Catholic Social Teaching

" Reading the Scriptures makes it clear that the Gospel is not merely about our personal relationship with God. Nor should our loving response to God be seen simply as an accumulation of small personal gestures of individuals in need, a kind of “charity à la carte," a series of acts aimed solely at easing our conscience. The Gospel is about the kingdom of God (cf. Lk 4:43); it is about loving God who reigns in our world" (Pope Francis: Apostolic Exhortation #180).
 
The Church in Korea is trying to make amends for what was not made clear to our Catholics; for many, the blame must rest with the Church, and on the way its teaching was passed on to the parishioners. The Pope's message in the exhortation gives us an idea of what is being proclaimed, loud and strong.
 
Sunday, the second Sunday of Advent, is Human Rights Day, and the bishops want each parish to devote a whole week to bringing our Christians to a better understanding of the Social Gospel. An article and the editorial in the Catholic Times recently discussed the Social Gospel and its role in the  life of the Church. The article stressed that because many of our Catholics have a personal appreciation of their call as disciples, forgetting its social dimensions, they are separating their faith life from their daily life.

In order to correct this lack, the Seoul diocese began a school, in 1995, for teaching the Social  Gospel, and yet there are many Catholics, who have never heard of the Social  Gospel. The  head of the justice and peace committee of the diocese mentioned that many have privatized the Gospel message, made it subjective and separated from the world, a part of their leisure time search for emotional and psychological satisfactions.

With this thinking, it is easy to understand why learning about the Social Gospel has no appeal for many Catholics, for it makes one feel uncomfortable. The Second Vatican Council made our social responsibility clear with the teaching on the common good in society, but those who understand  the teaching are few. This has been true from the beginning: the internal renewal of the self and the evangelization of the society. This second mission has not been well understood.
 
A member of a research institute lists a number of  the reasons  for this failure: fear that comes with  being a minority in  society,  avoiding the call by works of charity, dualism of the holy and the world, and seeing  them in opposition to each other. Responsibility for this is with the Church, he says.
 

Many dioceses, like the Seoul diocese, have begun schools for teaching the Social Gospel, and, ongoing for some time, educational materials have been distributed, lectures given, and discussions held.  There is, however, a lack of teachers and meeting places to continue the  programs and increase the number of those attending.
 
The lack of understanding in this  area of the Gospel  becomes  evident when, as happened recently, there is a conflict between priests and the Government on some issues of justice. No matter what one thinks of the wisdom of what was said by a priest or how the problem was handled, it doesn't take away from the mission the Church has in the world.  "If indeed the just ordering of society and of the state is a central responsibility of politics, the Church cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice”(Apostolic Exhortation #183).

Difficulty Working for the Unification of Korea

A university professor, in the Peace Weekly column Diagnosis of Current Events, recalls the  Cuban exodus of 1980. Hector Sanyustiz, with three other Cubans, made a forced entrance to Peru's embassy, asking for asylum, which was granted. The Cuban government demanded they be returned but the embassy refused. Soon after, as the word spread, 750 more Cubans rushed to the embassy, asking for asylum, and after Easter of that year an estimated 10,000 Cubans went to the embassy, asking for asylum. Fidel Castro sent more soldiers to the embassy, but it was too late to change the situation.

Seeing that nothing could be done, Castro responded with a bombshell declaration: "All who want to leave Cuban may do so; the Mariel Harbor will be open." Over 12,500 left Cuba in 1700 boats for asylum in the United States. A movie, Scarface, was made in 1983, depicting the  refugees' search for the American Dream.

The columnist, recalling the incident, does not see it as someone else's problem. North Korea continues to  suffer from economic difficulties and forecasting the political future of the country  is impossible. There is no ocean teeming with sharks that separate us, he said, nor do we have a language problem.  But if there is a sudden change in the current stalemate between the North and South, will we be prepared for it?

The exodus is not something that will begin in the future; it has already begun, he said. There are now 25,000 refugees from the North living in the South. In China, there are over 50,000.  In the South, many refugees find it difficult to adapt not so much because of the democratic politics or  the capitalistic system but because of the unseen  prejudice and coldness of the South Koreans.

We are not prepared to help these refugees, says the columnist, because we do not want to prepare for unification. The unfriendly attitude of South Koreans can probably be deduced, he suggests, from the declining number of North Koreans who have come to the South since 2009. The columnist wonders whether the materialistic way of the so-called good life in the South and the coldness the refugees experienced here had spread among the Northerners back home. 

More than the North Korean refugees' idea of the "Korean Dream" has disappeared; the desire for unification has also cooled. In a recent survey, it was found that the younger the citizens are in the South, the more they do not see a need for unification. Of those in their 20s, one of three would have this same viewpoint. They also do not remember any songs that support the unification of the country or have they heard any discussion on unification.
 
 A greater problem, says the columnist, is the lack of the government's commitment to pursue unification. Those who show an interest are labeled as followers of the North, an additional roadblock to unification. In conclusion, the columnist compares us--those who desire unification--to those in King David's time who were looking forward to the Messiah. We also are looking forward to the day when we will live together in peace, one Korean people on one peninsula, in one country. Are we, he asks, working together for that to happen?

Freedom of the Press?

Not long ago, after the assassination of Park Chung-hee, martial law was established and all media was censored. Martial law came to an end in 1981 but censorship of the media continued. Only with the advent of democracy in 1987 was there freedom of the press, which was unanimously cheered. A Peace Weekly columnist, who has worked in media since the Chung-hee assassination, comments on the present condition of the media.
 
With democratic rule, the direct involvement of the government over the content of media ceased. Newspapers flourished, pages increased, color was introduced, Chinese characters decreased, and morning and evening editions became commonplace.

However, within the mass media and the world of scholars, there were reservations voiced:  "We can't rejoice unconditionally  to the freedom of the press," some were saying.  "We have freed ourselves from the shackles of the government only to be shackled by the world of finance; freed from the fox's den to end up in the lion's den."

The columnist agrees that this is a correct assessment of the situation. We have freedom of the press, but its independent existence is at stake, and the situation is more serious, he  believes, than it was in the 80s. The newspapers in Korea, as in other parts of the world, are dependent on advertising to exist. In addition, there are often promotional articles (puff pieces) published that recommend goods and services, companies, organizations, groups, and so forth that serve the same purpose as paid advertising, but under the guise of journalistic objectivity. A service often provided to a a paper's most frequent advertisers.  


Though regulations require that  advertising  has to be specified as such, puff articles written by a journalist promoting some product with his name attached is generally overlooked. This is the way it began, but then sections were added to newspapers, and the journalists fought to keep their names from being reported.  And so journalists, unwittingly, became  involved in the world of business. This is against the code of newspaper journalism, which mandates accurate, objective, and fair reporting. Unacknowledged advertising that masquerades as journalism goes against the freedom, responsibility and independence of the press. It also goes against, says the columnist, the teaching of  Catholicism that encourages everyone to contribute to the common good. But so engrained is the practice, the columnist laments, that there appears to be little that can be done to end it.

In the days of censorship, freedom was more obviously suppressed. Today, freedom of the press is being challenged with more subtlety, as newspapers have to bow before the advertisers  in order to exist. The power and influence on the press in Korea resides in the hands of 10 large commercial companies. We all witnessed, said the columnist, what  happened when one of the big companies stopped advertising in one of the newspapers: it was  a mortal blow for the paper.

The article ends with a desire to have the government do something similar to what is done in Europe, where the mass media, in order to free itself somewhat from its dependence on advertisers, gets a subsidy from the government to help defray operating expenses. Until the time comes when the press can be said to be truly free of outside influences, so that it can keep the news free, objective and fair, readers will have to be  more critical of what they see and read in the mass media.

What Our Korean Catholics Think

On the tenth anniversary of Uijeongbu becoming a diocese,  one-third of diocesan members who regularly attend Sunday Mass were surveyed. That would provide a good indication of what devout Catholics in Korea would believe and say. The geographical  make-up of the  diocese would also be a reliable mirror of what Korean Catholicism looks like.  

To the question, What would you do if a law went against the Church's teachings? Only 25.3 percent said they would follow the teachings. A clear indication, says the Catholic Times, that the teachings have not been internalized by most Christians.

To the question, Are all religions a means of salvation, and have the truth?  Out of a possible score of four, indicating a positive response, there was an average score of 3.26: a high indication of the pluralistic thinking  of Catholics. To what degree this was a sign of a relativistic view of their religious belief was not addressed.

The number of Catholics from the diocese attending Mass was about 30 percent; those attending the small Christian communities was less than 9 percent. And the numbers who are motivated to participate or see the need for them is much less. This does not augur a bright future for the small communities.

43.5 percent said that the most  important values in life are health, family and money; only 15.6 percent said religion. 33.3 percent said the passivity of Catholics was the biggest problem facing the Church today. Working for the maturity of the Catholics was the first task of the diocese as seen by the majority of the respondents. Catholics showed a high level of satisfaction with their religion but when it came to four controversial issues: capital punishment, euthanasia, abortion, and artificial contraception, 3.57 out of a possible five approved the practice of all four positions. And when a priest in a sermon speaks about societal and political issues, 4.68 out of a potential 10 were opposed.

The priest responsible for conducting the survey and for preparing the questionnaire emphasized that living as a Christian in our society is difficult.  Since  the results from the survey made in the diocese is thought to reflect the situation of the country, it will be an ongoing task of the Church to work to change the values of our Christians to harmonize more with the teachings of the Church.

The Peace Weekly editorial on the survey referred to the widening gap between life and religion among Catholics. A guilty conscience, they said, was  the biggest difficulty Catholics have with what they have been taught. Though the survey showed the high value Catholics place on the importance of their religious beliefs, it also showed that many have guilty feelings when they cannot live according to these beliefs.

In the exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi (proclaiming the Gospel #19), the pope mentioned that "it is not only a question of preaching the Gospel in ever wider geographic areas to ever greater numbers of people, but also of affecting and, as it were, upsetting, through the power of the Gospel, mankind's criteria of judgement, of determining values, points of interest, lines of thought, sources of inspiration and models of life, which are in contrast with the Word of God and the plan of salvation."

The editorial concludes that  the work of the Church is not only to teach our catechumens, bring back those who have left, but also to evangelize the Catholics who are in the pews.

Before modern times, women were asked to follow the "three roads of submission": as a child to their father, as an obedient wife to their husband, and in old age, obedient to their son. When following this unwritten rule, they were eulogized as an obedient child, a virtuous woman, and a wise mother. The Catholic Times columnist, in the View from the Ark, asks why should that understanding be a negative way of looking at women? Because, in his view, it is based on the belief that women are inferior to men; and within the family, the patriarchal mentality ruled.

Today, the ideal of obedience is held in high esteem and rightly so, but an unconditional, dictatorial obedience is more likely to be found in Korean society. It's not unusual that a child does not raise her head in the presence of the father's orders, and to a husband's wishes a wife is not allowed a response, and in old age one is often restricted to silence by the authority of the son. Such cultural mandates are amply illustrated by a  phrase from the past: a new bride receives recognition only after living for three years as if dumb, three years as if deaf, and three years as if blind.

In today's world, women have their own dreams and hopes, and have the same chances for education as the male. Though there is sharing of chores, and the same opportunities for work without being discriminated against, a glass ceiling does exists but much has changed.

However, many women remain with the mentality that was seen with the three submissions. The daughters have a difficult time expressing their hopes and desires to the father. They hope to meet the right man and with this vague expectation, they face the future. Said as a quip: "With 10 more minutes of study, the   job of their future husband will change." (meaning that the more they study the better their chances of meeting a wealthier  husband)   Mothers feel that if their children do well their family condition will change. And very often, as soon as a child is old enough to speak, they are introduced to English, drawing, math, piano, Tae kwon do, and the like.

After marriage, it is this dream and hope that remain for the women. They live by trying to achieve their dream through their children, losing, knowingly or unknowingly,  their own dream and hopes. The columnist wonders if this might be the reason diet and cosmetic surgery influences much of the women's world in our  society.

The World Economic Forum recently published the Global Gender Gap Report for 2013. Among 136 countries, Korea ranked 111th. There were four categories studied: economic participation, educational attainments, political empowerment, and health and service opportunities. It was a surprisingly low ranking for Korea, said the columnist.  The study was made, he believes, before  the newly elected woman president and the increasing numbers of women elected to parliament.

Women should be as free as men and as appreciated for their independence as are the men. Women need to be conscious of this reality, the columnist says, and work to foster it in their lives. Will this not be the way to realize in our society true equality of the sexes? he asks, and quotes from the Catholic Catechism (#2335): "Each of the two sexes is an image of the power and tenderness of God, with equal dignity though in a different way."

Church and State Problems in Korea

The involvement of the Catholic Church in politics has received strong censure recently by the government and certain segments of the mass media.  A member of the Catholic Priests Association of the diocese of Jeonju, who called on the president to resign because of the intervention of state agencies in the presidential elections, was the occasion for this latest conflict. The priest expressed his opinion that the government is making North Korea an enemy and gave examples which, according to the National-Security Law of the country, would be seen as illegal. This is the back-story for the editorial comments in the Catholic Times.

The editorial speaks about the different political views held by members within the Church being no different than similar views held by members of the same society and how the mass media distorts the situation to serve their own purposes. Expressing its dissatisfaction with how the government and the media are pursuing this issue, the editorial was headlined: "Don't Use the Church."

Outside of its authoritative teaching on faith and morals, the Church, having no desire to support or criticize any particular political policy, does not demand conformity of thinking or foster a similar worldview, both neither possible nor desirable, says the editorial.  And when the mass media makes it seem that differences of opinion on political issues indicate conflict and division within the Church, the editorial points out that this is not only inaccurate but deceptive.

It does concede that when a priest, a pastoral minister, speaks out on a controversial political position more discussion is necessary. What should be the extent and limits of political involvement of the Church, when questions of unfair elections, societal injustices, media deception, and other grave societal problems arise? In a democracy, the editorial says that such subjects should be openly debated, not only outside the Church but within the Church as well.

However, when the government and the mass media speak out against a member of the Church and uses his personal views to condemn the whole Church and to foster division and enmity within the Church community, this activity needs to be addressed and denounced. They should also refrain, the editorial continues, from using the words of the pope and the bishops of Korea, their documents and the Scriptures, whenever they wish to bolster their position and to serve their policies.

A spokesman for the archbishop of Seoul was  quoted:  "There is no one Catholic position on this issue....There are many different opinions...the government authorities, to serve their own purposes, are  using this issue as a tool for their political aims, which is wrong. " The editorial concludes  that Catholics themselves, who have been called to follow in the footsteps of our Lord in justice and love, should not fail to be prudent and humble in the firestorm of these contentious issues. 

The End of the Year of Faith

We  have come to the end of the Year of Faith. The Catholic Times in its first page article offers an in-depth study of the results, and in the accompanying editorial comments reflects on what was accomplished and not accomplished.

"New fervor, a new way, and a new expression" was the motto with which we began the Year of Faith. The desire was to address the new evangelization with hope for renewal, discovering new aspects of our faith life and making for a stronger Church.  The Year of Faith commemorated the 50th year of the start of the Second Vatican Council. It was also a desire to live the teachings of the council and  to combat  secularism, relativism, materialism, individualism and the like, in order to bring us closer to a new understanding of our role as disciples of Jesus.

Pastoral  messages, seminars, symposiums, the distribution of literature and a variety of programs for renewal were undertaken during the year to change the way we were Church.

The results were less than expected. A 6-month survey showed that 30 percent of our Catholics were not familiar with the Year of Faith, amounting to one out of three Catholics not knowing anything about the Year of Faith.  And, even more shocking,  67 percent did not participate in any of the programs offered during the year, though the opportunities were there to participate. When we realize that the  survey was taken among the more devoted Catholics, the results are clearly disappointing.

One layperson in a leadership position, and very much involved within the Church, said we should not look at the Year of Faith as a one-time event, but continue to live the ideals presented to us during the year. The  article concludes with his recommendation to continue reading the Scriptures, living the faith according to the guidelines set down during the Year of Faith, increasing our participation in community activities and in works of evangelizing, and to continue working for the renewal of ourselves and the Church.