Rethinking the Word used For Laity in Catholicism

The Catholic Weekly in its opinion page has an article by a director of a research institute who wants the  word  laity changed from "ordinary, common, believer"  which is the literal meaning of (평신도) in Korean to something else.

She remembers an article published in a Catholic newspaper last summer about the title 'Pope' in Korea which has the meaning of king of the church. She mentions a priest that presented the opinion that leader of the church (교종) would be more appropriate in the spirit of the Synod. He also suggested that the word for the laity in Korean was also problematic. The priest explained that the term laity distinguishes the holy from the ordinary which goes to show how hierarchical the Catholic Church is and how trapped we are in a vertical structure. He wants to use the word 'Saints' for the laity as in the early church.

 

About 40 years ago, a Korean lay theologian Yang Han-mo wrote in his book "Thoughts on Believer" (Catholic Publishing, 1982), which dealt with the theology on the word 'believer' in accordance with the spirit of the Second Vatican Council. There is discrimination inherent in the word 'pyeong' (平)’ ordinary believer therefore:"I don’t think we are exaggerating within God’s people, that is, the church to say this", and used the word 'believer' instead of the Korean word for 'laity'.  

 

Teacher Yang points out that in church history, the distinction between clergy and believers began after the 3rd century, and that positions according to different gifts should not be treated as ranks and separation. At the same time, we recall that in the New Testament, members of the Christian community are referred to as 'holy ones', 'disciples', and 'brothers'.

 

Like this, there have been issues raised about the title 'layperson' from early on, but since the words 'saint' and 'believer' are used a lot in Protestant churches, the Catholic Church continues to use the word 'layperson'. However, when she had the opportunity to greet Protestants and Buddhist believers and introduced herself as a 'Catholic layperson', she received a curious response. They asked her why she used the word 'lay' believer and whether there were separate 'high-ranking' believers. She once again realized that to those who are not Catholics, the title 'layperson' sounds like a derogatory and discriminatory term.

 

The problem with the title 'laity' stems from the fact that there are elements of the term that are not appropriate for believers to properly recognize their identity and perform their roles well. Just as the leader of the church is concerned about the title 'Pope' in that it should not be mistaken for 'Emperor', the term 'layperson' carries the meaning that Christians living in the world are unholy 'secular people' or 'non-experts' regarding faith. 

 

The first session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the World Synod of Bishops recently ended. This synod stated that the church's way of life and activity should be a 'way to walk together' (synodalitas), and that all members of the church should share 'communion' and 'participate' in order to carry out the 'mission' of spreading the gospel to the world. They discussed together how to do it. The topic of the synod was about ways for church members to cooperate together, but the discussion also started with listening to the voices of believers in each local church, and the composition of the general assembly delegates also included not only bishops but also believers, laity,  religious, priests although it was a  synod composed of bishops in the past.  She is not sure yet whether the participation of believers as delegates is a special exception only for this synod that deals with the spirit of the synod or a structural change that will continue in the future, but if believers, the majority of God's people, do not join, the church that proclaims the gospel of the kingdom of God to the world It will be difficult for the community's mission to be properly realized

 

The Second Vatican Council stated that believers should be the 'soul of the world', witnesses to the resurrection and life of Jesus and a sign of the living God in the world (Article 38 of the Constitution of the Church). Today in Korea is Laity Sunday, which remembers the calling of believers sent out to the world, she would like to suggest a variety of appropriate terms that clearly reveal our sense of identity.

 

Praying for Peace

 

In the Catholic Peace Weekly a Research Fellow, of the Catholic Northeast Asia Peace Research Institute gives us a meditation on the word Peace.

Sometimes I wonder if we live today with a proper understanding of the words and expressions Jesus spoke in the Bible. One of them is the word ‘peace’.  Expressions meaning ‘peace’ that are familiar to us include Shalom, Pax, and Peace.
 
Shalom is Hebrew, Pax is Latin, and Peace is English. Shalom is said to include meanings such as unity, harmony, recognition and respect for others. In particular, it is said to mean the peace given when all contract conditions are fulfilled in relationships with God and neighbors. Perhaps it can be said to be a concept premised on the satisfaction of the highest good or common good.  
 
On the other hand, Pax has the connotation of peace by force, with the image of a powerful empire emerging. You may have heard the term Pax Romana at least once. In other words, it expresses domination by political and military power as a peace under the rule of the Roman Empire.  
 
It is said that ‘peace’ is derived from the Latin word pax. So, it can be thought that the English word peace implicitly includes peace caused by political and military power. It seems that errors are occurring here where our believers do not understand peace in its original meaning.
 
Jesus often spoke of peace as shalom. But what kind of peace is the peace we utter while exchanging the greeting of peace during the liturgy of the Mass? Shalom? the Latin— Pax? Or is the English word—Peace? When we exchange greetings of peace at Mass, we don't think: "I have a higher social status than you, so you have to follow what I say from now on." Clearly, we too think of peace as shalom.  
 
And this kind of peace as Shalom should not be kept only between individuals. However, in the perception of many believers, it seems that we have different perceptions of peace as Shalom among individuals and peace as Pax among nations appears to have taken root.
 
Every day we hear news of countless massacres in the Middle East. It is gruesome. Is the peace of shalom that Jesus talked about an impossible reality? Or are we just ignoring it? Or is it only used between individuals? He concludes the column by mentioning that he doesn't think there has ever been a time when the greeting ‘Peace be with you’ has touched his heart as deeply as it does these days.
 

War Is the Failure of Humanity

In the Eyes of the Believer column of the Catholic Times, a former journalist gives the readers some thoughts on War as the 'Failure of Humanity'.

Young people enjoying a music festival in a southern Israeli village when Hamas (Palestinian armed political faction) swooped in by paraglider and opened fire, people were instantly left dead, people desperately seeking shelter, hundreds were taken hostage, and then Israel's massive counterattack on the Gaza Strip— Palestinians screaming as they suddenly lost their families and homes, the screams of the bloody wounded, hundreds of thousands of people evacuating to the south, people driven into living hell due to water and power outages amid a total blockade...
 
On the 10th day of the war, the death toll on both sides exceeded 4,000. With the Israeli military facing a ground war, the number of casualties is sure to increase like a snowball. We are speaking about a massacre. Due to evacuation orders, one in four of the 2.3 million residents left. However, even if they go south, they have nowhere to go due to the border blockade. It’s literally like a 'rat in the earthen pot'.
 
Sparks of war are being emitted all over the world. The unusual movements of neighboring countries such as Hezbollah and Iran cast a dark cloud of escalation. Amid the Jewish-Arab confrontation, pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian protests are spreading all over the world. Even hate crimes are rampant. In the United States, a landlord in his 70s stabbed his tenant, a six-year-old Palestinian boy, to death and seriously injured the boy's mother. "I hate Arabs" and the murderous frenzy leaves us speechless.
 
Is war an unavoidable and necessary evil of human society? Just looking at the word's appearance in the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament, war is in line with human history. War theorist Clausewitz once preached: "War is a continuation of politics through violent actions that force the enemy to submit in order to realize our will".  When he thinks of the horrors of war, the title of Osamu Dazai’s novel ‘No Longer Human’ comes to mind. Although the story and context are different, the subtitle 'No Longer Human' is similar to 'The Defeat of Humanity'.

"War doesn’t solve problems. It only sows death and destruction and increases hatred and revenge. War erases the future and is the defeat of all humanity." Pope Francis' appeal to stop war and establish peace is ringing in his ears. At the beginning of the year, the Pope condemned terrorism and extremism, targeting the war between Russia and Ukraine as it continues.   At that time, he cited 'the heart of man corrupted by sin' (see Mark 7:17-23) as the cause of the war. Whatever the reason, violence leads to violence and blood leads to blood. It is truly a vicious cycle and a humanitarian crisis.

Students at Catholic Theological Seminary, where he studies, gathered in small groups and opened discussion on the conflict and Britain's part in the present situation. This present confrontation between the two sides of different ethnicities and religions, and the Palestinian people trapped in a small area of land behind a huge wall were hot topics. Moreover, there are suspicions of bias in the presentations and materials released by both sides. A representative example is the passing of responsibility to Israel and Hamas for the Gaza City hospital disaster that killed hundreds of people on the 17th. When it came to the war, both parties said it was wrong, and they seemed to feel more sympathy for the persecuted Palestinians.
 
Can I feel relieved or say that it doesn’t matter because the war didn’t break out in my country? In times like these, it is more appropriate to become a 'Good Samaritan'. First of all, we must be heartbroken by the pain and tragedy of Palestinians and Israelis. We must pray with repentant desperation for a speedy end to the war. Let us stand in solidarity with people around the world and raise our voices against war and violence. Humanitarian support must also be provided. Aren't the innocent victims and their families, regardless of one side or the other, the image of God and human beings just like us?

Seeing with the Eyes of the Heart

 

In the Catholic Times, a priest working in hospital ministry writes in One Mind One Body Suicide Prevention Center column on what we can learn from the Good Samaritan on suicide prevention. 

We are indifferent to the suffering of others. There are various encounters along the path of life, and while there are truly precious encounters, there are also encounters that we want to avoid. Sometimes we see people who have fallen on the path of life. In Chapter 10 of the Gospel of Luke, we hear about a  person who fell on the road of life. The priest and the Levite ‘see’ the robbed man and then pass by and go in the  opposite direction. 

You might wonder how that could be, but they had their own reasons. Those who worked in the temple became unclean if they touched blood or a dead person and could not enter the temple. But if we know what pleases God more, this is clearly an act of abandoning a great good for a lesser good.

The relationship between the Samaritans and Jews was not good so they could pretend not to know each other. However, the Samaritan may have had a similar experience in the past, but when he saw the fallen person, he felt the pain as his own and could not just ignore it.
 
Nowadays, few know that Korea has the highest suicide rate in OECD countries. We hear about such deaths all the time through the broadcast media or news from people around us. Now he believes there's is little that he doesn't know with his head. In modern society, various factors such as mental illness, victims of violence, irreversible physical pain, in life play a complex role as causes of suicide. And the church must pray for those who have died by suicide with a truly ‘mourning’ heart and be concerned for the families of those bereaved by suicide.

However, apart from feeling sad, it is necessary for Catholic believers to recognize the seriousness of the suicide problem in our society and to actively pay attention to suicide prevention practices as individuals and faith communities together, and to 'participate' in rescuing those at risk of suicide.
 
Passing by indifferently my neighbor who is on the brink of suicide without thinking of him as ‘my neighbor whom I must take care of’ reminds him of Cain’s response: Don’t know” to God’s question— "Where is your brother Abel?" As the Apostle James said: "If you know how to do something good but do not do it, it becomes a sin" (James 4:17). Believers must be more active in doing good.  

Pope Francis strongly criticized modern societies' inability to grieve, citing the tragic events resulting from today's "globalization of indifference". Many modern people 'see' the suffering of others directly and encountering it every day through the media, but they are insensitive to it and regard it as someone else’s problem. The reason we don't know how to cry for our neighbors or empathize with them may be because the globalization of indifference has taken away from us the ability to grieve. 

 The opposite of love is not hate, but indifference. Not loving is not hating, but not actively trying to see. This is not because the person is evil or does not love God. This is because although they believe in God with a good heart, they have no interest in their neighbors. The weakest in this day and age are those who cannot live to their full potential. Even today, the compassionate heart of Jesus struggles with our indifferent hearts.

Freedom and Joy in Faith

 

In his column in the Catholic Peace Weekly, a professor at a Catholic University gives the readers an understanding of freedom in Faith.

When we think of faith, the words duty and obedience often come to mind. Faith is thought of something unrelated to or opposed to freedom. To be saved, one must believe in the doctrine taught in the church and keep the commandments. That is correct. But does God want people who live a religious life simply out of a sense of duty?

The Church teaches that faith is obedience of the intellect and will, a free and voluntary response. What is it that we are responding to? It is a response to the invitation to life as a child of God. That life is a life of joy and exultation, not hardship and burden, a truly free life enjoyed as a child of God.

In the parable of the prodigal son (see Luke 15:11-32), the older son was so angry when his younger brother returned that he refused to go to the house to greet his brother. He worked ‘like a servant’ by his father’s side all his life. He could not tolerate his younger brother, who returned after leading a debauched life, and he could not understand his father who welcomed him. He worked hard beside his father, but his heart was not free and he was not generous enough to rejoice at the sight of his younger brother. 

Perhaps we obey our Father's words, go to church diligently, and live by keeping the commandments, but lack joy and freedom. "Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours" (Luke 15:31). God has given us everything, but is it not possible for us to live happily and joyfully as children who stay with our Father and truly receive and enjoy everything? 

Since faith has been vaguely regarded as duty and obedience, it is often thought of as having nothing to do with freedom. But let’s look at Jesus. He was a free man. He also taught those who come to him the path to a free life of joy as children of God.
 
Let us make it clear here that freedom does not mean doing whatever you want. This is an infantile life that follows fleeting desires rather than freedom. Since faith is a personal relationship with God, freedom refers to the attitude of willingly and voluntarily responding to the love of another. Freedom has something to do with spontaneity and willingness. God does not want people who believe by force or out of a sense of obligation, but rather children who respond to his love voluntarily and willingly. 

However, it is also clear that freedom is not something that is given in complete form, but something that is acquired and completed over a long period. It takes time to realize God's love, which is constantly and freely given to me through all creation, his Son, and the Church.  Often it takes a long time to realize our parents' deep love. In that sense, it can be said that faith and freedom continue to grow in an individual life and community life. The better I know God and the deeper my relationship with him through faith and life, the more freely I can love God.
 
If I do not find freedom on my own, I will always live as a slave to someone or something. Let's ask ourselves. Am I free? Am I seeking and yearning for freedom?
                                                                                 God disciplines and nurtures his children through the journey of life with various tests, and wants them to experience freedom and love. So that we can deeply experience and be transformed by his love revealed through Jesus. We are now invited to find and walk the path of such great faith.

 

Standard Operating Procedure For Peace

 

A research fellow, of the  Catholic Northeast Asia Peace Research Institute writes in the Reconciliation Column of the Catholic Weekly about 'The Peace SOP Attitude'.

Countries around the world are in a state of conflict. The war between Russia and Ukraine continues, we  have  the  war between Israel and Palestine and  tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan appear to be intensifying again. In fact, there have been many conflicts around the world, but since they do not directly affect our lives, we have not felt their severity. However, with grain prices soaring due to the war between Russia and Ukraine and oil prices expected to increase due to the war between Israel and Palestine, war is finally being felt on the Korean Peninsula.

 

Preventing war from occurring may be the top priority, but if war breaks out, what attitude and response should we as believers show? Once a war breaks out, can the subsequent response be left to the independent free will and judgment of each believer? Even now, there are many believers who make judgments and live unrelated to the words of the Bible. Can we truly live according to the teachings of faith?  

 

If we live without any reference point or direction, wouldn't we end up insisting, like 'Eichmann in Jerusalem' who massacred the Jews:  "I only did what the state told me to do, so what's my crime?" After the war is over, what is the meaning of holding meetings to reflect and express sorrow that we did not live as believers during the war? 

 

The columnist in his work has  become familiar with the term SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). SOP usually refers to the process of creating response procedures in advance for situations that may occur in the government, administrative agencies, organizations, companies, military, etc., and responding appropriately when such situations occur.  

 

Looking at the recent conflicts in various countries, a secular thought occurred to him that we, believers, should also create SOPs for peace. And within that, he thinks there should be a maximum and minimum behavioral standard, like the ‘golden rule of love’ in the Bible. He also thinks that if we do not prepare the SOP for peace in advance and practice what we believe, when war breaks out, our thinking and behavior will be no different from that of non-believers.

 

Shouldn’t the saying "that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16) also apply to wartime?

 

Meal Table for Life

The Catholic Times in its recent issue has a cover story and two articles on a very important topic that demands a great deal of thought in its coverage. Where does the food that we eat come from?

This is a world where you can buy countless foods regardless of the season by just going to the supermarket. However, if you make a study of what is sold it is full of meat that has antibiotics, vegetables grown in land contaminated with chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and genetically modified grains. Can a table filled with these foods truly be considered a complete meal that protects health?
 
The production process of favorite foods such as meat emits enormous amounts of greenhouse gases and pollutes the land and becomes food again for our dinner table.

The climate crisis is a phenomenon that arises from this environmental pollution—economic logic took precedence, such as using petroleum-based chemical fertilizers to harvest more quickly than nature permits.  A way of life humans live without considering creation.

In his recently released exhortation "Praise God", Pope Francis said: "Finally, we can add that the COVID-19 pandemic brought out the close relationship of human life with that of other living beings and with the natural environment. But especially, it confirmed that what happens in one part of the world has repercussions on the entire planet. This allows me to reiterate two convictions that I repeat over and over again: 'Everything is connected' and 'No one is saved alone'" (paragraph 19).

As experts point out, 'In the 21st century, food’s impact on the Earth has become the largest in history in terms of size and speed'. Food now is also a means of responding to the climate crisis. Preparing the table with living agricultural products is an effort to preserve God's created order and is an ecological apostolate activity that transforms our table into a table of life.

The problem of the dining table is a problem of the global community in which we must live and a problem of life. Church communities and Christians walking the ‘Laudato Si’ 7-year Journey’ must rethink our meals concerned with the climate crisis.

'Life agriculture', which reduces carbon emissions without using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, is the starting point of the solution. Consumers can achieve life agriculture together by choosing organic food and Eco-friendly food. In the Korean church, the Catholic Farmers' Association and the Headquarters of the Movement to Revive Our Rural Areas are at the forefront of 'life agriculture'.

The Bishops' Conference Ecology and Environment Committee said in its 28th Farmers' Sunday Message: "Christians consider it more and more important to protect and respect all life by choosing organic farming, rather than participating in industrial agriculture, which can lead to the mass slaughter of living things. "We have to do it," he said.

The prices of Eco-friendly organic products are not cheap. When you think of a thin wallet, you might hesitate. But this is a matter of choice. Despite the rise in inflation, the price of rice did not change significantly. The ‘rice price of 300 won per bowl’ demanded by farmers has not yet been achieved. An official from the Movement to Revitalize Our Rural Areas recommended: "If you can’t change all your food, start by changing your staple food, rice."
 
The head of the Seoul Archdiocese's Rural Restoration Movement Headquarters said: "Making our table a table of life and justice is a choice for all of us and a choice for Christians living the 'Laudato Si’ 7-Year Journey.'" He also emphasized, "Preparing the table with living agricultural products is an effort to preserve God’s created order and is an ecological apostolate activity that transforms our table into a table of life."

What we eat creates the future of our common home. This is why the Christian meal table must change. The choice of finding organic crops and Eco-friendly food is the beginning of change. Let’s look at the dining table as a matter of life.