Refugees Transition to Life in the South

Presently 70% of the refugees in South Korea are women from North Korea. Most of them  did not directly come to the South but because of hunger went to China before coming to Korea. In China the women's stay was not without problems. At the request of the North Korean government, the Chinese police frequently round up the North Koreans, and forcibly send them back to the North.

Two articles in the Catholic Times mention the problems with the refugees in the South. Refugees arriving in the South enter Hanawon a government institution that is home for them for three months. They are educated in the ways of the South and given a resettlement payment and housing assistance. It is during this period at Hanawon they  are introduced to religion but most of them have other interests mainly the family they left behind in the North, and how to get them to the South.

One woman mentions she first heard about Catholicism while at Hanawon but it was two years later, after her son joined her in the South, that she was baptized with her son.

An article mentions a survey made by the  bishops' committee for the reconciliation of the Korean people, and it shows that a little over one present of the refugees become Catholic, and of these 80% of the refugees after baptism have either abandoned the faith or find it difficult living the faith.

Making a living is their biggest obstacle,and religion for many, is no help. The teaching and Confession are big problems. They see it as a good but the obligations are too many. Need is seen for parishes to have an interest in these refugees, and make them feel at home; God-parents especially concerned with their God-children.

One priest mentioned in comparison with other religious groups, becoming a Catholic is complicated, and is a deterrent to many who show an interest. The article concluded with the need for the parishioners to become familiar with the problems of the North, and to understand the alienation the refugees feel, and work to understand and be with them in the transition to life in the South.

100 Percent Absorption

Catholic Times'  priest columnist  who writes on spiritual subjects mentions a meal that he had with two young religious. They recalled the times in their lives when they laughed and the times of sadness  they experienced.

During the discussion with the two young religious he felt contentment in their presence, no need to correct or agree, he was older than they were, and found the time with them satisfying. When they left the restaurant and began walking they saw a movie theater; the billboard was advertizing a family picture, one of the men recommended they see.

They checked the  time for the next showing of the movie. He was the only one not keen in seeing  the movie; he had a lot to do at the monastery  but he decided to join them, and bought the tickets. They went to a nearby place to eat, for there is a stomach for a meal, and a stomach for snacks. When the time came they left for the movie theater.

Since it was a family movie there were a lot of young people there. Many couples in their middle years.  The movie was inspirational  but the columnist was mostly interested in the technical aspects, and the acting.  During the performance he heard something like a tank, and noticed that a man  on his right was asleep and snoring.

Shortly after in an emotional segment he heard  sobbing, and the blowing of  noses. On his left was a huge man who was crying  while the actors and actresses were just playing their role, his crying was for real. The two religious were 100 percent immersed in the movie.

They were completely absorbed,  more involved than the actors themselves. The columnist was impressed with their absorption.  A couple of hours of not too extreme or excessive losing yourself in what you are doing, is a good way to clear the mind and relax a person. Leaving  the theater he was embarrassed in that he was not able to lose himself in watching the picture.  For him the movie was in no way cathartic and because of that he felt he missed something. He concludes the column by telling his readers a good way to renew oneself  is when you can immerse yourself  in what you are doing 100 percent.

Fighting Against the Temptation to Ignore the Past

Korean Catholics are faced with the temptation to consider their inheritance from the past dismissively. An article in the Kyeongyang magazine by a professor of ethics laments to see Catholicism changed  by our environment and  society: diminishment of the  passion once had for the faith, and  a shadow on the  future of the church.

We see the results of this in our examination of the situation in the church. Surveys have showed repeatedly the change of  spiritual practices, and behavior, and values of Catholics. A Gallup survey recently showed the way the parishioners see  divorce, abortion and homosexuality are very similar to those who have no belief.  In 1984, 57 % said  they prayed  at least once a day but in 2014 this decreased to 30 %. In 1984, 11 % said they never opened the Scriptures while last year it was 30%.

In the past  traditional religious ways and authority  were a powerful force in society. Many considered religion shackling us to ways that took away our freedom. Love, mercy, filial affection, sacrifice, and  the like, are values that society no longer admires. Rather today it is efficiency, and modernity, non-traditional  and non-authoritarian values, that are supported and admired.

What is important is the here and now, and not the next life. Happiness now is what is wanted. More important than faith is health, present pleasure; they prefer material and bodily values which are a challenge to religion. More important than the spiritual is the  body. Old moral standards are burdensome  measurements, and the relics from the past.

Individual likes and dislikes are important. If it suits me it is good, and if not it is evil. Consequently, society, virtue, citizens' understanding, common good, politics and family have deteriorated. Technology is favored, consciences are numbed,  consolation is sought, meaning of life disappears. Economics are elevated, virtue has retreated, sex is everywhere and love misunderstood, pleasure has increased and joy lessened.

We as Christians are forced to act as Christians. What does that mean?  In this world living according to the Gospel is extremely difficult, and we try to rationalize, but we need to keep on teaching what is the true meaning of religion. We have to keep on fighting against those who are building this virtual reality and  fantasy world, and oppose them, and expect the mockery that will come like that received by Noah in building the ark.

AIDS Work In Korea

A Columban Sister tells her readers in her Peace Weekly column how she got involved in the work with HIV/AIDS patients. She was approached by an HIV positive individual who crying: "Sister, I have no place to go, I have AIDS  you are the only one I can approach."

She listened to his story and was greatly moved. She had no funds so went to Cardinal Kim of Seoul and received help and that is the start of the first shelter for those with AIDS. She continued to receive help for her work.

She writes that more than having the disease the worst is being shunned and stigmatized which gives more pain than than the body affliction. We have to do all we can, she says, to alleviate this loneliness and alienation. They do not  have a positive view of the world. They are feared by many of the citizens which destroys the quality of life of those diagnosed as HIV positive. HIV is not spread by day-to-day contact with those with the virus-- a well know fact.

One of the patients: "Even those who I trusted and believed, have this feeling towards me  and because of me when I think of the pain of my family all I  want to do is hide and have nothing to do with the world."

In Korea when you have a disease make it known, is a proverb, not true with AIDS. All you can do is keep silence, you become a displaced person.The prejudice is still strong in Korea which makes the work of the Columban Sister difficult, and this can be seen by not wanting her picture accompanying her column, but only a blurred drawing.

On this blog in 2009, mention was made of an editorial in the Peace Weekly  which said ignorance and misunderstanding, causes a deep rooted prejudice in Korean society, making it impossible even for a person diagnosed as HIV (a person with the virus but not AIDS) to function in society. This means that it remains hidden and does not get the care that will prevent more cases. The facts are a person with the disease, with periodic check ups, and treatment can function in society; that is not the case today in Korea.

For ten years now the Church has with little publicity been involved in the care of AIDS patients. It started when there was a great deal of fear with anything to do with AIDS. There is still a great deal of misunderstanding about AIDS. This is the reason that the Church had difficulty publicizing the work with the sick. It is estimated that there are about 6000 people infected with the disease in Korea. Today it would be higher.

The Church will now take a more active part in trying to change the climate that surrounds the word AIDS. Someone has been put in charge of the Red Ribbon Movement which will incorporate the present works of the Church and look for government help in the future. 

Korea has a great deal to overcome for the proper understanding of what AIDS is all about but has made big changes in its approach. The Church also will be more involved in educational programs, publicity and helping those who have the virus, to function in society. The number of those committing suicide on knowledge of having the virus is extremely high and the reason is that they are treated like those with leprosy in the time of Jesus. There is a hope that the efforts of the Church will be successful.The above words were  written in 2009 and there has been some change but with the absence of the picture of the sister, shows she still has to be circumspect about her work within society.

Using the Language of Love

We express love with words. Knowing the language of love and expressing it in our relations makes for healthy communication. A priest who has been associated with the marriage encounter movement in Seoul for the past 20 years is interviewed by a journalist of the Peace Weekly, and gives us his thoughts in what he has learned during those years.

He introduces us to Gary Chapman a world respected counselor and his  five love languages.  How to  express love to your spouse in the way they will understand. He uses the words: affirm, spend quality time with the spouse, gifts, service, and  physical touch. 

The situation in society with the large number of divorces, suicides, abortions are  signs not all is well in the family. "God's love is manifested through us," he explains, "and when spouses do not feel love,and love is not given to the children we have  tragedy." 

Working with married couples over many years, despite the belief that God has joined them together, they do not feel any love and the relationship is insipid. Husband works, and sacrifices for his wife which is the way he expresses his love, and the wife  would like time  together in which she feels  love, and instead they continue to increase the enmity between them.

This is true in all kinds of relationships when  the language of love is not used; we have all kinds of misunderstandings. The priest with parishioners, and all of us with our interactions with others. The respect and concern for others is not shown or felt.

The Church will have two Synods on the family. Last year we had the Extraordinary Synod and this year we will have the  Ordinary Synod. This coming synod will deal with the ways family life can be strengthened and renewed. 

The factual information has been gathered and now the ways in which the Church can help support the families in a society that is not favorable. What our ME priest is doing is the  concern of many pastoral workers. Father has made a CD on his experiences, which is to help couples strengthen their bond. Pope John  Paul II said: “As the family goes, so goes the nation and so goes the whole world in which we live.” These words show the importance of the Synods  for families, and need for work to strengthen families.

Keeping our Eyes on the Road to Virtue

A Salesian priest in the Catholic Times' View from the Ark mentions the experience he had  recently attending a general meeting of the members at their Roman headquarters. What he knew from the news he heard directly from those who were involved. One superior from France  mentioned the closing of monasteries because of old age, and the lack of vocations. One superior of a community was in his 90s.

France called the eldest daughter of the Church is in a feeble state. France is not alone, we have Spain, a country once in the vanguard for mission, and Italy the headquarters of Catholicism are all in the same state of lethargy.

The columnist mentioned that all the superiors of communities of the different countries were     grabbing him by the arm, asking for missioners to come to their country. Europe is in serious trouble. Overcome with secularism, materialism and a small birth rate has changed the environment, and the Korean Church is following them. The future of Korean Catholicism and religious life is not bright.

We need to have a check up on the health of  Catholicism. We are suffering from the hardening of the arteries. We need a lively conversation between the  pastoral worker and the laity, a bonding  between the rich and poor, communication between the young and old, the connection  between the city and country, they are far from healthy.  We do not see the problems in society, and are in search of only the sweet and a religion which is cheap, which darkens the future. We want to cut out the part of the Gospel with the passion; only interested in earthly blessings and what is good for the family. A very immature spirituality.

In the history of the Church we had many false prophets. They pretty much concentrated on some  common elements: reasonableness of absolute moderation, examination of oneself according to religious teachings, and not seeing the absurdities and cruelty in the world. With flowery words they  have confused many people. Today we have those who sing out the 'no disease and long life' mantra. Everything will turn out as we want, we are guaranteed heaven.

Who is the true shepherd and who is the hireling,  requires discernment on our part. The real prophet is only interested in transmitting God's message to the people. The true prophet was not afraid to use the rod,and warned against sin and debauchery.

What is the traditional teaching of the Church? A good pastor will tell us we are full of faults. In our lives we will be met with pain, failure, wanderings, twists and turns, but all the crosses have meaning.  We are invited to move with the cross one step at a time on the road to virtue. Even if we are sinners, he concludes, we trust in God's mercy and take courage, and keep on moving forward.

Sunday for Life

Pope John Paul II in his encyclical letter Evangelium Vitae (Gospel of Life) used the words 'culture of life' which has become popular in describing the movement for life: values that respects life from  conception to natural death.  

In the  first line of the encyclical the pope writes: "The Gospel of life is at the heart of Jesus' message. Lovingly received day after day by the Church, it is to be preached with dauntless fidelity as 'good news' to the people of every age and culture." The second paragraph continues:  "Man is called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the dimensions of his earthly existence, because it consists in sharing the very life of God. The loftiness of this supernatural vocation reveals the greatness and the inestimable value of human life even in its temporal phase."

Today in Korea the first Sunday of May we celebrate 'Sunday for Life': Korean Church's way of promoting the culture of life. Both Catholic papers had  editorials on the Sunday for Life, and articles on the  subject. This year is the 20th year of promulgation of the encyclical.

One of the  editorials sadly admits that we have not seen any change in the life of the Catholics from 20 years ago.The teaching of the Church has not influenced the life of Christians. According to surveys made, only half of the Catholics accept completely the teaching of the Church. In the lives of many there is an estrangement between life and the teaching of the Church. What is being  taught is for happiness in life and this aspect probably needs to be emphasized. When values of life are disregarded like the tower of Babel, society is destroyed.

The bishop's committee for life has a  message for  Catholics on this Sunday: mentioned are many things Catholics can do to advance the culture of life and fight the culture of death. The Church has problems when one separates life from the act of love. It is not difficult for us to numerate the many ways we can do this in our scientific sophisticated society.

The bishop stresses with our scientific technology there is the danger birth and death  are for us to  control and manage; they are simply our possession, and we can choose to do what we please.

Sad is the reality that a  great number of Christians do not see  this as influencing who we are, determining the way we look upon life, and preparing the society in which we will live.