In the
beginning of the 1960s per capita income in Korea was 100 dollars, in
2013 it was over 20,000 dollars. During the period of 40 years we have
seen an increase of over 200 times. Briefly, many citizens have become
'rich overnight'. Sudden accumulation of wealth and new social status
brings new attitudes: self importance, different from others,
wanting respect, and the desire to show off the wealth and
separate themselves from others.
A
university rector brings this reality to the attention of the readers in an opinion column in the Catholic Times. We see this in individuals who become overnight
millionaires but also true of a country-- immaturity, confusion and
anxiety.
Koreans
he says are absorbed with the myth of success. Society does look down
upon failures which promotes the myth of success. Sadly, this thinking has entered the world of religion. Imported from the States in the last decades is the power of positive thinking, the
ideology that has moved much of Korea: personal development, happiness
evangelizers, and the feel good understanding of life.
Like a flood this enters our businesses, our churches, and
even the academies of learning. Much of this positive
thinking has worked. Like a panacea--we are dealing with the placebo
effect. What is the object of the positive thinking? Positive thinking
is the motivating force that energizes one to overcome difficulties and
moves the will and gives hope, but it can also be the driving force
for ambition and the spirit of greed.
'Feel good' understanding of religion can be pervasive in society.
The power of positive thinking is important but it is not
religion. Life is not the thirst for continual prosperity and health.
This religion of prosperity is not the longing for the eternal but attachment to the transient and ignoring our follow citizens and
matters of justice. God is often used as a tool and as a means to
attain success and prosperity.
Newly rich do not realize they are being controlled by an
inordinate emotion. In their new culture of wealth they do
not realize they are not being 'more' but losing what they were
made to be. Consequently, the uncontrollable passion for education, extreme competition, and many of the abuses that we have in society.
We
need to have a win/win understanding of culture, with the teaching of
wisdom enabling us to live together with others, and he concludes that this
should be the aim and duty of Christianity.
We are
all searching for God. Hidden in the word search, is hope. We spend a great deal of time searching for the necessities of
life: food, clothing and shelter; this requires money, competence and
strength. We also search for the immaterial: to love and be loved, for acceptance and happiness.
A priest
writing in the Kyeongyang magazine wants us to reflect on this
searching-- a large component of life.
At times we do get what we
want and have great joy but this doesn't last long, and quickly
we are in pursuit of other goals. Not realized we are dissatisfied, and we begin to pile up discontent which makes our
existence difficult and unattractive. But this dissatisfaction is a good
for which we should be thankful.
Dissatisfaction
is not an emotion we enjoy, but important and necessary for it shows we need to search for true happiness.
Uncomfortableness makes us search for what will make us comfortable
while dissatisfaction goads us on to search for what will make us happy.
"The desire for God is written in the human heart,
because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to draw
man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he
never stops searching for: The dignity of man rests above all on
the fact that he is called to communion with God. This invitation to
converse with God is addressed to man as soon as he comes into being.
For if man exists it is because God has created him through love, and
through love continues to hold him in existence. He cannot live fully
according to truth unless he freely acknowledges that love and entrusts
himself to his creator" (Catechism #29).
Searching
here means more than going in pursuit and desiring but concretely to
search in study and examination. "Let the hearts of those who seek the
LORD rejoice. Although man can forget God or reject him, he never
ceases to call every man to seek him, so as to find life and happiness.
But this search for God demands of man every effort of intellect, a
sound will, 'an upright heart', as well as the witness of others who
teach him to seek God" (Catechism #30).
We
all have the capacity to search for God and the dissatisfaction we have
with life is the very call of God, in us from creation. As we search
for God the writer wants us to remember that God is always in search of
us and it is only in him we will have satisfaction.
Those
who are searching for the fleeting and transient are really in search
of God, and we need to pray for them. And we need to remember that God
is leading us always with his graces and calling us to himself.
'Don't ask me crimes' is the topic of an
article in the Kyeongyang magazine written by a psychologist who has
studied the issue in depth. He discusses the origin and details of these crimes. In 1982 we had one of the first of these crimes: the rampage
shooting and killing of 62 and wounding 33 villagers by a policeman, angry with his live-in girl friend.
We have the
case of a man in 1991 who lost his job because of poor eyesight, and in
revenge drove his car recklessly, deliberately killing 2 and wounding
21. Another case in 2008 of a person who was angry at his living
conditions, and set fire to the houses in a cheap area of the city where
students were studying for exams and he himself was living. Besides setting fire to the houses he
killed in a knife rampage six, and wounding seven. These three
examples are the kind of crimes called 'don't ask me crimes'.
In
all these cases we are not dealing with a vindictive crime in which
one has a grudge with another but indiscriminate violence fueled by anger on those
one doesn't even know. These kinds of crime puts fear on all the
citizens. In recent years in examining these kinds of crime for a two
year period from 2012 and 2013, we had 109 of these crimes and 45 percent where committed by persons with mental problems. He lists three
conditions for these crimes: motives are hard to determine, the victims
are not those with whom the wrongdoer is acquainted, violence is perpetrated. A study showed discontent and anger or mental problems as the cause.
Only one woman
was involved in these rampages. The study of those who vent their
resentment on persons they don' t even know are from dysfunctional
families, and did not receive the family love that one would take for granted. They often did not see the sunny side of life in their formative
years, and 75 percent of them where unmarried.
The
majority of these persons had a history of crime and the writer feels
that we should be doing a better job in the education of these
wrongdoers early on, when they are in hospitals, welfare facilities,
prisons and homes for delinquents. More effort needs to be shown in our
education of the young people. More interest should be taken in preparing a
society with an atmosphere helpful in raising families. Efforts would do much in preventing these kinds of problems in
society.
Gambling is a strong addiction, deadly, and the cause of family ruin.
Since it is harmful to society the country has made it a crime.
Gambling, habitual gambling is penalized and the largest penalties are
for those that build places for gambling. Human rights group director
in a Peace Weekly column writes about the issue.
The
way the country looks on gambling is not consistent. When a civilian is
involved we have punishment when the country provides the space for
gambling we justify it. Race tracks are managed by the Korean Horse
Affairs Association and are helpful in the welfare programs of the
country and contribute to the use of leisure. Three race
tracks exist in the country and for those who are addicted it may be a
long distance to the track so they have off-track video betting rooms. A newly-opened off-track horse racing betting center in Yongsan, which is very close to many schools in a residential district of Yongsan, is receiving a lot of opposition. Off-track betting centers are called 'Let's Run' and there are many throughout the country.
According to government statistics
of 2010 we have over two and half million civilians addicted to gambling
and the government is inciting them to continue with these betting rooms. As long as it is a
money making enterprise, and since the money is for
welfare, the decision to discontinue is a dilemma for some.
Yongsan
video horse racing gaming room has been opposed by the residents and many others for over two years-- public opposition is great. Sacred Heart Middle and High School are very close to the video gaming room but the Korean
Horse Affairs Association is playing dumb, using wise tactics, and
helped with people in high places opened the gaming room. The Sacred Heart Sisters are also very much in the battle.
The reason it has continued so long, seeing the hopelessness of the
fight, is because of the sisters. It is like throwing eggs at a stone,
the eggs get smashed and the stone remains unmoved but they continue.
In
the beginning it was the school and the surrounding environment that
motivated the sisters but this has changed. Now not only the children but for those who
will be going to the gaming rooms to gamble.
The columnist praises the sisters for being real teachers, and willing to give themselves for a cause that has the need of persons to stand up for the common good, even if it seems like a hopeless effort.
Today is the feast
day of the first Korean priest, St. Kim Taegon, Andrew. Born on August
21st 1821 of a noble family. His great-grandfather was an official of
the regional government and at the age of 50 was baptized, shortly
after was arrested and spent over 10 years in jail where he died. His
grandson Kim Chae-jun Ignatius and Ko Ursala gave birth to Kim
Taegon. His father Ignatius was martyred in 1839.
Kim
Taegon, Andrew died in 1846 just 13 months after ordination. He was
arrested tortured and killed for helping priests come into Korea from
China. He is now revered as the patron saint of all Korean priests, the
first priest of a 60 year Catholic history.
Two
editorials and articles in the Catholic papers show us the reasons he
is an example of what is expected of a priest. His family was before
conversion to the foreign religion, a wealthy and respected member of the
Korean nobility. Conversion meant becoming fugitives and living in
poverty.
One
of the editorials mentioned the talk that Pope Francis gave to the
bishops and priests in which he asked them not to strive for success
and power in the way of the world. The reason he brought it to their
attention: " Your Church is flourishing, a wonderfully evangelizing Church, and big Church."
Pope
Francis, said the editorial, was concerned that the Church will be
criticized for being too wealthy. He doesn't want the Church to ignore
the poor, and be a Church for 'well being' a wealthy and indolent
Church, and he is mainly addressing these words to the bishops and
priests.
Poverty
is not destitution. Doing less with what one needs is the beginning of a
life of poverty. When we are not concerned with prestige and honors we
are on the way to spiritual poverty. We need the material
poverty but more so the spiritual poverty that we hear about in the 'Sermon on the Mount' in Matthew's Gospel.
The
editorial ends asking for prayers for priests to follow the example
of St. Andrew Kim. In his short life he was an example of poverty, and asks we pray that priests realize the joys that result from this type of life.
History is not always what happened in the way recounted. We have
both a bias that is personal, and cultural, in recounting events of the
past.Truth of history is not always easy to determine and requires
personal study, freedom from ideology, and a great deal of humility. In
the the study of historical events--reader beware, is not completely
out of place in looking over any period of history.
An
article in View from the Ark in the Catholic Times gives us some facts
about the Japanese/Korean situation and information the columnist wants
to pass on to the readers. Antagonism between the two countries goes
back many centuries: precedes the colonial period and the many
atrocities that came along with the occupation and the Second World War.
The
columnist, a priest from Pusan, mentions a photograph that was taken
before the fire that destroyed one of the ports in Pusan.The photo shows
the port and train station that was moved after the fire to an
adjacent area. The port was where the trains took the soldiers that
came in from Japan by boat and transported them quickly by train
to Seoul, Sinuiju and Manchuria.The credit Japan wants for helping
Korea develop into a modern country,was actually preparation for war
against China and Russia.
He tells us an interesting
vignette about a medicine that the Japanese developed for their troops
in Russia who were having serious trouble with diarrhea, caused by the
water. They asked the Japanese government for help in overcoming the problems, and
the result was the medicine 'Chong Ro Hwan' using two
Chinese characters that mean "Conquering Russian Pill"-- the characters
having no relation to the medicine's use for diarrhea or stomach
complaints.
Comfort women for the
Japanese army and many other endeavors in Korea were Japanese ambition to increasing their control in Asia. Our columnist has little sympathy for
historians who say that it helped develop Korea and twist
history in the process.
He also sees this same thinking at work with
the development of the Korean economy.They forget the blood and sweat
of the citizens and nonchalantly, in general terms, give the credit to
certain individuals. The work of the Church, the small groups, and
individuals whose efforts are a part of our history and have walked the pilgrims journey should be signs for future generation on what to
do.
As we know ignorance of history has many evil
results. We need to know our history. Our young people need to know
history and be able to overcome ignorance with the truth which
freedom of democracy and freedom to criticize brings.
This
is true also for us as Christians, to go back into our history and meet the
saints who have lived the Christian life and follow their examples. They inspire us to live more closely the life of Jesus and to be
changed. This is the reason we need to know history.
One of the questionnaires that was sent out in preparation for the
synod on the family was the question on how accepted is the teaching of
natural law when it comes to matters about family. A Catholic Times'
article brings this issue to the attention of the readers. The answer
from the bishops of Korea: Confucianism is the basic understanding of
society which accepts marriage as a bond between one man and one woman,
a natural law understanding of marriage similar to the Church.
However,
moral questions in society: abortion, marriage, family, sex and related
issues are not as clear cut-- relativism, hedonism, individualism and
feminism, prevents many from accepting the teaching on natural law.
Although the direction of society is not to accept homosexual marriages,
the future is far from certain.The international attitude towards
homosexuality is changing and the recent decision of the United
States Supreme Court to legalize homosexual marriages will bring about
discussion in Korea. A movement is already active and wants to see
homosexual marriages legalized.
Natural law in Catholic
teaching is fundamental in its teaching on morality
but it is, according to the article, not easily accepted by society, and
there are many who say we need a new way of explaining what is meant
by natural law. One of our bishops returning from the synod wrote an
article for the Times in which he said: The church needs to use new
words to explain the teaching on natural law: making it understandable when speaking about contraception, and related moral issues.
At the synod it was shown
that many felt that a new tone, attitude and way of teaching was
necessary if the teaching of the church was going to resonate with the
people who are listening.
Natural law and Scripture
are the two sources of Catholic teaching on morality. A German legal
philosopher, Erick Wolf was quoted as saying the concept of natural law
is diverse, and one of its functions is for the natural law to
critique positive law and its imperfections.
Reason gives validity to the natural law, consequently, whether you have
a belief system or not, there should be universal validity to our
natural law thinking easily grasped by all. There are all kinds of
thinking in the areas of marriage, sex and life issues. We are faced with relativistic thinking and ideologies: absolutes
are not looked upon favorably, so efforts have to be made to use words
that will speak to the people in today's world.
