The Seoul Incheon Canal And Its Opposition

Work began on the Gyeongin canal in 2001. It is a canal that will stretch from Seoul to Incheon. The construction of the 18-kilometer waterway linking the Han River and the Yellow Sea was suspended because of opposition. Many found it lacking basic economic feasablity along with serious damage to the eco-systems. It started again this past month. ``Once the canal is completed, it will serve multiple purposes, ranging from flood control, cruise tours and logistics, to serving as an artery between Seoul and a new city built in Seongdo, Incheon, bringing change to the industrial and geographical map of the western regions of the nation,'' an official said.

There was a plan to build a canal from Seoul to Pusan but this plan because of intense opposition was scraped. This project from Seoul to Incheon is not of that scope but is still getting a great deal of opposition from an alliance of civic groups that includes many priests from the Incheon Diocese. Even the Bishop of the Diocese is very much concerned because of the prayer meetings and fasting that many of the priests have been involved in for some time. It was a project pushed not by the needs of the people but as the Bishop says in his Easter Letter more concern with those with power and influence. The Bishop mentions a project that was suppose to be an example of what can be done with a polluted lake; there was all kinds of false publicity concerning the project only to have no one around to defend it after it turned out to be a disaster. The lake became filled with polluted water from the ocean. The bishop's desire was a hope that projects would begin with plans well thought out, with the citizens to benefit from the project, and to have their support. He hopes that the Government will not side with those with power but be interested in the welfare of the poor and their needs.

We have had problems in recent years with the conflict between development and environment. It is something that we are being faced with more and more. The Church’s
Social Teaching has a number of principles and I would understand the Bishop to be stressing some of these in his brief comments on the Seoul Incheon Canal:
The Common Good
Solidarity
Subsidiarity
And to Stand with the poor.

The Cardinal's Message

Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan left us yesterday, but what has been taking place in Myeong-dong was nothing short of a miracle.

Endless streams of mourners visited Seoul’s Myeong- dong Cathedral where the cardinal lay before his burial, an unusual scene even in a Catholic state.
Choi Jong-tai, a sculptor and the member of the National Academy of Arts, said,” I feel he was a saint like Mother Teresa.”

The cardinal indeed led a noble life. In 1966, when he became a bishop, he decided that he would be guided by the motto “For you and all the people,” and urged followers to do the same.
The motto came from his conviction that a believer must devote himself to other people, as Jesus did. And Cardinal Kim’s life was lived out according to this principle.

This is why 400,000 mourners waited in cold weather for three hours to see his face one last time.

What took place in Myeong-dong is just the beginning. Cardinal Kim’s lasting message was about love, and he ignited the flame of love not just in the 400,000 mourners who visited the cathedral, but in millions of people across the country.

On the Web sit of the Korean Organ Donor Program, the number of people who have promised to donate their organs after death had surged drastically.

The average number of people who sign up for organ donation is 25 per day. This surged six times on Feb.17, the day after the cardinal's death, 10 times on Feb. 18 and 30 times on Feb. 19.

More people promised to adopt abandoned babies and donate money to scholarship foundations.

The flame of love must spread and continue to blaze far and wide. Cardinal Kim’s message of love, sacrifice, volunteer work and reconciliation must reach every corner of our society.

His message must help politicians and leaders of our society, who m must work to fix their confrontation and division, and open themselves to reconciliation and cooperation. The message must give hope and courage to youths who feel frustrated because of the economic crises, and underprivileged people who life in hardship.

The cardinal must keep on living in our hearts. Even if we cannot live as he did, we must make an effort to carry out his message. His message of love has already created a miracle. The miracle must continue to cure Korea’s chronic disease.

Taken from JoogAng Daily 2/21 2009

North Korea Visitation Report of 2006

Because the Maryknoll Superior Jerry Hammond was busy doing what he does best (keeping busy), he asked me to fill-for him and go to North Korea. (This report by Richard Rolewicz) goes back to Nov. 3-18 06. I thought the section on the Church in North Korea would be interesting.) I traveled through the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea as a member of the EugenBell Foundation delegation. Among several other health-care projects, this interdenominational NGO has been providing medical & farming equipment, medicines and supplies for T.B. hospitals and care-centers at 40+ locations over the past 12 years. Skip…

Sr. Mary, Fr. Stan and I would get together early each morning for Mass privately in one of the rooms wherever we happened to be. On the two weekends of the trip we were in Pyong Yang so the whole group also attended Church services. The first Sunday at the Protestant Church, the second Sunday at the Catholic Church. In both places our group was ushered into the front pews with other foreign visitors. Skip…

At the Catholic Church the Blessed Sacrament is not reserved. Fr. Stan and I were asked to come up into the sanctuary but we both respectfully declined. North Korea has no resident Catholic priest and there is a question as to just who the "Catholics" attending services are. As a result the Cardinal Archbishop of Seoul asks visiting priests not to offer Mass publicly. For the service three young men in their 30s wearing white albs (no stoles) stood behind the altar facing the people. The man in the center led the service. He used the prayer from the Missal which was placed on the altar. The service followed the usual format for Mass: Penitential rite, Scripture readings of the proper Sunday; a sermon was read; creed recited and prayers of the faithful offered. But there was no offertory rite (collection yes). Then into the Preface. When we all were reciting the "Holy-Holy..." I began to wonder what kind of Mass this was turning into. However once we finished the "Holy-Holy..." the leader introduced the "Our Father" per usual (no Canon or consecration). Finally, with no last blessing, came the dismissal. So there was no attempt to offer Mass, although all the prayers, minus the canon and last blessing, were from the Mass Missal. Under the given circumstances I was expecting the “Out-station service without a priest” format to be used.

As happened the previous Sunday, we foreigners were ushered out of the church first. Except for an elderly gentleman who mentioned that he remembers Bishop Patrick Byrne, M.M., there was no contact with the local faithful. Bishop Byrne is buried somewhere just south of the Yalu River in North Korea. How that came to pass is recorded by F. Philip Crosbie, S.S.C. in March Till They Die.

Fr. Stan and I wore our Roman collars for both Sunday services, entering and leaving North Korea, while sightseeing and at the banquet with concerned government officials the last evening in the country. I'm also wearing it in the picture of my U.S Passport. I'm proud of it.But I must confess that while in the north I wore the collar with a somewhat in-your -face attitude.

More knowledgeable people might easily take issue with these superficial observations. I'll be the first to admit my ignorance of the North's Military First Politics and the social, economic, quasi-religious underpinnings of their system, i.e., their own homegrown Juche (self reliance) interpretation of communism. But by and large, I was pleasantly surprised during this trip mainly because of people of good will on both sides. These people of good will are the raw material out of which the Christmas message of "Peace on earth" (Lk2:14) becomes a reality. Their efforts are helping people in need and making this a more perfect world. The alternative to this is the gloom and doom of the Korean proverb: "When whales fight, the the shrimp get crushed."

Overlooked Catholic Patriot

One of the patriots in our Korean History is Ahn Jung-geun. He is the man who assassinated the first Prime Minister of Japan Ito Hirobumi in Harbin, Manchuria in 1909. This is the centenary of the assassination and next year of Ahn’s death. Japan’s imperialist oppression was causing a great deal of suffering to not only Korea but to all of Asia. His action had repercussion all over the world.

The Catholic Church is beginning to take a much deeper look at Ahn. In the past he did not always receive the interest that one would expect from such a patriot. This however has all changed. There are elements to the story of Thomas Ahn that are somewhat embarrassing for the Korean Church. He was obviously a very serious Christian Catholic. The editorial in a recent Catholic Paper mentioned:

Even though one says he knows about patriot Ahn and his act:

for the most part it is that he engraved a cross on the bullet

prayed for success and when in prison heard

of the death of Ito he made the sign of the cross and thanked

God. It is only fragmentary bits and pieces. It is clear that despite the

part in our history we were indifferent and negligent of this.

The editorial went on to say in conclusion that he is a good symbol of a Christian who did not take the suffering of his country lightly. He is an important asset to have for the Korean Catholic spirituality of the future.

There is a good article in the Wikipedia on An Jung-geun which will give you a good idea of the man and his ideals.

An Opinion on Catholic Church Buildings

One of the professors at the School of Fine Arts in the Diocese was asked to write an article on the artistry of our Catholic Churches in Korea. The article would be printed in the Pastoral Letter sent out to the priests in Korea. He tried his best not to get involved but with repeated requests for an opinion he finally said yes.

The Church Culture here in Korea he says has influenced all of us and he was not pleased with the prospects of upsetting his fellow priests. His feeling was that what we have internalized will show itself in what we do with our Churches. He thinks the atmosphere of our Churches is in disorder and confused. He quotes Meister Eckhart to say that God works in our Souls not by addition but by subtraction. He would be for less distractions when it comes to the interior of the Church.The picture beginning this post would probably get a good grade but could be wrong.

One of our very familiar sayings in Latin is: De Gustibus non est disputandum, which means:“there is no disputing about tastes.”Judgments that for the most part are subjective will always be refuted by those that have a different set of values. I do not think there are any firm objective norms on how to judge the appropriateness of a Church's construction, its interior and its furnishings. I consider what he had to say very daring and my sympathies would be with him.

Korean Catholic Missionaries

The Catholic Bishop Conference of Korea has published the statistics of missionaries overseas.

According to the “Korean Catholic Foreign Missionary Education Association, 647 Korean missionaries were sent to 81 countries, as of October, 2007. Among them, 42 are secular priests, and 477 are women religious. The number of missionaries increased 11-14% annually since 2005.”

Since the report of the number of laypeople was not mentioned and this report dates from Oct. 2007 it would seem that the numbers would be much higher than those reported. It is sign of maturity that the Church of Korea in gratitude for the help she has received from the foreign missionaries is now returning to give from what she has received.

World's Largest Catholic Hospital

In one of the recent newspapers was an article that started with: “What country in the world has the largest Catholic hospital?” “Is it Italy, France or could it be the Vatican?” “The correct answer is Korea.”

The Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital of the Catholic University of Korea was just recently opened. It has a name change from Gangnam St. Mary’s to Seoul St. Mary's Hospital to make it more nationally recognized. The hospital can admit 1200 patients and has 22 floors above ground and 6 below.The overall atmosphere is that of a first class hotel and leaves one with a refreshing feeling, was the report of the writer.

There was a great deal of discussion on the pros and cons of building such a large hospital. The area of Gangnam is one of the most prosperous in Seoul. Some did not think it fitting to build there. However, it seems that many thought that the poor also like to have a nice hospital to go to. The money they make will enable them to be of greater service to the poor which is not in conflict with Catholic thinking. This was the thinking that finally prevailed.

We can pray that this is what actually will take place over time and that Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital will be an example of what all hospitals should be doing.