Why Korean Catholics Leave the Church

Nahnews visited again the issue of Korean Catholics increasing as are the numbers leaving the church. This is similar to what is happening in the States. Masan Diocese has the lowest percentage of Catholics going to Sunday Mass with 19.1% and Chun Chon Diocese with highest attending Mass at 29.9% .

In Korea we have the system started by the French Missioners of giving Catholics a card with their name and address which they are to place in a prepared basket during Lent and the Advent; this will be recorded in the parish books. If this card is missing for three years then the person is considered tepid ( to have left the church). A person may be going to Sunday Mass and receiving the sacraments but not having submitted the card for three years, these will be considered tepid. Those who have left the Church are not necessarily the same as those who are registered as tepid.

A Gallup poll taken in 2004 mentioned that 42.8% who consider themselves without a religion did have a religion at one time. 13.3% of these at one time were Catholic. Of those with a religion 14.9% were at one time Catholic.

The reason for leaving is not easy to determine. However, those who were not faithful in their Sunday observance, those from 30 to 4o years of age, a high educational background and with a pay scale that is lower or higher than average, have a higher rate of dropout.

The report ended with the mention that those who are now presently going to Sunday Mass 16.8% consider themselves tepid. 15.4% have considered changing their religion,
and many who continue to go to Mass consider leaving. 30% of those that are baptized leave within 3 years.

In conclusion the report stated that it is important that those who enter the Church remember that the important part of the preparation is not the teaching, the preparation for the sacrament and what has to be done but the internal change of the person attained before being baptized.

The Catholic paper had an article on a parish in the Suwon diocese that has over 61 percent of those on the registers going to Sunday Mass. It is an example of what can happen when the community and the pastor take an interest. Originally the parish had a percentage that was higher than other parishes in the diocese but this was increased sizably by the work of the community.

Korean Catholic Community in Moscow

The Catholic Church of Korean has priests stationed in communities all over the world and one of these communities is in Moscow, Russia. This week's Catholic Peace Paper had an interesting article on the difficulties and satisfactions of working in Russian with the Orthodox Church the other lung of the Catholic Church.

A priest from the Seoul Diocese is visiting the parish and will have a three piece report on the visit. The community is using a borrowed building so they have to vacate the Church to allow the other community to have their Mass on Sunday mornings.

The Korean community began in 1994 the services were conducted in English in the apartment of an English Marist Priest. At that time about 20 met together for Mass. When the Marist Priest heard that a Korean priest would arrive it gave him great happiness. From 1994 they have had 3 to 4 priests and finally in 2002 they registered formally as Catholic Church with the government.

The present pastor who arrived in 2000 but returned to Korea after 4 years in Russia returned to the Korean Community last summer. Fr. Kim in 2000 had to go to through the IMF difficulties. Many of the students and other residents, because of finances, returned to Korea leaving only 20 Catholics. He had no telephone and had to live in an unheated rectory. When the recovery came the Catholics started returning to the Church. They have now about 200 Catholics coming to Mass on Sunday and a mission station in Saint Petersburg which takes 7 hours by train to administer every third week .

Father prays that the students studying in Russia do not get sick and those in business do well. He feels that being in Russian is a way we can show the oneness of Catholicism and to work for unity with the Russian Orthodox Church.

Korean Priests have been working in Russian from 1991. One of our Maryknollers who worked in Korea Fr. Benedict Zweber followed them and built the Church in Sakhalin Island. The Korean priests had some visa problems and had to discontinue the work in that part of Russian and the Maryknoll Fathers with the lack of personnel had to leave Russia.

From the recent news reports it seems that a meeting of the pope and the patriarch of the Orthodox Church in Russia may be close. Whether this will overcome the centuries of hatred surrounding the two churches will be answered in the future. Fr. Kim's desire to see the two churches come closer is a desire that all Catholics have.

Korean Women and Christianity

Korean Women and God by Choi Hee An is a book published by Orbis: the publishing arm of the Maryknoll Society. A disclaimer makes clear the views expressed are not the official position of the Society but it is an attempt to invite dialogue. As a Maryknoller I do have some thoughts which I will express in this blog.

The author is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and on the faculty at the School of Theology at Boston University. In the introduction knowing God as a Korean Woman she mentions how as a child she had an experience in which she could not remember her own face. Her mother reassured her that this was a natural phenomenon. While studying in the States she realized that this was not universal and began to wonder why Korean woman were not able to remember their faces.

The author introduces her understanding of woman's health by proposing three significant elements which she considers important:

The first is healthy women love themselves and remembering their own faces can be an aspect of this love. They should love their bodies no matter how they look. They should love their psychological strengths and warm hearts.

Secondly they should live their lives with joy and happiness for themselves. They should celebrate their own happiness. She would say that much of the joy of a woman comes from their children , husband and others. They should find joy in themselves without feeling guilty,

Thirdly healthy women can express themselves. She would say that many Korean woman are socialized to listen to others not to themselves. Their feelings remain deep inside and they do not know how to express them.

She concludes the section saying she has difficulty finding these three characteristics in the lives of Korean Christian women. "Korean Christian Woman are taught to sacrifice themselves for others and to deny their own needs as a noble cause. Loving themselves and enjoying their lives for their own happiness have been defined as selfish acts. Others' needs and wills always come before their own needs and wills, even in the family."

Sacrifice is an important part of Christianity. Many women both in Korea and the States have an extreme dislike for patriarchy; in many cases there is a justification for this feeling. The author also mentions the influence of colonialism on women. These have not been helpful to either women or men but neither do I see them as negatively as the author. In her writing she does generalize but leaves open the possibility that not all Korean women have been scarred. Adversity makes the person and Korean Women have grown strong in this environment.

Korean women sacrifice for the family and deny themselves for the good of others a trait that all of us Christians should not be ashamed to hear. I have no doubt internalized aspects of patriarchy and also have been scarred but this attribute of being for the other was my understanding of why we are baptized. This life of sacrifice for family was part of women's life even before the introduction of Christianity. It would be good for all men and women to sacrifice for others but I hope they love themselves, and live their lives with joy and happiness and are able to express themselves. I do not find a contradiction in a person living for others and at the same time experiencing true joy and love of themselves. It is both/and and not the either/or fallacy that we so often fall into when we are dealing with something that is not obviously evil. It is when we die to ourselves that we become truly happy. It is a central paradox of Christianity that works for men and women. The Korean Christian woman I have met have no reason to be embarrassed in any way being compared to those in the west.

St. Mary's Hospital Display of Pathology

There is a display at the Seoul St. Mary's Catholic Hospital of all the things that can go wrong with our bodies. It is a display of visual aids to body parts. It will continue until the 22nd of August. There are about 100 diseased specimens of body parts taken from victims of accidents and disease: different kinds of cancers, hearts, livers , bones, gall bladders and vocal chords. Those who attend the display can see different problems with the heart, lungs polluted with nicotine, gall bladder problems, the fetus outside of the womb etc.

There are about 400 to 500 that have been attending the display daily. They are able to touch the body parts, examine them and hear explanations by experts. The chance to examine bodily organs is rather rare; this is the first time in Korea that it has been opened to the public.

These organs have been taken from cadavers that have been donated to the hospital and permission given for use. Usually the means of preserving the body parts uses formaldehyde but because of the toxicity of the formaldehyde solution this method was not considered possible. But with synthetic resins and plastics using a process of plastination it was doable. "Plastination is a technique used in anatomy to preserve bodies or body parts. The water and fat are replaced by certain plastics, yielding specimens that can be touched, do not smell or decay, and even retain most properties of the original sample."

The results of the display so far have been very rewarding. Those who have attended have seen with their eyes what can go wrong with our health and those who have attended have been motivated to take better care of their health and take preventive measures to insure this in their lives.

The Medical System in Korea seems to this foreigner to be doing well. I do not know what the studies w0uld indicate but there seems to be a very high standard of proficiency. They are open to receiving new information, medical practices and equipment from other parts of the world. Many of the doctors have degrees from western universities and keep up with the latest with their affiliation with other hospitals here and overseas.

Last Wishes of Partriot Ahn before Death

In the recent issue of the Pastoral Bulletin Fr. Ham Sei-eung records the last words of Ahn jung-geun Korean Patriot. He summarized the last wishes of the patriot which I translated loosely and shortened again. (Patriot Ahn was the Korean who assassinated the first Prime Minister of Japan, Ito Hirobumi at the railroad station in Harbin. )

The patriot was questioned for 3 months and at the end of 6 public trials was given the death penalty. The Catholic Priest, Fr. Joseph Wilhelm, visited him in prison, gave him the Last Sacraments and said Mass. He was there for 4 days. Patriot Ahn said the Blessed Mother appeared to him in a dream. "Death transcends all and to be reconciled with God is the most beautiful prayer."

To his two brothers:

My body will be buried here in Harbin when we again have sovereignty please return my body to my homeland. Even if I am in heaven I will be working for the independence of our Country. Make it know to our countrymen that we have the responsibility for our country, be of one mind and work together for independence. When I hear of Independence from heaven I will dance and yell out with 3 cheers.


To his mother:

Blessed be Jesus. This world is like the emptiness of dew. I will pray that we will see each other in heaven.Everything in this earth depends on God I pray that you remain in peace. Benedict (6 years old, the oldest son) I pray that you raise him to be a priest and offer him to God.

To his wife Kim Agnes:

Blessed be Jesus, in the providence of God we have been joined together in matrimony and in his providence we have been separated but will meet again shortly in heaven... I will pray that Benedict becomes a priest, may he be offered to God... from your husband Ahn Thomas

To his brother Myung-geun:

Blessed be Jesus, we appear suddenly and disappear suddenly it is all like a dream. Let us be bigger than the dream and be sure of our meeting in eternity.

To Fr. Joseph Wilhelm:

Blessed be Jesus, Father you baptized me and came to this prison to give me the Last Sacrament, for this great gift I am most thankful...I ask you to pray for me. Please greet all the priests and the Christians. Tell them I will meet them in heaven. I will write to the Bishop separately.

To Bishop Mutel:

Blessed be Jesus: ... although I have caused you much trouble fortunately I was able by the grace of Jesus while in prison to receive the Last Sacrament, went to confession and at the Mass received the Eucharist. I have received internal peace.... With the Bishop may all the priests gathering strength be one and with much virtue and example, my prayer is that all our Koreans come to believe and give homage to God and become His children.

Korea and NIMBY Syndrome with Death

In Seoul there has been an ongoing problem in getting permission for a place to keep the ashes of those cremated. Many residents living near churches that have planned a mausoleum in the basement would be in opposition. Some years ago the Cardinal's car on a visit to bless a Church, with a mausoleum , was pelted with eggs. The feeling strongly continues to exist.

In Korea there are more cremations than the traditional burials which is a big change from the traditional idea of death and burial. Most Catholics in Korea still prefer traditional burial in spite of the Church's permission and even recommendation for cremation and placing the remains of the dead in diocesan mausoleums. There is ongoing litigation on a charnel house (place to keep the ashes of the dead) in one of the churches in Seoul. Click here for Union of Catholic Asian News report .

The diocese feels the recent decision of the Constitutional Court ruling was ill advised. It prohibited the building of mausoleums in churches that are within 200 meter of a school. Catholics feel that death is a part of life and there is no reason to try to hide this from children. The ruling mentioned that in Korea there has been a traditional avoidance of graves and corpses in residential areas. There is the traditional fear of what this will do to the emotional life of the children. This was approved by a vote of 5 in favor and 4 against

The diocese feels that the repugnance that is expressed with this ruling concerning death is a serious problem in itself. It is a part of the way we have looked at death but does that mean that we must continue doing so? Although there is a movement to increase the number of these mausoleums, people do not want them near to where they live. NIMBY is the acronym for "Not In My Back Yard." It is the rallying cry of residents who are opposed to the establishment of undesirable facilities, such as incinerators, landfills, or prisons, and now in Seoul a place for the ashes of the dead. The diocese feels this attitude is very detrimental to the education of children.

There is much to be said on the respect for the dead that we have in Korea but at the same time we have a great deal of superstition with death and what surrounds it. Changing the way we look at death and our traditional ways, will enable children and all of us to have a healthier appreciation of life . Hopefully we will see a change in this area, in the months and years to come.

Second Part of Discussion on Prayer

Second Part of Fr. Meehan's discussion on prayer

Practical Prayer is primarily one using the senses. Sacraments and Sacramentals are important here. Liturgy as a sensed experience is an important form of prayer of this kind. Other appropriate forms are reading, singing hymns, psalms and other songs, saying the Divine Office, Ignatian meditation; people with this practical bent to life find that a special prayer schedule is a good technique for them. Planning a decision or discernment prayer are often suitable prayer forms for this group.

Imaginative Prayer this prayer is one that makes great use of imagination and intuition.The use of symbols ( the cross, incense, a skull, an icon, raised hands... ) as guides to prayer can be very helpful to the imaginative person. The sacraments in their symbolic nature can be great resources for imaginative prayer. Reflective meditation methods (Augustine, Ignatius, Francis de Sales) which utilize the imagination or intuition are very attractive and fruitful. Some other appealing forms of prayer are: the rosary, the Stations, reflection on death and other major life stages.

Truth Seeking Prayer after the models of St. Domenic, St. Albert the Great and St. Thomas Aquinas, study type prayer can be very much a value. Studying and reflecting on Scripture or theological data, praying on the news of the day, asking what are the clues to God's presence or absence, studying my own life line and discerning the presence of God. Reflecting with the spirit of God on the meaning of my prayer, and dreams. Here too discernment prayer is a very compatible form. (A Life Line is a personal reminiscence of my past life to find where God was leading me. During some of these life events I was aware of God's presence, but in many instances I became aware of God's presence only after I reflected on the the event and its importance in my life.)

Good seeking prayer is prayer that makes full use of the feelings, affective prayer, letting love predominate in prayer. For this group suitable forms of prayer are: zen and centering prayer, Jesus prayer, praying in tongues, reflection that allows full range to my emotions and feelings, angry prayer and compassionate prayer, reflection on the passion and resurrection of Jesus.

Decisive Prayer is well organized prayer. The Divine Office is a major example. The Liturgy of the Eucharist which appeals in different ways to each of the modes is also important here because of its orderliness and regularity. Life line and daily life line prayer also are a value. The Spiritual Exercises, Cursillo, Encounters , planning and discernment prayer, and similar forms of prayer are good for this mode.

Concerned prayer is prayer for the person in no hurry. For this kind of person appropriate prayer forms are waiting prayer, centering prayer, zen prayer, contemplative prayer, compassionate reflection, free flowing prayer, listening to the Spirit, prayer with and for others, dream interpretation prayer, prayer of petition, prayer of thanksgiving.

Lectio Divina: The Prayer of St. Benedict.
It can be noted that certain kinds of prayer incorporate all of these modes in one way or another and therefore appeal to all. Thus for example: the four stages of the prayer of St. Benedict use all of these modes. These stages are:

Lectio Divina: slow , careful reflective reading of the Bible.
Meditation: reflection on one part of the reading or Mystery
Oratio: affective prayer, with love of God predominating
Contemplation: responding to God as experienced.

Great St. Teresa's Prayer incorporates all the modes since by its very nature it leads to God driven prayer which transcends all the others. Teresa describe prayer as beginning with the individual person in meditation, then moving upward to affective prayer, from then on all advances into the various forms of contemplation are direct freely given gifts from God to the person praying.

Prayer as communication

Prayer like all other forms of communication and conversation between individuals is a very personal thing. Every person has a special way of doing it.This means that my prayer has to be the subject of personal discovery for me. I can learn much from others, but in the final analysis, I am the only one, with the help of the Spirit who can discover the best prayer for me. Any and all kinds that help my relationship with the Triune God to grow are good for me.