Ecological Progress in Korea

The editorial of the  Catholic Times newspaper congratulated the efforts of a parish in the  Diocese of Daejeon as the 19th Catholic Environment Award winner.

A new Catholic ecological committee held its first symposium in early December to find ways to activate environmental awareness in Korean parishes and develop an ecological liturgy.

They met to discuss and implement the Pope's encyclical Laudato Si, in which Pope Francis critiqued environmental degradation and climate change. Many have seen the need and moved differently to bring about change.

"Until now, the Catholic ecological movement was led by priests. Now it is time for all the faithful in Korea to show their voice as the 'green church,'" was the voice of one religious sister.

A  liturgy professor at the Major Seminary said they can change parishioners' consciousness by inserting ecological themes in general prayer intercessions, adding ecology-related scripture readings, and composing hymns about preserving the environment.

This year's theme is 'Carbon Neutrality through Renewable Energy Conversion'. The selected Parish was recognized for its efforts to overcome the climate crisis and preserve the order of creation by building a solar power plant and supplying renewable energy in accordance with the spirit of 'Laudato Si'.

The climate crisis refers to a crisis common to all of humanity caused by greenhouse gases generated by humans' indiscriminate use of fossil fuels. These gases increase the Earth's temperature and damage the ecosystem and natural environment. 

What is serious is that our country is going against the global trend of efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. Korea is taking the opposite path of responding properly to the climate crisis, such as indiscriminately developing new airports, building new coal-fired power plants, and promoting nuclear power.

In the midst of this, the winner of this year's Catholic Environment Award shows an example of responding to the climate crisis at the parish level. The parish has significantly reduced carbon emissions by installing solar power plants and improving energy efficiency. In addition, all parishioners have actively participated in ecological and environmental pastoral activities and have built solidarity with neighboring parishes and local communities beyond the parish. 

Korea is not alone in being slow to change. Most of the world now seems to accept the issues involved with the climate crisis. However, misinformation and myths are still being spread, which is harming environmental progress in many areas of the world.

We believe that the ecological repentance and activities of Cheonan Seongjeong-dong Parish can and should be spread to all parishes nationwide. If all parishes in the Korean Church actively take on this effort to protect our common home, the Earth, we are confident that it will be the most exemplary response to the climate crisis.

The Church Is Not A Museum

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The recent issue of the Catholic Times had an article on a professor emeritus and the need for inculturation as an essential future of the Church; otherwise, as Pope Francis said, the Church would become a "museum."

Father Stephen Bevans (Professor Emeritus, Catholic Divinity School of Chicago) visited Korea from October 16 to 25. He expressed concern that "inculturation has 'cooled down' throughout the (universal) Church". He said, "In the motu proprio Ad Theologiam Promovendam, Pope Francis urges theologians and the Church to engage more with local cultures and contemporary thought."

Father Bevans has been a professor at the Catholic Divinity School of Chicago for over 30 years and has served as president of the American Missionary Society, member of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and member of the World Mission Commission of the World Council of Churches. He is a world-renowned scholar of inculturation theology.

"Repeating traditional phrases or words, even if they are orthodox, is not enough. Our faith must be expressed in a way that modern people can understand in their language, culture, and experience."

In particular, the 'contextual theology' established and systematized by Father Bevans was dealt with significantly in the motu proprio "For the Advancement of Theology." Contextual theology is a theological method that interprets the traditional wisdom of the Church while considering the experience of each believer or faith community in the cultural and historical situation that can be called the current' situation.' In the motu proprio, the Pope emphasized that "contextual theology must be prioritized" while discussing theology consistent with the synodal and missionary Church.

Father Bevans said: "Contextualization goes beyond the concept of inculturation and also includes the realities of modern secularity, technology, and the struggle for human social and ecological justice." He added, "As Pope Francis puts it, only by doing contextual theology can we' advance theology' in today's world."

"I think Korean theology is a treasure little known to the universal Church. There have been many writings and theological conferences held regularly. Still, they have not been translated into other languages, such as Western European or Asian. Hence, they are not easily accessible to other Christians."

Father Bevans, who visited Korea at the invitation of the Institute for Korean Christian Thought, gave various lectures for believers and held symposiums with Korean theologians during his visit. He hoped that the excellence of Korean theology he experienced would be widely known worldwide.

Father Bevans especially praised Monsignor Sim Sang-tae's theology (John the Baptist, Suwon Diocese ).  "I hope Monsignor Sim's collection of essays will be translated so that more Christians worldwide can access his profound thoughts and scholarship."

Father Bevans plans to continue interacting with Korean believers through his writings. "Contextual Theology" and "Mission of Prophetic Dialogue" have been introduced in Korea, and his new book, "Community of Missionary Discipleship," is about to be published in Korea.

"One of my great hopes is that my book will help the Korean church practice synodality. The synod is under suspicion in many countries, especially among the clergy. I hope my book, which emphasizes missionary ecclesiology, will help Korean believers and other Christians trust each other more deeply within and among churches."

The 'Compassionate Heart

The distance Jesus keeps in the Gospels allows us to understand what kind of love he has. The priest columnist in the 'Preciousness of Faith' gives us a meditation on this issue...

From the beginning of his public ministry, large crowds came to Jesus. So many people even tried to touch him that Jesus told them to prepare a boat for him to board (cf. Mark 3:7-10). This was to keep his distance from the crowds. 

Early in the morning, Jesus left the crowds and went to a solitary place to pray (cf. Mark 1:35). He even withdrew to the mountains alone to escape the crowds who wanted to make him king (cf. John 6:15). In Caesarea Philippi, following the confession of faith by the Apostle Peter, Jesus foretold his future suffering, death, and resurrection. When Peter strongly resisted, Jesus rebuked him harshly: “Get behind me, Satan! You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.” (Mark 8:33)

All of this was a necessary distance because the salvation that the crowd expected was so different from the salvation he planned.

But that distance was ultimately to become one with us. The best expression of this is ‘compassion.’ Compassion is an expression that often appears in the parables. 

Jesus felt compassion when he saw the crowds, who were like sheep without a shepherd, and he taught them many things (see Mark 6:34). He felt compassion when he saw a leper who desperately begged for healing. He healed him (see Mark 1:41). He felt ‘compassion’ when he saw a widow who had lost her only son and was holding a funeral. He restored her son to life (see Luke 7:13). Jesus’ compassionate heart was a heart that sympathized so much with the plight of others that it made him feel their suffering as if it were his own.

Jesus made not only the painful lives of humans but also their fates of death his own. On the eve of his Passion, when he was overcome with agony before death, he felt such extreme pain that he shed blood and sweat. On the cross, Jesus became one with all the abandoned of the world by crying out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mk 15:34), and by breathing his last on the cross, he became one with all the dying of the world (cf. Jn 19:30).

All of this stemmed from Jesus’ mercy and love for humanity. Only in mercy and love did Jesus overcome all distances to become one with us. This is the way Jesus loves. Jesus distanced himself from our thoughts, and at the same time, he went beyond that distance to become one with us. By distancing himself, Jesus allowed us to seek, ponder, and find his will. 

Sometimes, his thoughts are so different from ours that they seem too unrealistic, so we turn away from him. However, in life, trials and crises come, and in painful moments, there comes a moment when we realize that he is already within us. When I was sick, tired, exhausted, and lonely, he was already in pain with me.

When we look back on our lives and realize that He has always been with us in every twist and turn, we open our hearts wide, face Him, and find that our hearts are transformed like unto His. In this way, we become like Him and become one with Him in love.

Welfare's Blind Spots

In her article in the Catholic Peace Weekly, a professor emeritus at a Catholic University examines what some young people are experiencing in society.

The issue of ‘youth’ has emerged as an important topic of interest. It is becoming a core issue as it is intertwined with changes in socioeconomic conditions, the decrease in the proportion of the youth population due to low birth rates and aging, and the issue of family care. Interest and discussion on this issue are expanding as the number of young people caring for sick family members has recently increased.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare estimates that approximately 180,000 young caregivers care for sick family members. According to a survey by the Korea Social Security Information Service, the estimated population of young family caregivers is between 0.37% and 1.45% of the blind spots of welfare. In addition, young family caregivers ranked second as the type of youth that the government should focus on supporting in a survey conducted by the Youth Foundation in 2024 targeting 3,000 young people.

These responses indicate that young people perceive the difficulties of family care as a major burden in the present or future. In reality, young people caring for their families face various difficulties. These include the sudden occurrence of care situations and the resulting physical and mental burdens and livelihood burdens, situations where they cannot prepare for their future, such as dropping out of school, and the severance of social relationships due to these difficulties.

Young people find it difficult and overwhelming to even imagine that they will one day care for a sick family member. This can be confirmed by having students read “I Became My Dad’s Dad” by a Korean who published his own experience of caring for his family in a book and raised the issue of young people caring for their families in our society in the most impressive way, and then listening to their stories.

They found it difficult just to read other young people’s experiences of caring for their families. They poured out stories such as “The feeling I felt most after reading the book was helplessness,” “I was afraid that this might happen to me too,” and “I was overcome with despair that no one could help me.” At the same time, they confirmed the gap between the actual life and the system that should support this life and expressed their anger at the difficult welfare services and the inadequate role of the government.

As various youth issues are emerging as a topic of interest, it is fortunate that measures to support youth in need of family care are increasing. This year, the government decided to open ‘Youth Future Centers’ in four metropolitan cities and provinces, discover youth needing family care in local communities, closely manage them, and link them with various services. It also decided to support up to 2 million won in self-care expenses per year through selection. In addition, private and public welfare foundations and welfare organizations are carrying out various projects to support these young people.

Some local governments have enacted ‘Ordinances on Support for Youth in Need of Family Care’ to support them. However, this is only the beginning. The important thing is to substantiate and make the policies and measures in line with the needs of youth in need of family care. To do so, we must first establish a system to discover them.

The issue of care is one of the biggest tasks that our society must solve in the future. We are all vulnerable beings who need the care of others at some point in our lives. If young people who need to prepare for the future due to unavoidable circumstances are forced to mortgage their futures to take full responsibility for family care, this is a great loss to our society. It is time to face the difficulties of young people who need family care, bring them to the public forum, and take action to implement support policies for them.

Companion Dogs In Korean Society?

In her Catholic Peace Newspaper column, a religious sister examines the era of 10 million companion dog households in Korea.

The New York Times recently highlighted Korea's companion dog culture under the title: 'The lonely country of Korea adopts dogs as life companions'. Korea has a declining birth rate, an increasing number of singles and childless people, and a country that used to eat dogs but now accepts dogs as children or grandchildren and treats them as family members who cherish them as life partners.

The New York Times uploaded a video of a funeral for a companion dog, similar to a human funeral, and even mentioned other specific cases in detail. The owner wears an old $38 padded jacket while putting his dog in a new $150 jacket, and while he eats old food from the refrigerator, he feeds his dog fresh chicken breast. It is reported that the pet economy is growing as dog strollers sell better than baby strollers in Korea, and the number of dog daycares, trainers, clothing, funeral homes, and groomers is increasing. The newspaper reports that dogs in Korea today are family members needing care.

The word 'responsible' is related to self-identity. People feel psychologically stable when their inner self and external behavior are consistent when they acknowledge their true nature and desires as they are, and when they pursue authenticity. However, when they act 'inappropriately,' they feel psychological discomfort in a state of cognitive dissonance. Therefore, they think the greatest happiness is when their 'self' is acknowledged, when they build relationships based on their own self, and when they love and are loved.

Dogs also feel secure when they love and are loved like dogs. There is a tendency to treat dogs excessively like humans by giving them human characteristics or anthropomorphizing them. Animals live and exist in their own way. However, there are cases where dogs are dressed in clothes that can be uncomfortable and painful or used excessively with cosmetics or accessories. She wonders if they are using their companion dogs as tools to show off their image to others while ignoring the physical discomfort of dogs.

Humans should be loved while loving like humans, and dogs should be loved and loved like dogs. Humans and dogs are clearly different. Kant defines humans as rational beings. They can set their own goals and make moral decisions and judgments. Therefore, loving humans like humans means respecting the other person's freedom and choices while relating to them based on mutual respect and consideration.

However, dogs are sensitive and faithful to their instincts. Loving dogs like dogs means respecting their instinctive needs and nature. Humans are born as immature babies and grow into independent adults who can take care of others. In the process, they share emotional bonds and become interdependent, growing and maturing. However, dogs are like children who need care from the beginning until death.

However, humans expect dogs to act as emotional partners for humans and try to gain psychological satisfaction by treating them like mature people. It would not be a proper way to care for dogs if we project our complex emotional needs onto dogs to get emotional rewards, make dogs behave the way humans want them to, or have excessive expectations that dogs love and understand us.

Dogs cannot become people, so why do we try to 'anthropomorphize' them?  We should consider whether we are overly relying on companion dogs to relieve the fatigue, emotional deprivation, and loneliness from human relationships and trying to get emotional compensation.

<Spiritual Questions>

Wives and husbands are called 'companions.' Dogs have also become relatively high in status as they are called 'companion dogs'. Companion dogs have become part of the human family. Sometimes, the degree of obsession is greater than that of family. Questions such as "Please baptize my companion dog," "Please pray for my companion dog's healing," "Please hold a funeral for my companion dog at church," and "Will I be able to meet my dog ​​again in heaven?" are now a reality that we can no longer ignore. Just like people, we hold funerals and keep the remains of our companion dogs at home, remembering and praying for them.

However, excessive obsession with companion dogs can quickly become a substitute for religious and emotional salvation. Do you feel like the time you spend walking your dog at a particular time every day is a sacred act? Do you find emotional stability in the daily ritual of uploading pictures of your dog to SNS and writing a walking journal? Does the anthropomorphization of dogs, treating them like people, make you love them more?

Heart to Heart

Both Catholic Newspapers published articles at the end of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which concluded its long journey with a closing Mass on October 27. 

The 355 synod delegates with voting rights approved the final document by voting on each item on the 26th and submitted it to the Pope. The Pope decided not to write a follow-up recommendation for the synod but to release it immediately, as the document already contains “very specific guidelines” that will guide the Church's mission. It is a message to the church of a desire to walk together.

The motto of the Synod on Synodality is “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission” —“journeying together”.

Last year, Pope Francis, in the 57th Communication Sunday statement, commented on speaking with the heart: "It is the heart that moves us towards an open and welcoming way of communicating." This is the way to walk together.

"Communications, I want to focus on 'speaking with the heart'. It is the heart that spurred us to go, to see and to listen, and it is the heart that moves us towards an open and welcoming way of communicating. Once we have practiced listening, which demands waiting and patience, as well as foregoing the assertion of our point of view in a prejudicial way, we can enter into the dynamic of dialogue and sharing, precisely that of communicating cordially (formed with the word for heart in Latin).  After listening to the other with a pure heart, we can also speak following the truth in love (cf. Eph 4:15). 

The Pope, in his Statement last year, mentions how St. Francis de Sales, the Bishop of Geneva, in one of his most famous statements, "heart speaks to heart," inspired generations of faithful, among them Saint John Henry Newman, who chose it as his motto—Cor ad cor loquitur— (speak heart to heart). One of his convictions was: "To speak well, it is enough to love well." 

At the end of his statement last year, the pope said it is terrifying to hear how easily words turn into warlike actions of violence. All belligerent rhetoric must be rejected, as must every form of propaganda manipulating the truth for ideological ends. What must be promoted is a form of communication that helps create the conditions for resolving controversies between people.

Last year also marked the centenary of St. Francis de Sales, who was proclaimed patron of Catholic journalists. We will never know how much influence the 'mass media' has on the world's citizens, but we all know it is not small. Toward the end of his message, the Pope expresses hope that people who work in mass media seek and speak the truth with courage and freedom and reject the temptation to use sensational and combative expressions.

Knocking On the Door of Our Hearts

The Catholic Peace Weekly's  Precious Faith Column gives the readers some thoughts on an essential aspect of life.

We remember the dark times of the COVID-19 pandemic and social distancing. Wasn't it even more complicated when the Mass times were canceled? However, social distancing also helped us in reverse. When the Earth stopped, the natural ecosystem came back to life. It was an opportunity to confirm how much humans have tormented the environment.

Social distancing also gave us much to consider in our interpersonal relationships. Wearing masks and keeping our distance, we realized that we had been too close, that we had been too involved in each other's lives, and that we had been treating each other based on our wishes. How much hurt had we caused each other, and how we had been shrinking from the pain and avoiding relationships? Human relationships require an appropriate amount of distance. That distance has the creative power to reflect on relationships and move toward better ones.

From this perspective, the story of the fall of humanity is very interesting. In the beginning, God created man and woman and allowed them to eat fruit from all the trees in the garden. Still, he strongly warned them not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (see Genesis 2:17). However, man was deceived by the serpent and ended up eating the fruit. This incident, which the church calls "original sin," also contains wisdom and experience about human existence and life. There are lines in human life that must not be crossed and things that must not be done, and when ignored, we are hurt, and society suffers. If we apply this to human relationships, it would be a message to never touch the noble personality and freedom of the other person but to keep a distance and respect and care for them.

Just as an appropriate distance is necessary for human relationships, keeping a distance from one's life also enriches life. Daily prayers, Masses, retreats, etc., are small but significant moments where we keep a distance from ourselves. Distancing ourselves becomes a creative time to stay with the Lord, and it gives us the wisdom and courage to overcome our old emotions, wounds, and painful moments and to stand up anew.

At this point, how about thinking about 'God's distancing'? Through the incarnation, God came to us, overcoming the infinite distance. He did not just come to us but became a human being just like us and lived among us. However, He still needs to completely eliminate the distance. It was to allow humans to freely walk toward Him so that love and friendship could sprout, grow, and bear fruit.

When the angel Gabriel visited Mary, the first thing he said to her was 'greeting' (Luke 1:28-29). God respects human freedom and personality, so He does not pressure or force. He greets and waits for humans to respond on their own.

Jesus was the same. He did not force but approached people and became their friends and neighbors. He listened to their life stories, shared with them the pains and sufferings, the joys and ecstasies of life, and reached out to them, hoping they would take courage and stand up and walk with him. "Come and see" (Jn 1:39). These words were an invitation to the communion of love that he shared with the Father, an invitation to a new love.

Jesus comes to us today and knocks quietly on the door of our hearts. Suppose we can break away from our daily lives and distance ourselves from our emotions and disturbances. In that case, we will encounter the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, who caresses and comforts our souls. We will be sensitive to the internal movements within us that have longed and waited for the Spirit.