement in the universe. This we understand as God. The writer says Thomas' argument is solid but he would like to insert the word change for motion.
 

The force that moves material bodies is measured by the science of kinetics which explains the movement of the heavenly bodies. The French astronomer Laplace, an extreme determinist was asked by Napoleon then the emperor of France: why didn't he include God in his book on the heavens. His answer was there was no need for that hypothesis. Showing he was a Deist or atheist.
 

Contrary to those who believe in a personal God and the Creator of the universe we have the Deists who may believe in God who started everything but is not involved in the world. They deny a personal God and the atheist, the very idea of God is denied. In today's world of science like Einstein and Laplace, we have a great number who are Deists or atheists. 

After Newton physicists were sure that they could predict the movement of the heavens. The writer mentions the three body problem—measuring the paths of three bodies in their gravitational interaction—Celebrating his 60th birthday the King of Sweden offered a prize to anyone who would solve the problem. Henri Poincaré did not solve the problem but did receive the prize.

Edward Norton Lorenz an American meteorologist in 1961 working with three weather variables: temperature, atmospheric pressure, and wind velocity and how they relate with one another made a numerical equation to determine their interaction. Briefly, his results are what we call the Butterfly effect. Beginning systems are so sensitive to conditions, results are impossible to predict. The popular expression of this is a butterfly in Mexico could be the cause of a storm in China.
 

He finishes the article by asking how do we avoid chaos in our lives. His answer is living with the thought that we live, breathe and have our being in God. We have to take time out to meditate. He remembers hearing about John Calvin's belief in predestination as a child, and was appalled by it and was happy to hear about quantum physics and was attracted to its teaching. He ends with the future is not determined and even what is determined cannot be predicted. We need to examine our present surroundings and make our future.

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Helping Children Develop a Love of Books

What a great good if the church had a  habit of reading books to young children. Writing in the Catholic Times a pastor introduces the readers to the Bookstart movement—starting off children in the habit of reading. (Bookstart movement provides free picture books to infants who are less than one year old. The movement began in England and Korea has begun doing the same.)
 

In Seoul baptism is held twice a month on Saturday afternoon. The parents who bring their children are given instructions on the meaning of infant baptism and the education of the child in the faith and then an explanation of the picture books that are distributed and showing parents how to read the books to the child.
 

Education for parents and children is not only a baptismal event but also a monthly follow-up program after the children's Saturday Mass. Where there is no faith education for infants and young children, this educational program fills the gap from childhood baptism until the start of Sunday school.

Fortunately, the church has recently opened its eyes to faith education for infants and young children. In many parishes in the Seoul Diocese, the pre-baptism education has been practiced for several years. It teaches the meaning and importance of infant baptism and how to teach children in the faith. Although these attempts are common, the need for faith programs for infants and young children, always can be improved.

Until now, the church has done little in educating parents before baptism. Little has ever been attempted until the child enters school and the beginning of Sunday school. There is a real need for a variety of pastoral programs so that parents can take responsibility for their children's faith. Pope John Paul II's exhoratation On Catechesis In Our Time (1975) emphasized that "parental education should begin at a very young age" # 68. Infant and child education cannot be achieved without parent education.
 

The number of young children baptized each year aged 0 to 4 is decreasing year by year. 4-year-olds and under account for 4% of the total population, while only 1% of children under 4 years old are registered in the parish. The low infant baptism rate is due to the overall low fertility rate in society, and to the indifference to  religion of young parents. The parents' beliefs are such that they will not even take responsibility for their children's faith and opt for a free lifestyle influenced by the individualization of their faith life.
 

In a survey of marriage teachings, only half (55.1%) of the students answered that they would give infants baptism, and 38.6% answered that they plan to let their children decide. Given this recent situation, the church should be aware of the need for faith education for young parents and provide a realistic educational program proper to the times.

The 'Bookstart Movement" described above is a means of communicating with a child and a caregiver by reading and talking to their infant children with the help of books.
 

Apostle Paul reminded the readers of his letter that Timothy, one of his spiritual sons, inherited his faith through his mother and grandmother and became a good church worker (2 Timothy 1,1-8).

The church needs to provide a program for the infants and young children before they enter Sunday school. It can begin with infant baptism. The church's interest in teaching infants would make the continuance of the program into Sunday school and remedy the fear of the demise of the Sunday school program in the future.

Sunday, February 10, 2019

Who Do We Blame?

Who is responsible for the burning Yongsan tower? So asks a lawyer writing in the Eye's of the Believer column in the Catholic Weekly. He recounts the prices of houses in some of the better areas of Seoul where they go over a million dollars. The prices in just a few years have gone up over double of what they were.
 

Just 10 years ago, on January 20, 2009, a tower burned on the rooftop of a Yongsan building. It was a hellish incident that has yet to heal. About 30 residents held a sit-in protest on the top of the building asking for a proper compensation after a decision to develop the area.
 

Five men from 50 to 70 years of age and one of the riot police officers died in the fire and many others were injured. The lawyer mentions the two legal issues at the trial. The first, when the riot police entered the building and came face to face with the squatters all admitted they did not see any of the squatters using Molotov cocktails. But at the trial, the prosecutors closed their eyes to this evidence, all the blame was given to the squatters.
 

Were the actions of the riot police justified? This was the second issue. It was later acknowledged that after they mobilized over two hundred riot police they fabricated the incident as city terror on the internet. In the beginning, all was quiet and questions where asked about the activity of the police. The evidence from an investigation mentioned that excessive force was used by the police. This was suppressed and hidden all the way to the final judgment.
 

The money that the companies made for the redevelopment of Yongsan was big money. Those who were displaced were the ones who developed the commercial area for decades and increased the value of the real estate and when the compensation came it was about 23 thousand dollars on the average for each householder or business. It was half of the price of the initial investment and a joke when it came to finding a place to begin again in an adjacent area.
 

The lawyer asks the prosecutor, the lawyers and all those in a similar circumstance: would they not have gone to the tower to demand their rights? Six people died in the tower. Those who survived were given prison terms of four or five years. Those who enforced the suppression were promoted. Last year, president Moon Jae-in's administration did pardon all those who were imprisoned.
 

Here is another case where the vested interests control what is done in society and with no surprises. We also do see small gains as in this case—after Yongsan, a revised decree on the demolition of a  building—the residents cannot be forcefully evicted in wintertime, at night or during bad weather.
 

The writer ends with an allusion to how many make money with their real estate holdings very easily without effort and those with little often lose overnight what they have worked for a lifetime to earn. And concludes by asking who are responsible for the hell that 'little people' have to experience in life as in the Yongsan incident?

Friday, February 8, 2019

Sin Should Be Called Sin

The Constitutional Court's ruling on the abortion-related provisions of Articles 269 and 270 of the Criminal Act is expected to be finalized at least as early as the first half of the year after the New Year holidays. You have those who want the abolition of abortion as a crime and the right for abortion on demand and the Catholic Church and the pro-life activists who want to keep the law as is. Great interest in what the Constitutional Court will decide when the pros and cons are so close in numbers. So begins the article in the Peace Column of the Catholic Peace Weekly.

Two of the reasons for demanding the abolition of abortion are: the self-determination of the woman's body. The fetus belongs to a woman's body, and a woman has a right to decide for her own body. The other is the pain and suffering of women due to unwanted pregnancy. Also the pain of unmarried mothers, the problem is not only the embarrassment from unfavorable glances around them but also the economic burden and mental and psychological suffering of child rearing.

But these claims are problematic. This is because the right to self-determination of the body is basically the right to cultivate and maintain its own body, not the right to damage its own body at will. The fetus is human life. It is also the weakest human life that can not live without relying on the mother. One should not accept the self-determination of one's body while undermining the right to life of the fetus. The problem would be different if the fetus was not human life but an unwanted lump.

The same is true of the pain that a mother or a parent must suffer from unwanted pregnancy. Removing the fetus to relieve the economic, psychological, and mental burden of unwanted pregnancy is no different from killing another human being to alleviate one's own suffering.

On the other hand, criticism of the Catholic church and pro-life activists who do not want to change the law on abortion is not insignificant. Pro-choice emphasize that pro-life people push for the dignity of life and repeat that abortion is a sin while ignoring the suffering and pain of those who are suffering from unwanted pregnancies. They point out that these arguments are merely theoretical positions without persuasiveness. It also accuses the church who should be a merciful mother as not willing to embrace women who are suffering. Of course, the church does have activities for the unwed mothers, but as the activities are relatively small, many sympathize with those who are looking for the repeal of the law against abortion and the numbers are large.

But it is not proper only to condemn those who are pro-choice but need to forgive and embrace them. We must distinguish between 'sin' and 'sinner'. If abortion is murder to kill the life of a fetus, it is definitely a sin. The Catholic Church sees the fetus as human life, and therefore regards abortion as a sin to be legally sanctioned. If we do not hate these sins, we will have more culture of death in our society. 


We need to take to heart the last words of Jesus in the story of a woman caught in adultery (John 8: 11-11). "I do not condemn you. Go. And from now on, do not sin again." The emphasis does not stop at "do not condemn" but added is "Do not sin again."

Sin should be called sin. Along with this, it is also necessary to create conditions that will decrease the numbers of abortions by increasing the conditions that will make it easier to carry the fetus to birth. To this end, both the church and society should cooperate and work together to achieve this goal.

Wednesday, February 6, 2019

Kindness for its Own Sake

In world history who was the kindest person? We have no theory or discussion on this but when it comes to the meanest, most evil, the greatest miser and the like, they are plentiful. Books about kindness are found rarely except books for children or in marketing, or towards oneself.  So begins an article for the lunar New Year by an university professor of psychiatry in the Kyeongyang magazine.

Kindness is a warm and gentle attitude. Well behaved and tenderhearted with those we interact. Of course, this is without any ulterior motive. Persons getting paid in relating with others are merely offering a service.

We demand kindness from others and have no demands on ourselves to show kindness. We are warm when trading one item for another, we lack the desire for kindness without reason. Often when  treated kindly we suspect the kindness—what is it they want?

The 'Nice Guy Syndrome' has both a positive and negative meaning but here we understand it positively. When one is kind to others they may take advange of the situation and then kindness becomes the way one is at the beck and call of another. People hear this and will nod in approval. If you have doubts about yourself he recommends you ask your best friends if you can be considered this type of nice guy. We never forget the person to whom we have lent money but can forget those who have lent us money. To consider your self a nice guy may be a bad diagnosis.

The professor doesn't care for the giving of awards for kindness in the workplace or in  organizations for it makes for jealousy and does little to make for a better working atmosphere. However, the fact is that those who are altruistic do have many benefits  which is only natural. Those who are kind and gentle will have many friends and compensations. A person who is truly kind will not envision any compensation for what is done is not to be seen. Otherwise what is done is some form of investment for returns, even if only in the afterlife.

Kindness is the opposite of envy and jealousy. They both can't exist together. However, we can learn something about kindness from the psychology of envy. With envy the person doesn't envision any loss from the envy. With true kindness, no loss is felt from the act of kindness. It is done for it's own merit. 


Monday, February 4, 2019

Post -Truth Society


In the recent issue of the  Catholic Times was an interview with a one-time editorial staff reporter and now a professor who expressed his opinions on looking at the world with the right lens—efforts to identify 'fake news'.
 

We have entered an era of untruth choosing only information one wants. The Oxford Dictionary now includes the word 'Post Truth': where objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief. Fake news deliberately manipulates facts and deceives and is widespread. What is to be done was the topic for the interview.
 

The professor defines fake news in this way:  False information that is intentionally made and spread in the form of media reports for political or economic gain. He distinguishes this from rumors and false news. Fake news is 'intentionally' written incorrectly. We have had this long in our history.
 

The difference in the 21st century is fake news grows greatly on the internet. A lot of fake news is being produced and spread daily. It continues to be created for economic reasons and confirmation bias— believing only what wants to see and believe—. The professor gives as an example the young people from Macedonia who made fake news that the pope supports Trump at the time of the US presidential election in 2016. They received money for each click on the fake news. It made money.
 

The professor mentions the ways an American research organization identifies fake news. But this is difficult for individuals to practice; it's not easy to identify a manipulated fact and difficult to ask experts every time in doubt. That is why fact-checking organizations are needed.
 

The traditional press has some responsibility for the situation in which we are in.
Most importantly, traditional media, especially reporters, need to identify facts and verify them. Reporters of traditional media do make mistakes.
 

First, "unconfirmed speculative reporting" repeated as true. Secondly, we have the abuse of anonymity. We need to clarify the source; with anonymity, we are in doubt on where the news is coming, actual persons or made up news. Finally, the 'Fishing Title' is also a problem. The title should come from the contents of the text but in many cases, the title is purposefully seductive and fishing for readers. All three are the fallacies that make fake news grow.
 

Media is the backbone of democracy and developed from democracy. If journalism is damaged with a lack of trust, democracy itself is at risk. I am sure that everyone knows what the problem is: survival problems of the media are present. 

The media system is changing rapidly. Most of the media is supported by advertising revenue. Consequently, we have advertising and promotional articles in order to attract the advertiser and to please them which does not conform to the principles of journalism. Whose basic principle is to represent the people in the face of power and this trust should not be shaken.
 

Media literacy refers to the ability of an audience to decipher media information independently and this he feels is necessary to counteract the fake news. Today, whether it is fake news or real news is a matter of 'civilization' after all. You need education to get out of fake news as if you were breaking out of illiteracy. 

Still, media education has a long way to go in Korea. It is different from what is happening actively in Germany and France. There is a big difference between knowing nothing and knowing a little. We have to work with the government, related organizations, the family and so on. Media workers, including reporters, need intermediate education.  

Pope Francis continues to talk about fake news. In our church, we do follow the words of the Pope, but no one talks about what to do specifically. Now, we are in a two-way communication age. Because of the strong "clergy-centeredness" of the church, communication tends to be unilateral. It is not desirable from a media communication point of view. Careful thought is necessary for the church to recognize and respond to fake news, and the concrete steps required.

Saturday, February 2, 2019

Solving the Fine Dust Problem

Each New Year we make several resolutions to change our life for the better. One of the most important decisions is health:quit smoking, promise to exercise and keep a regular life. However, this is not possible with one's own efforts. We can't avoid all the foods with contaminants and fine dust in the atmosphere. We need to make efforts to enjoy the benefits of nature and restore health to body and mind.
 

So begins an article in the Catholic Peace Weekly by a member of the Bishops' Committee on ecology. Fine dust problems in Korea are a constant news item. Most of the reports blame others for the problems without any conclusive proof. China has begun winter heating and both the spring and winter are the bad seasons for the dust because of the westerly winds blowing in from China.
 

The concentration of fine dust in spring and winter are the worst seasons not only in Korea but also in almost all other countries. In the summer, high temperature, the rising air current, the amount of rainfall makes the degree of pollution low. In the autumn air circulation is good and the occurrence of typhoons and the like lowers the rate of pollution.
 

In summer and autumn, however, the concentration of fine dust in Korea is quite high. Fine dust pollution in Korea is not a problem only for a certain season but is seen continuously throughout the year. Therefore, it's not all China's fault. Fundamental measures and changes need to be applied in everyday situations.

The reason we are afraid of fine dust is that when we breathe the fine dust enters our lungs. But the fine dust coming into my lungs is mainly from the air around me. So the distance to my house, my office, the air quality of my car, where I walk, the neighborhood in which I live are all important, after that we can worry about the Shandong Peninsula and Beijing.

Ultimately, it is necessary to fundamentally reduce the amount of fine dust generated in all fields: in the generation of electricity, industry, transportation, in the home, and we begin solving the fine dust problem.  Both public and industrial cooperation need to be actively pursued, but there must be a recognition that it begins with me. A long-term misunderstanding needs to be overcome with education and campaigns.

If I buy and throw away a lot, use a variety of household appliances and enjoy conveniences, more energy is needed to produce what I use—more fine dust. When you wait for someone using a car, fine dust will be generated even while idling.

Not only the health of future generations but also fine dust threatens my health right now.  Now, let's start to reduce the underlying incidences where we are rather than looking for the causes distant from us. It's a manifestation of our genuine free will when we begin to live with some inconvenience in order to begin solving the fine dust problems in Korea.