Desire And Its Limit

 'Post-humanism', with the development of science and technology, people are going beyond humanism— the human qualities of life— and following our desires, changing the meaning of what it means to be human and in the process harming the body.  

Where are we heading and where should we be going? An article in the Catholic Times reports on the recent conference with the theme: 'Human Desire and the Body'.
 
Participants pointed out 'desire' itself is not the problem but the excess. One professor of philosophy said: "Desire gives meaning to life, to destruction when overdone." Pornography as an example: Does not liberate one from sex but makes one a slave of desire for stronger sexual pleasure.

Stephan Kampowski a professor of philosophical anthropology from Rome said: "Desire has a limit, and even though we are finite human beings we desire the infinite." Consequently, we think it good to have a  little more of whatever it is we possess. We need to get rid of this way of thinking. "Sexual desires are not just for physical satisfaction, but a promise to friendship."
 
He alluded to the recent videos of well-known celebrities whose sex lives were illegally filmed and circulated, a basic lack of awareness of the meaning of marriage. 
Sexuality is not shared with a person who is not a spouse before marriage but shared with a spouse to complete love after marriage. 

Professor Kampowski, said marriage is a system that can legitimately serve society,  but often criticized. Marriage is a pledge for a 'common life' where men and women are responsible for all aspects of childbirth and education. He then emphasized that sexual desire based solely on feelings or marriage without any responsibility could lead to a 'disorganized sex life'
 
We need to discern what we desire if not we enter the world of biotechnology as a means to transcend our human condition and eventually design children to have better children and to acquire for ourselves better abilities and so forth. He has advised those in attendance to work against this direction and hopes the desire is strong enough to do so.

"Human beings cannot be happy without desire, but their desires can also make their lives unhappy," said one of the participants. Human beings should seek desire only to the extent that leads to harmony in life.
 
The Cardinal in the initial speech said: "When human beings are totally committed to love, true happiness will follow." In the development of science and technology, he hopes that it will lead to a truly human life together.

'Good Power' And Common Good

Today, politics are often as muddy as the Korean fine dust problem. Confucius said that politics is doing what is right. Let's think about the true nature of politics and the way God would see it. A priest sociology professor begins his article in Eyes of the Believer in the Catholic Weekly with the above words.

Politics refers to the way in which power and control are used by humans. However, 'power' is not only a matter for the National Assembly and the 'Labor Struggle' but also in conflicts between the married, dialogue with children, in churches and communities.

The concept of power that modern social science discusses can be broadly divided into three categories. Max Weber's point of view: "the power to carry out one's will despite the opposition of others." This perspective, which focuses on 'powerful individuals and groups,' is a good analysis of real politics, but there is also a danger of justifying every kind of dominance, dictatorship, and corrupt hierarchical system.

Secondly, it refers to the power realized in a collective network, a view widely shared in the modern network era. This strengthens the capacity of collective intelligence to freely communicate and empathize within each other's interconnected networks. These networks are being actively developed in joint projects between companies. The network of open communication does not work in bureaucratic or closed hierarchical organizations, and there is a risk of pursuing only the interests of the group.

Third, from the perspective of Jesus in the Bible, the source of power is God, where power is not meant to rule but to serve. 'Good power' guards against the power of the Herods of the world and promotes relationships that enable the 'poor and powerless' to regain the dignity God gave them.
 
However, power is not only connected with election and votes but is revealed in everyday decision-making processes. In the process of deciding something in the community, home, workplace, church, etc., you know by reading the tone of voice, expressions, the drift of the conversation and silences where the discussion is going and who is in charge.
 
On your child's birthday you decide on what you are going to eat by listening to what the child wants, is it not? The father doesn't take the child to his favorite 'beef intestine' meal for the child's birthday. It's easy to see what is meant my good power. When a child goes to college, why does the desire of the parents take preference over what the child wants? When one thinks himself always right, just and pushes, without reflection, the temptation to dominate grows like a wild mushroom.
 
Surrender, is an important step in the spiritual life, not just flowery language,  abstractly explaining the place of God. One tries to recognize in our present situation the way the Holy Spirit is at work within our consciousness—who am I, my ambition, desires, and direction of life have to be identified. Also, as long as it relates to power and decision, what is to be done is always a very practical and political decision needing discernment.
 
Persons who have authority over others, need to have concern for the poor and weak, listen to their needs and work to realize them. When not sensitive to the movements of the Holy Spirit and one does not walk in the path of Christ with the cross, even if one goes to higher positions you are caught in a "trap of power," and in God's eyes are at the bottom.

In Lent, the leaders of the church, in particular, must seek the grace of conversion and understand the role of service and not of reigning. Politicians in addition not to forget their role as civil servants in a democratic society. If you are tied only to the tactics and interests of the party, corruption will follow. Lies, factions, division, and deception of the people will follow you into history. Politicians and government officials need to fear history and God among his people and seek 'good power' based on the common good.

Plastics and Us

Through the stone, bronze and iron age we have arrived at the plastic era. Percy Marks (1891-1956) an English professor at Brown University had published the novel: The Plastic Age in 1924, the second best-selling book of the time. In 1967 the film The Graduate in conversation with the main character we hear: "There is a great future in plastics." So begins the column in the Peace Weekly on Plastics.
 
At first, plastics were considered a magical gift to mankind. It was used as a major industrial material, able to make just about everything, produced more than steel. Reports of toxic substances in plastics, marine dumping, and decayed trash prompted the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations on plastics.
 
Currently, about 700 species of marine life are contaminated with plastic, and 60% of the waste on the coast of Jeju are plastic—fish, and shellfish mistake it for food and it comes back to our tables. Korea is the world's largest consumer of plastic.
 
Consequently, the answer is not to use disposable plastic. If used, a thorough waste management process should be established so that it can be recycled without flowing into the sea.
 
In addition to disposable products and disposable items we commonly use, there are other things to keep in mind. Cigarette butts are a harmful waste, and the harmful components of the cigarettes are contained in the filter. 90% of domestic commercial cigarettes use a plastic filter made of cellulose acetate, discarded they pollute the environment.
 
Cigarette butts are thrown away on the streets, blocking drainpipes and causing microplastics to pollute the oceans. According to data from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, cigarette butts unlawfully thrown on the streets are a very significant amount of trash.

From the viewpoint of 'trash marine management', waste discarded most easily on land and directly connected to the microplastic problem is the cigarette butt. Fine plastic is a threat to our health because it disturbs the marine ecosystem, chemicals leached from cigarette butts are toxic and pollute the ocean and the marine ecosystem.
 
One should never throw a butt on the street. Important will be the role of producers and sellers for recycling purposes. Recently, WHO is recommending the introduction of the Producer Responsibility Recycling System (EPR) to cigarette butts in which producers bear the waste disposal costs and the EU is also pushing for the introduction of ERP legislation.

The government should cooperate with other ministries to establish a safe collection strategy, as well as to create a roadmap for reduction of waste. Above all, it's necessary to promote public awareness and action through education and publicity to properly recognize the problems of cigarette butts and disposable plastics and dispose of them properly. Would not God be happy if the church got involved?

Politicians United for a Better World

The Korean headquarters of the political movement for unity was newly launched, based on the Focolare spirituality that creates a better world through love and unity. A Catholic Peace Weekly editorial and article gives readers hope for a new vision in the political world.

The political campaign for unity began in Italy as a movement to create a happy world for everyone, inspired by Chiara Lubic the founder of the Focolare movement. The  Focolare movement began in 1943 but entered the political sphere in 1996. Currently, about 3,000 politicians from 20 countries: Europe, South America, and Korea are participating. South Korea began preparations in 2004, it's the only member country in Asia.

Politicians who participated in the opening ceremony on March 6th pledged to work with citizens to carry out various activities for reconciliation, peace, and unity. Everyone knows the purpose of politics is to promote the common good of society. This is also the biggest challenge for politicians. Pursuing peace through dialogue, promotion of reconciliation, solidarity and overcoming personal and party tactics is not an easy.
 
Political division, economic inequality, class struggle, and environmental destruction are all present realities—'communication' is the virtue to be given priority by politicians. In particular, politicians working for the common good, need to realize that progress, and development should be understood not only in economic terms but oneness with all the citizens; to make the poor, alienated, and future generations happy.

To this end, the politicians in the Korean movement have focused on 'livelihood legislation' and decided to cooperate more with NGOs. Hold international seminars on international concerns, discuss plans for improving inter-Korean relations, show interest in North Korean refugees, work with international NGOs, and participate in East Asian reconciliation and peace efforts.
 
If there is no hope, politics is dead. The greatest gift of hope is peace. We must remember the realization of a peaceful world is the spirit behind the political movement for unity.  Pope Francis said: "A good politician teaches us to live for the good of God and neighbors."

Even Music Can Be Translated

Reading the signs of the times has been an important part of our lives as Christians, especially after Vatican II. Our whole sacramental system is based on signs and symbols. Creation is a symbol of God's love and Jesus is the personification of that love. Life would be less a mystery if our senses were able to grasp what was present in nature but we need help.
 
A literal understanding of reality leaves much unsaid. Without someone to present, transpose, translate, explain, we are often like a blind person faced with reality.

Much of life pass us by because we don't have the means to understand what we see. Foreign languages are just one example, the world of Mathematics, Science, Music, Art, the Sky, the Earth, spheres of knowledge known and unknown that no one can exhaust in a myriad of lifetimes. Our response is one of humility and openness to the mystery of life. We need teachers to introduce us to the beauty, truth, goodness, and oneness of existence.
 
However, in any translation from one medium to another, we do have lacuna and this is often bluntly expressed: translators are traitors. We can readily see that translating from one language to another much will be lost. We should be thankful for the many teachers that enable us to remove the veil over so much of life. Remembering always that discernment on our part is always required for we have mistakes and deliberate false transmissions.
 
A college professor writes in a diocesan bulletin about his discovery of how persons can translate a written piece of music into symbols that can speak to a blind person. And this for him almost miraculously.
 
Persons who know how to translate ordinary characters into the Braille system, using the tactile sense, open up to the blind the most complicated pieces of music. Notes, scales,  dynamics of the music, can be put on paper so the blind can read it; the special signs of music number over 200 and can be transmitted with just six dots on raised paper.
 
Ten pages of a musical score will take a transmitter two weeks of work; one can imagine the work involved. Completed the proofreader goes to the piano to see if the translation is true to the sheet music. It's a difficult task to give the blind the tools to perform the most difficult music.
 
We also need help to access much of the knowledge that humanity has become familiar with over the centuries. Thankfully, it's possible but would it not be a great gift if those who were transmitting the wisdom of humanity would do it with the same kind of devotion as the those who work in transposing print to braille. Computers can translate as we know but not like a devoted person motivated with skill and love.

Suicide Reporting Concern

It is well known that Korea ranks number one for suicide among the 36 countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Korea has held the top spot since 2003. So begins an article on suicides by a one-time editorial staff member of a daily newspaper.
 
The suicide rate in Korea is 25.8 people per 100,000 population and the average for OECD countries is 11.6 people. 36.8 people die each day from suicide.
 
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of suicide deaths in Korea for the past four years from 2007 to 2011 was 71,196, which is more than the number of soldiers and civilians who died in the Iraqi and the Afghanistan war during the same period. Despite the recent decade of declining figures, it is still number one of the OECD country.

In addition, Korea has the lowest fertility rate among OECD countries. This is the reality the church needs to face since the respect of life is one of our greatest values.
 
Increase of the divorce rate and traffic accident deaths are also at the top of the world rankings, so we can't but look back to what has brought us to this situation. It may be the structural and inevitable consequence of our search for material growth. Now it's time for leisure to reflect on the meaning of life and develop a spirituality. 

In the process, if the government and the people make a concerted effort, the suicide figures can be significantly lowered. Many countries have worked with the government, cooperating with various sectors of society. Finland is one good example.

Finland once had the highest suicide rate. She conducted a national suicide prevention project in the 1980s—a study of all the suicides for one year and with the results made a psychological 'autopsy' and for a  period of 10 years implemented countermeasures, reducing the numbers by more than half.

There was a great deal of media coverage.  They were careful in the way they covered the suicide cases. The media actively participated in the suicide prevention project. Well, known is the fact that the media can incite those with these thoughts to mimic the suicide they read about, a fact that has been confirmed through various surveys. In 2008, when a well-known actress committed suicide, the number of suicides increased by more than 1,000, from the norm and the manner of death increased nearly two-fold. At that time, the media spent a great deal of time reporting on the suicide and her family.

The Korea Journalists Association established a  'Code of Ethics for Suicide Reporting' in 2004 with the Korea Suicide Prevention Association and revised it some years later. Recommendations are based on nine principles: minimizing the reports on suicide, prohibiting the positive report of the suicide, and prohibiting specific descriptions of suicide and methods— there are nine such recommendations. The reporting on suicides needs to be taken seriously.
 
However, media don't always adhere to the standards and codes of ethics. Today, there are numerous kinds of internet media, not only traditional media such as newspapers, broadcasts, movies, etc, so cooperation of media for suicide prevention becomes more important. Many sites where clicks themselves are directly linked to profits,  actively exploit suicide articles. Methods and means are shown in detail through articles, pictures, and videos.

If great change came to the way the media covered the values of life it would be a great gift to society. However, encouraging suicide, and failing to support the value of life will be a disaster, worse than fake news.

Small Happinesses

Happiness is one person's emotion. No one can experience happiness for another, it comes from within the person. We presume another person's happiness by seeing their activities, peacefulness and hearing their words. Each one's happiness is unique to the person. God made all us different and our experience of happiness is different. So begins an article in Bible & Life on happiness by a psychiatrist.
 
The way we define happiness is different depending on the person asked. The writer wants to see it as the moment you want to last a lifetime. We know that this moment will not last but it is our prayer and our desire.
 
In the network of the cells of the brain are many chemical neurotransmitters.They are different from hormones but they are substances in the brain similar to hormones: serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine and influence our emotions and actions. Since the neural network of our brains is influenced by these hormones—the chemical condition of our brains—many materialists and atheists see life from this viewpoint,  the writer does not.
 
All these elements which we can't see are all God's creation. God is not only with us in areas that we can understand, but in those we still have not discovered. At any rate, each neurotransmitter can directly or indirectly influence neurons in a specific portion of the brain, thereby affecting behavior. However, depending on which neurotransmitter is active, it determines which part of our brain is active or sleeping. In the state of happiness, neurotransmitters in the brain will be in balance.
 
Serotonin is connected with peace, security. Meditation and prayer are ways to activate this area, when this is not activated harmoniously we have depression. Dopamine is connected with conflict and reward. To receive a feeling of joy or a sense of accomplishment dopamine is necessary, liquor, tobacco, and gambling etc, also bring about the secretions of dopamine and the reason for addiction.

"Physical exercise has some value, but spiritual exercise is valuable in every way because it promises life both for the present and for the future" (I Tim. 4:8). What we lack because of the chemistry of the brain God can work in his own way. If we were always happy we would never understand what happiness meant. "When times are prosperous, enjoy your happiness; when times are bad, consider this: the one is God's doing as is the other..."  (Qoh. 7"14). Happiness is fleeting, we remember those moments of happiness in life and pray.
 
A mistake we often make in the community is to think that what I need is what other's need. With this self-righteousness, we often inflict pain on others.  God's grace is different for each. God and I both know whether my mental condition is one of peace or not. He concludes the article  with a quote: "Do not neglect the spiritual gift that  is in you..." (I Tim. 4:14). In this realm we are easily deceived. We need to find joy in God and find many small happinesses in our journey of life. 

Problems With The Loner Society

In the Catholic Peace Weekly a publishing critic writes in Diagnosis of Current Affairs column about the bright and dark sides of the 'Myself-Generation'. He begins with the short story: One-Person Dining Table. The main character registers in a school that teaches how to prepare meals eating alone. 

He found it difficult eating with his colleagues at lunchtime and the bitter memories moved him to start eating alone. The institute taught him the 5 steps necessary from the coffee shop and instant restaurants to eating at a sushi bar.

One day he sees  a fellow classmate eating alone in a restaurant. He went alone to the movies, amusement parks, walked alone, shopped alone he was an expert in living alone.

A few years ago a survey was  conducted of 1,884 adult males and females. About 20% of the respondents said that they were members of the alone generation. More than half of the respondents (68.9%) replied,they enjoyed eating alone, drinking and traveling alone. 94.0% of the respondents said they  cooked rice alone.

A college teaching psychiatrist is quoted as saying, persons who are living like loners  are normal people without mental problems. Many of these people use more than 90% of their energy to survive in their working situation. The rest of their private time they try to stay in energy saving mode as much as possible. Organizations demand so much that it dissipates the energy of the individual, consequently they want to limit unnecessary connections outside the organization that consumes their energy. Just living takes all one's energy.

The writer quotes a 'Breakdown Expert' who says the collapse of a culture is the last stage following the financial, commercial,  political and social collapse. At this stage, people are able to live with almost perfect loneliness. In a society full of loners, the connections between others are weak, making it impossible for organizations to have trust.
 
It is not necessarily negative when we have persons who value their freedom and seek to have unnecessary contact with others reduced. However, when this develops to a point where trust in society ceases, this is serious.

What Is Important In LIfe?

It's a book on the "Praise of  Laziness " (Bundo Publishing House) by Jacques Leclercq (1891 – 1971)  a Belgian Roman Catholic theologian and priest. An editorial staff member of the Catholic Peace Weekly writes in praise of the book in this week's paper. When your head is spinning and you wonder whether living this rat race is worth it, your hands need to grasp this type of book. 

Not a big book and the point of the book is stated in the title. We need to slow down the pace of life. Some will thing this is crazy talk, now  entering  the 5G era, 20 times faster than the fourth generation communication speed. The tone of the book is probably clumsily made but he hits the bullseye.

He says the intensity of  life in our time  boasts about the confusion we experience. Many of the  inventions deal with  speed rather than with acquisition of wisdom. In addition, he considers this a type of superfluity. He compares it to visitors who can not remain just for a moment of silence in front of a work of art while in a museum.  People who have their nose in a  smart phone searching for information ... In his  eyes, this sort of thing is nothing more than an addiction to speed. 

The author  was not a rural hick with a romantic disposition towards life. He became a  lawyer at the age of 20 and practiced law. He became a priest  late in life and was a distinguished scholar in the fields of natural law, ethics, and sociology. He was insightful in seeing the  truth of life . 

If you can not be lazy in this fiercely competitive society, you should slow down your pace of life. We are  accustomed to rapid speed. Because of this, "we are proud to say we are so busy we don't know whether we're coming or going." We get used to the confusion and in this life style there is no waiting, silence, reflection and calm. We can't hear the inner voice nor try to listen to it. It's not a normal condition.

It takes courage to slow down. Furthermore, some practice is necessary to not be anxious about the slow speed, walking is one such practice. Walking is a primitive travel method of 4 kilometers an hour. Humans lived their  everyday life  building civilization at that pace until they invented automobiles. However, we lost our normal  sense of speed, trapped within a civilization of  science and technology. Our walking itself continues to  atrophy

Walking is a time of silence and reflection,  walking in silence to the rhythm of our feet, the song of the heart is heard. The song of the heart begins seeing "a drop of dew falling from  the tip of a twig that shakes." Now is a good time to walk. However, let's leave the earphone in the house. When I plug in the earphone, I can't hear the song of the  heart. The machine sound that flows from the earphone can't be more beautiful than the sound of birds and wind.

Narcissism and Lowest Seats

"When in a 'high seat' one imagines leading others, revenge on one's enemies,  people are afraid and will flatter me and keep me happy. I can drop a person to the ground or raise them to the heavens. I can help people that come to me pleading their sorrowful situation. Those who receive help will praise me and like me. I will outwardly take pains to refuse the praise" D. Pantoja.  (Diego Pantoja was a Spanish Jesuit and missionary to China who is best known for having accompanied Matteo Ricci in Beijing) The first paragraph of an article on 'Lowest Seat'  in the Kyeongyang magazine by a teaching psychiatrist.
 
In our present society pride is rampant: a feeling of one's extreme importance, exaggerating one's accomplishments and abilities, a desire to receive acclaim. It's often seen in our leaders and accepted as a necessary 'virtuous trait' of a capable leader. It is not always easy to distinguish between a healthy dignity and unhealthy pride. The pride that controls us, we call in psychological language narcissism.
 
Those who are in search of worldly values are not the only ones where we find narcissism. Also, we see it with those who are fastidious in their feelings of superiority in the acquisition of virtue and laud it over others. When they don't reach their goal they condemn those who don't meet their expectations and lack toleration and understanding. They devalue others and don't realize how far they are from virtue. In the Christian tradition, pride was considered the queen of the vices. 
 
In describing personality often we use the words humble and honest. The meanings are different but they point to a similar quality. They both hate pretense and search for justice and avoid luxury and a self-indulgent lifestyle. There are many different personality types depending on those who make the studies, the writer selects the following six: Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extroversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Openness to Experience.                   
 
From way back in history in Far East Asia, humility was an important virtue. Lowering oneself and raising the other was the attitude of the gentleman. We have thrown away the virtue. Making money and social position are the opposite of poverty and simplicity.
 
Heinz Kohut an American psychoanalyst is quoted as saying to break the hold that narcissism has, one needs to silently accept the pain and acknowledge and understand narcissism. How many are able to accept that pain? Enduring the uncomfortableness  of unhealthy self-love, makes it easy to tear down others and build up their own lying self. Shamelessly deceiving themselves and hiding in that self-made illusion.
 
What can we do to make sure humility does not disappear from the face of the earth? He recommends when we meet the humble and can do it with joy, we should secretly help them. Help them without anybody knowing even the individual.
 
We have more people who are making themselves known in our society. Bluster,  pride, boasting but we also have those who shine like jewels. Those who are in the low seats need to be raised. The rest of us need to raise them without any fanfare and unbeknown to all.

Difficult Life of Students in Korea

In the Catholic Peace Weekly, a professor with a doctorate in education reveals some interesting information on student efforts to enter a prestigious college. As a result of analyzing the successful candidates, they found the ratio of those who entered after high school in 2019 decreased and the repeaters (taking the exam one or more times because of failure)  have increased.  43% percent passed on their first try, 40,2% passed on the second try and 15.3% passed on the third try.
 
College admission experts said that the college scholastic ability test in 2019 was easier for those experienced in taking the test than those who were taking it for the first time and this showed in the results.
 
2020 academic college entrance exams are expected to be easier. The Institute that oversees the SAT test, said it will work towards this end. For this reason, students who received a low grade in the college entrance examination are attracted to the academies. These institutes were crowded with applicants and classes were filled quickly preparing for next year's test.

Those who have failed in their first try require determination and self-confidence.  If you lived with an amateur spirit during your school years, you have to become a  professional. You have tasted failure once and don't want a repeat. "If I try again will my grades go up?" According to the data analyzed by an academy, 9 out of 10 students' grades have gone up. This is a fact that those who have experienced failure know.
 
The professor gives us his own experience of failure. At that time, his classmates who passed the entrance exams and were attending prestigious universities wore uniforms and school badges on their chests. In order not to encounter these classmates from high school he took the first subway from Incheon Station to the academy in Seoul. After class, he would take the last train.
 
He remembers Mao's tactics. It was a 1-foot retreat to move forward two feet. In the end, he received a high score in the college entrance enabling him to enter the three most prestigious universities in South Korea: Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University.
 
At that time, Korea University had a special screening system based only on the grades from the SAT and he passed. The joy was too great for words. He studied hard and was at the top of his class.

However, the eyes of those in society don't look too warmly on those who have experienced this failure in their young lives. This needs to change. They are an important human resource to lead the country. The schools,  community, and the government should all be concerned in their guidance and mental health. Also a concern for those who fail and continue to fail and find it difficult to come to a decision that college is not the only future for a young person. Here we have a need to change the way society looks upon life and its meaning. 

The Humanity Craze of Our Time

In a recent article in the Catholic Times, a journalist reminds readers in the era of industrialization, the 'humanities' have been neglected but now a craze in our time. Books and lectures on the humanities are now popular.
 
The church is also involved in this opening to the 'humanities'. The organizations and groups within the church are taking a lead in its spread. Is it not possible to see it as a means of cultivating a rich life of faith?
 
What are the humanities? We can define it as referring to human origins, thought, and culture. The natural sciences approach the phenomena of nature and society empirically; the humanities— the meaning of existence—is approached speculatively. In other words, a discipline that seeks meaning so that we can live like human beings. This is the present interest in the humanities.

In the UN World Happiness Report released last year, Korea was 57th out of 157 countries. Among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member countries, it was 32nd among 34 countries. Considering that Korea's gross domestic product (GDP) was the 12th largest in the world in 2017, the feeling of happiness has not followed economic development. Proof that many cannot find meaning in life even with material abundance.
 
President of a Catholic University said: "Study in the humanities are necessary to regain what it means to be human. I think it grows when you eat barley rice, but many have thought that it came when we were able to eat hamburgers." The study of the humanities teaches us that is not the case.
 
Today, humanities are considered to be separate from faith. But historically, theology and the humanities have been inseparable. The Fathers of the Church in their sermons on the teaching of the apostles have had a profound impact on faith and church life and are representative humanist scholars. From that time on the Church has developed the humanities and given us many scholars.
 
Thomas Aquinas said that grace does not destroy nature but completes it. Here, nature refers to characteristics unique to humans, such as reason, emotion, and conscience. God respects the human nature of each of us; God leads us by grace, we cooperate with God through the power of nature. The role of the humanities is to cultivate and enrich human nature.

A professor at a Graduate School said that the Church Fathers brought the gospel to the people in their culture and thought—indigenized the gospel to the culture. Augustine of Hippo (354-430) is called one of the teachers and great humanists of the West.

Humanities are still an important tool in religious education. St. Pope John Paul II, in the encyclical Fides and Ratio said: "Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth, and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth." Philosophy is the indispensable means of communicating this to those without belief.
 
In the church, educators say the humanities can be a good way to reeducate believers who have a tendency to separate life from faith. We can connect life and faith based on our understanding of humanity and ourselves. Many believers in the modern world are accustomed to rational criticism, so if we do not systematically train and cultivate faith in the humanities, many will lose interest in religion itself.

Although the importance of the humanities in education is emphasized to believers, there is a danger that if you emphasize only the humanities, you may fall into materialism and atheistic thought. According to Pope John Paul II  in  Faith and Reason— "some philosophers have abandoned the search for truth in itself and made their sole aim the attainment of a subjective certainty or a pragmatic sense of utility." Criticizing philosophical thought that accelerated the separation of faith and reason.
 
Though delicate attention is needed, fear and unconditional rejection is not the answer. It is necessary to have an attitude of dialogue, critical confrontation and respect for a difference of opinion.
 
Since the church has always played a role in embracing and protecting the humanities,  they are an area the church needs to advance. With the humanities, we can work together with all religions and all people to protect the dignity of the human person made in the image of God. We need to protect these human values.

Bringing Light to what is in the Dark

Today again we hear about a  small girl who was killed violently. Hearing this news the writer felt a blow to her breast. Who could possibly do such a deed?  She was on her way to see a scholar who has made a study of crime. The journalist has an account of her interview in the Bible And Life magazine.
 
It was vacation time and few students were  on campus. The journalist had made an appointment to meet the professor and was greeted kindly. The professor has been working with criminals for over 20 years studying their proclivities and thinking.  She is the first one in Korea to have taken up the study of the psychology of criminals. It was only in the past 2 or 3 years that she felt a need to make her studies known to the public.
 
From her studies the use of electronic tagging, criminal justice policies have been influenced. She is busy with advising those in the field of criminal justice and answering questions for the media.
 
She gave the example of stalking and the reasons for its prevention for often it results in harm to the women pursued. She uses this to show the steps that need to be taken to prevent acts that often precede the crimes.

Why aren't we able to help the defenseless children facing sexual abuse and violence. She is filled with shame and recalls the case of a criminal who violated an eight-year-old child that was playing in the morning before attending school because both parents had to work.
 
The child was assaulted brutally and even her internal organs were damaged. She was fortunate to be alive. This incident became known to the public and many things began to change: electronic tagging, making known the criminal publicly, abrogated was the need to file a complaint before legal procedures could begin. A  big step in protecting the rights of victims
 
The professor emphasized that the environment in the family is important. If we can learn why crime does not arise we will have the answer clearly for why it does. The reason I am not doing something criminal is that I am able to control myself because as a child I was taught how to do this by parents. When a child commits a crime in the United States they investigate the family and punish the family when warranted. Children are often sent to institutions that will give them the moral training they lack. The professor feels this is missing in our society.

She has made studies of thousands of prisoners and the number of sexual crimes are few and sentences from 2 to 3 years. In Korea, the average numbers of sexual crimes in a year is about 30 thousand and with children about 3,000. It is not lower than other countries. The problem is that society doesn't realize that sexual crimes are as terrible as murders. The victims have to live with the pain which society doesn't see.
 
She wanted to have interviews with those in prison for sexual crimes to understand better her studies but being a woman and a private individual was refused. She felt that she wasn't able to do everything possible and got a replacement in teaching and went to Texas in the United States where the prisons were many, to continue her studies. She prepared herself to return to Korea and begin interviewing prisoners. Results from the interviews have helped many in their work.
 
She left the ivory tower and books to hear those in prison not as a lawyer but like a mother or an aunt. She has never received a threatening telephone call and has received letters from those who have been released from prison explaining what they were doing. Her work is to help the many defenseless people in society with the knowledge that she has acquired in her work. She is speaking to those who have ears ready to hear and the interviewer prays she will continue in her work for many more years.

Cardinal Kim's Consciousness of History.

This year is the 10th anniversary of the death of  Cardinal Stephen Kim Soo-hwan. A priest sociology professor of a Catholic University writes about the Cardinal and his consciousness of history in the Catholic Times. 
 
In the modern and contemporary history of Korea, Cardinal Kim was a living conscience and a cornerstone in the history of democratization. During his tenure, the Catholic Church of Korea became a respected religion despite the few members. 

When we think of the shameful history of the Catholic Church, in the way they treated Ahn Jung-geun as a criminal, and during the Pacific War holding hands with the Japanese Governor General and helping in their war efforts, the changes in our church seem close to a miracle.

This year is also the 100th anniversary of the March 1st Independence (from the Japanese) Movement. Of the 33 members, no one was Catholic and the writer feels sick and confused remembering that fact. 

Although understood that the Paris Foreign Missionary Society, the leaders of the Church at that time, did suffer from the aftermaths of the French Revolution, contributed much to the East Asian missions. However, we can't overlook that Bishop Mutel, the bishop at that time, his only focus was the saving of souls. He wrote in his diary that the seminarians who engaged in demonstrations during the March 1st protest were ruffians.
 
When the church does not participate in the suffering of the nation it will not be the light and salt of the world and will lose the respect of the citizens. The Catholic Church of Japan, which suffered persecution and produced countless martyrs, tolerated and was silent on worshiping the emperor. The public status of the church was greatly weakened. How then should the church participate in the suffering of the poor and oppressed people in the midst of history?

Cardinal Kim Soo-hwan did not ignore the suffering people in the midst of military dictatorship, but suffered with them and carried with them the cross. In his "authenticity" he had many sleepless nights on ways to express the unfairness in the live broadcasts against the government. His amazing leadership was accomplished in human agony, constant reflection and prayer.

The Second Vatican Council said in the first  chapter  of the Pastoral Constitution: "The joys and the hopes, the griefs  and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these too are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ." Cardinal Kim was an "adult" of God in our day who fully realized the spirit of the  Council and embodied it in life.
 
Remembering Cardinal Kim has a meaning beyond the commemorative events in displaying his photographs and relics but a   hope we can imitate his life and spirit among us today. "I have never thought of myself as a progressive or on the left during all the troubles.  I only wanted to be with the poor, the suffering people, and the weak to protect their dignity "(Cardinal Kim Soo-hwan).

Keeping our Earthly House in Order

In Korea as in many other parts of the world, efforts are made to conscientize world citizens on global warming and climate change. In a diocesan bulletin  a parish priest, the head of an enviromental committee in the diocese writes about the issue for the readers on what we can do right now.
   
This year we saw little snow and real cold weather. Many think it's the results of global warming. However, the fact is that in America and Europe, they experienced heavy snowfall and cold weather like nothing in the past. Those who argue that global warming and the dangers of climate change are spurious continue to forment controversy.

However, everyone is aware that the current situation is very different from the situation we knew in the past. Climate scientists argue that what we experienced in the past  and the different situations of the present in the global ecosystem are proof of climate instability caused by global warming. In Belgium, high school students have gained the attention of the world by absenting themselves from school and demanding a  proper response to global warming and consequently climate change.

One student who participated in the protest said in an interview with the press: "The adults left us a broken earth. It's our job to change it. Adults can not do it, but we can. We have the spirit to change the climate and change everything." 

What can we do? Unexpectedly small changes can change the world. Walk for health and use public transportation, do not use elevators when not difficult, turn off lights in unused spaces, use energy-efficient products. Keeping the right temperature in summer and winter, wearing warm underclothes in the winter, refusing disposables and have the habit of using a personal cup (tumbler) will help cope with global warming by reducing carbon emissions.

Also, do not purchase over-packaged products, use a shopping bag to buy the least-packaged or completely unpackaged food, cook with fresh ingredients instead of  packaged fast food. We can solve the microplastic problems, save energy, respond to climate change, and start dealing with the hunger problems that arise around the world. 

Fast food consumption must be reduced if we are to protect the local areas that produce the food, and reduce the cutting down of trees. Multinational corporations  and their household goods and foodstuffs consume enormous amounts of energy, and are burdensome to the environment in their distribution. Using food products produced in the area where we live will protect the ecosystem and prevent the occurrence of environmental refugees. Farm markets in these areas are a good response to global warming and help environmental refugees.

The pros and cons of global warming are far from obvious, considered more a political issue than ecological by many. Fear of what it will do to the economy. However, the efforts to work towards a minimal or a simpler life style may not only be healthy for the environment but good for the psyche now and in the future.