Imitating the Ancestors in the Faith

Over the years, the Catholic Church in Korea has in many ways attempted to get Christians to take more interest in reading. In 2007, on the 80th anniversary of the launching of the Catholic Times, a survey of Christians showed that 58.6% had not read even one book related to the Church during the year. Despite an increase in the number of Christians, spiritual maturity has not kept pace with external growth.

Efforts in the past have not been successful in fostering a reading culture within the Church. The Bishops' Mass Media Committee and the Catholic Times have tried and ultimately failed. Campaigns to rectify the problem succeed for a period of time but with no lasting results once the campaigns come to an end.

The importance of reading books that give spiritual life and maturity to our Christians cannot be overemphasized. The foundation for the start of the Catholic Church of Korea was built with books from China. Two books, especially, had a profound effect: a catechism by Matteo Ricci and the other, on the seven capital sins and the virtues to overcome them by Diego Pantoja.

In 2005, more than 1000 Christians participated in a program to get everyone to read 33 books in 3 years. At the end of the campaign everyone went back to the normal routine--life without books. It is not sufficient, obviously, to have campaigns that only work when the need to read more is being actively promoted. A change in the reading habits of Catholics is needed.

In pursuit of this goal, the bishops' committee and the Catholic Times will set up a committee to train leaders for the different parishes, produce pastoral guidelines for ongoing reading programs, and publicize these efforts weekly in the Catholic Times.

Reading is a very important part of our growth as Christians. The importance of the Scriptures for our faith life, in deepening our faith and bringing passion into our lives, is obvious. The head of the bishops' committee hopes that the parish leaders will put in place a more reader-friendly environment, with the priests in the parish taking an active role as readers, recommending books and, ultimately, bringing about the publication of more and better books, and enabling synergic growth of mature Christians in the years ahead.

Human Rights Giant's Humble Confession

Cardinal Stephen Kim revealed his inner feelings, as noted in this week's editorial in the Peace Weekly, when he said: "for love to go from the head to the heart took 70 years." This journey from head to heart is the spirituality of the fool, he blamed himself for taking so long to move closer to the pain of those who were poor.

The Cardinal often mentioned that we need to be food for the soul of those in need if we are to establish a humane society. Sharing in the suffering and sadness of others will be the 'food' we share with them. These last wishes of the Cardinal will be enshrined in the legally incorporated foundation, " Fool's Sharing Fund."

The hope is that there will be many 'fools' that will care enough to share what they have to create a better society. It requires, the editorial concludes, in having love go not only from the head to the heart but from the heart to our hands and feet.

To help make the transition from good intentions to active participation easier, the Diocese has enlisted the help of the figure skating star Stella Kim Yu-na as its goodwill ambassador. And efforts will be made to select from among the different systems of sharing the best one to ensure a country-wide campaign, transcending religions, regions and race. By September of each year all the money that has been raised will be used. There will be no amassing of funds and there will be transparency in their use.

Cardinal Cheong, on the day the fund was established, said, " We will do our best to bring about a small part of the society that Cardinal Stephen Kim dreamed was possible."

Not Wanted on The Soccer Field

There is very little in life that cannot become a story for the media. Usually, the stories are blown out of proportion, not because they are not in themselves newsworthy but because our society has made them newsworthy. Chosun Ilbo recently asked some of the soccer players what they thought of the praying rites on the field after a goal is made. A religious group sent a request to the soccer federation to prohibit all religious rites on the playing field. Following, briefly noted, are some of the responses of the athletes:

* Religions should not be involved in these matters.
* Why does one have to find fault? It is not asking one to believe nor does one need to look...
* When one does go to extremes in the ceremony, it is not pleasant to see, but to single this out is not a good idea either.
* Overseas there are many who make the sign of the cross.
* What if our Korean players are unique in praying on the field?
* Buddhist believers can make their own praying ceremonies.
* All that is said is just an excuse. Isn't it just not nice to see? Let us be honest.
* Whatever ceremony is used, getting goals is what it is all about.
* I am a Buddhist, the ceremonies are thanking God and religions should not squabble about it.
* When a goal is made you thank your teammate for the pass, and when home you can pray.
*Jesus told the Pharisees to pray behind closed doors.
* A representative of the Korean soccer team is not a representative of any one religion.
* Christians are told to pray, it is their disposition and a way to evangelize.
* We have freedom of religion but I do see it as an extreme act.
* We should also respect the team that didn't prevent the goal. We should consider their feelings.
* In Europe, they do not have such ceremonies.
* An athlete is a public person and should be without public religious ceremonies.
* I have no religion but seeing an athlete kneeling to pray leaves me with a bad taste.
* The T.V. cameras need not transmit these scenes.
* It would be nice if the religious ceremonies were shorter...

These are only a few of the many responses by the soccer players. Hearing what the athletes had to say makes for a story, but one wonders what a topic of this type does to make the question less of a problem. A good prescription to keep in mind when dealing with potentially divisive issues: "In essentials unity, in non-essentials freedom, in all things charity."

Matteo Ricci's Place in Korean History

"The learning I shall now discuss is a learning entirely to do with the inner life and which is for oneself–in a word, it is that learning whereby a man is made whole."

--Matteo Ricci (利瑪竇) (1552-1610)

Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit missionary and one of the founders of the Jesuit China Mission, wrote "The Cheonju Sileui" (True Meaning of the Lord of Heaven), the book that persuaded some Confucian Korean scholars to study Catholicism, and so began the Church in Korea.

This year, on May 11th, we will celebrate the 400th year of Ricci's death. Though he lived in China only 28 years, he had such extraordinary success in his missionary efforts that it makes one gasp at what he was able to accomplish.

In the early years of his stay in Peking, when enjoying the friendship of highly placed scholars, Ricci brought out "The Cheonju Sileui," a catechism translated into Chinese by Ricci which deals with the divine character and attributes under eight heads. Using the dialogue format, he presents a conversation between a western and a Chinese scholar to show the similarities between Christianity and the teachings of the Chinese literati.

The editorial in this week's Catholic Times mentions that the Church in Korea has not given Matteo Ricci the credit he deserves for the beginnings of the Church in Korea. However, the Jesuits in Korea will have a symposium and other events that will highlight his spirituality and his life. This is particularly welcomed since the Church has not made the necessary efforts to make him known in Korea.

There are few missionaries who have had the influence of Ricci on the Catholic Church of Korea even though he never stepped foot in Korea. Without him, we would not have the present Catholic Church of Korea. The early leaders of the Church were all indebted to him for what they learned about Catholicism. His way of doing mission has also influenced the Church in its attempts at inculturation in the present day.

The editorial ends with a reflection that the Vatican has made much of the life and mission of Matteo Ricci by recent exhibits in Rome. We must not turn over to Rome what we must do here in Korea.

A Medium the Church Should Not Ignore

A Professor in the theater and movie department at the Suwon College, and a movie critic, had some interesting suggestions for the Catholic Church of Korea in her article in the Kyunghyang magazine. Since 1895 movies have grown to become, either for good or bad, an important part of popular culture. As its immense influence continues to spread, differences of age, sex, education and location are irrelevant.

Over the years, the movie industry has improved its technical capacities enormously, and movie stars are routinely given celebrity status and their personal lives chronicled in scores of magazines and TV programs. Movies have become a quasi religious phenomena, and the Church took notice in an Encyclical in 1936, acknowledging the power of the cinema:

"At the same time, there does not exist today a means of influencing the masses more potent than the cinema. The reason for this is to be sought for in the very nature of the pictures projected upon the screen, in the popularity of motion picture plays, and in the circumstances which accompany them.

"The power of the motion picture consists in this, it speaks by vivid and concrete imagery which the mind takes in with enjoyment and without fatigue. Even the crudest and most primitive minds which have neither the capacity nor the desire to make the efforts necessary for abstraction or deductive reasoning are captivated by the cinema. In place of the effort which reading or listening demands, there is the continued pleasure of a succession of concrete and, so to speak, living pictures."


The writer tells us that there are many movies with a humanitarian outlook on life that few would find troubling. However, there are many movies that would be troubling to those with a spiritual and religious value system. It is precisely for this reason that the Catholic Church in Korea should take an interest in the cinema, but has shown little interest in trying to get programs to evaluate movies, film festivals, movie appreciation days and the like.

The Catholic Church had shown some interest in movie festivals, but not for long. And programs devoted to the cinema on Catholic Brodcasting have decreased in number, and even some of the media groups are not as active as in the past.

An interest in this increasingly important medium will foster, according to the writer, a mature spirituality. The power of movies to provide a window to the culture of our times, to appeal to our feelings, and to achieve rapport with a large segment of society cannot be matched by any other medium. Movies can help us with an ongoing examination of our relationship with the earth, with others and with God and, in the process, renewing and enhancing our spirituality.

This has to be done, at times, with familiarity and joy; sometimes with a sharp intelligence and cold objectivity and sometimes with sensitivity and emotion. It can be a great help in experiencing spirituality. The cinema, used as a helpmate, can be of service to the Church in its teaching role.

Pleasing Others Not Life's Goal

A Korean Religious who has a weekly column in the Catholic Times had an interesting reflection on feelings we can easily empathize with. His Community once a year has a day of sharing on what they have been involved with during the year. He spent a great deal of time and effort to prepare a report on what had been accomplished. On the day of sharing, he was not able to attend but did submit the paper and thought that it would be appreciated and his efforts applauded. .

That evening he met with some members of the community and gently asked about the response to the report. They said it was well received but one of the brothers thought it was strange... Even though only "one of the brothers" had a problem with his report, it was enough to carry an emotional sting, or to be more honest he was angry. One of the brothers who were present at the meeting had praised the report but this did nothing to remove the hurt. The lingering sound of the" one brother' was the only thing that remained with him.

He reflected on how many of us want to have what we do and say respected and applauded by those we are living with or have ties of friendship. It's normal to expect others to appreciate what we are doing, and when they don't most of us will be hurt and possibly angry.

In looking over our lives, we expect all to appreciate us, and what we do but little by little if approval goes from 90% to 70% to 50% and even when it goes to 10%, we should be able to take it in stride and not let it upset us. One should live in peace and without any ill feelings toward those who are not sending us their applause.

The fact is that we would like all to applaud but sometimes, as the Korean Religious pointed out, one person who does not feel inclined to do so is enough to bring frustration, disappointment and loss of peace, even anger. That is the lot of many of us. The writer has determined to change this in his life. It's good advice for all of us.

Overcoming Apathy to Evangelization

In a recent column in the Catholic Times, the lay founder of a school for Catholic Evangelization had some interesting thoughts on Korean Catholicism. He compared the present with the years following the Second Vatican Council. There was an attempt at that time to have a new beginning, emphasizing a strong revival of faith life and a return to an earlier Church commitment to evangelize. One of the movements that were very active in that process was the Charismatic Movement.

They got Catholics to start reading scripture, praying and experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit, which gave them the passion to participate more fully in the mission from Jesus. They took the lead from the words of Pope John Paul to get involved in evangelization.

The change that came over Catholic life in Korea during this time was very noticeable but the passion that was mostly responsible for the change has cooled down a great deal, and life for the majority of Catholics has reverted to the old ways, with not much concern about evangelization.

What is the reason for this weakening of zeal that was present after the Council? The writer tells us it is because most Catholics in Korea have been baptized for less than 40 years. With only 20% of them being old Catholics, our Catholic roots are not very deep.

Many have little experience or conviction of their faith; it's mostly expressed in accidentals: attendance at Mass, offering of money, preparing for the big feasts by going to the Sacraments, belonging to parish groups and joining in their activities. That is what is seen as necessary for being Catholic. To these Catholics, the idea of evangelization means very little.

One is not required to evangelize; it's something that has to come from within, or it will not be present. The motivation has to come from a relationship with God before evangelization will have any meaning.

The Church needs to continually make an environment that will stimulate Christians to go deeper into their faith life. There has to be programs for the education of Catholics after baptism and for training in the Christian life as on-going efforts to get the Catholic to give witness to Jesus and his message.

The life most Christians are exposed to has little to do with the spiritual. It will always be a struggle to give any importance to the internal. There is too much stimulation from worldly concerns that distracts from more meaningful pursuits. However, when this motivation for the spiritual is present and inspiration comes, then you will have a person on fire, with the struggle ending in satisfaction and peace.