How the Early Christians Nurtured the Church in Korea

An article written for the Kyeongyang magazine by a historian sometime ago describes what it was like in the mission stations during the early days of  persecution, and up to the early 60s when society began to change.

He mentions that when St. Bishop Imbert traveled to the home of St.  Nam Myong-hyok, orders were given not to have more than a certain number of Christians come to the house, but this was ignored. The large numbers of visitors attracted the attention of local authorities who searched the house after the bishop left; the saint was arrested and  his road to martyrdom began.

On another occasion, Choi Yang-op, after visiting one of the mission stations, hearing confessions and saying Mass, left with the owner of the house to return to the city. Non-Catholics in the area then came and destroyed the house and expelled the Catholics.

Because of the potential problems of having so many people show up at these gatherings, it was decided to restrict the numbers that could  come in one day for  Mass and exams.  With these restrictions, it meant that a priest would stay at a mission station for as many days as necessary to take  care of the needs of the mission. The mission stations would then be called two-Mass or three-Mass mission stations, or whatever number would be needed to take care of the Christians.

This required sending the mission stations a list of what would be necessary before arriving. Some of the mission stations, for example, would not have adequate bedding so this was brought along with the Mass kit. An important part of each visit would be the exams of all the Christians, including questions on prayers and  teaching.  When the children were not able to give the correct answers, it was known that their fathers, at times, would be punished for not having parented correctly.

When Korea opened up to the West these mission visits turned into holidays. Even during the  busy farming season around Easter all work would stop, and children would not be sent to school. It was a holiday atmosphere. When the priest arrived, he would be treated to refreshments and during the meals his bowl of rice was piled  high. It was expected that he would leave part of the blessed rice in his bowl for others to eat. This would be considered by the Christians as better than any medicine, and mothers would encourage their children to eat what was left over.

The writer of the article mentions that it was not a few who saw the way the priest was treated with the best food available being the motivation for some of the boys  to want to go to the seminary. He even mentions that one of the archbishops of Korea often mentioned this as being his motivation for entering the seminary.


These trials  and tribulations of the early Church the writer says made for a strong nucleus. The sacrifice of these early priests  nourished  strong Christians like a brave commander would make  brave soldiers. The zealous Christians also nurtured  the missioners,  martyrs and saints as a strong  army makes for strong soldiers. They are the foundation of the Church in Korea.

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Establishing a Healthy Medical Culture

An editorial and articles  in recent Catholic newspapers profile a new network of workers who seek to encourage organ donations. The  groups that up until now have worked separately, Catholics, Buddhists and Medical Transplantation Specialists have  teamed up to change the climate of opinion in Korea toward the donation of organs.

The Confucian understanding of death and the feelings one naturally has about having a  loved one's body cut up after death, all have negatively influenced the efforts to increase the number of donors. After the death of Cardinal Stephen Kim and his donation of his cornea, there has been a noticeable increase in donations, but it is still far below the level of  donations in developed countries.

Spain has a very high percentage of organ donors; Korea has one of the lowest. There are also problems with determining when brain-death occurs,and procedural requirements in Korea making it more difficult than in other countries.

Many Koreans have been waiting for transplants for years, and many have died waiting. According to a government agency, some 17,000 were awaiting organ transplants in 2009 but only 261 organs from 261 brain-dead patients were available. It was this problem that prompted the three groups to form the network. For Catholics, it would be another opportunity to put into practice the culture of life issues the Church works hard to promote in society.

Publicity, the editorial stresses, will have a great deal to do with how successful the network will be. They have the know-how, now with the three groups together they hope to see many changes in how society responds to requests for organ donations. Their plans include the following:

-Set up donation centers throughout the country where people can go to make known their desire to donate.

-Educate children in grammar, middle and high school on organ donations and sharing-of-life programs.

-Select a day for organ donations throughout the country.

-Work with media to publicize the movement.

-Prepare promotional material in common to distribute.

The president of the medical specialists in his speech at the inauguration of the movement said, "What the different groups did sporadically and on their own we will try to   develop and activate within the movement...And among the patients looking for organs, there will be no waiting and the flame of love will be seen and the quality of life of the  terminally sick will be enhanced. This will give life to many and we will be establishing a sound medical culture for the future."

The Importance of Chance Happenings in Our Lives

This month, September, the Catholic Church in Korea remembers the martyrs.  Retired Bishop Dupont spoke at the Myong Dong Cathedral in Seoul on the martyrs; he wanted those in attendance to reflect on the times we have experienced "chance happenings."

Jesus often spoke of "faith and understanding," the bishop said. Martyrs not only believed  but understood Jesus. Isn't that their experience of Jesus? The bishop asked.

In our lives, there are many things that we consider chance happenings. They are the  means by which God wants us to experience him. Jesus often said, "Believe God....Believe my words."  In the believing of belief, we understand. Jesus asked the apostles: "Do you still not understand?....Now do you understand?"  What is understanding as it relates to faith? the bishop asked.  It is mature belief, belief that is not shaken, belief that accepts Jesus; it is tranquil faith. The martyrs lived a belief that was informed by understanding.The martyrs understood they would  be with Jesus even in death.
 
 We can also experience Jesus in daily occurrences, but we don't make much of  them, letting them pass, and so we miss the opportunity to benefit from these "chance happenings." In Korea, dreams, what we hear or see has a deeper importance but the bishop would like us to focus more on small happenings in our lives.  The bishop says they are the way we encounter God. These small incidents can nurture the faith experiences from which understanding will come.

The bishop quotes Einstein as saying there is no such thing as chance; there are reasons for everything that happens.  Let us suppose, the bishop says, that while wearing his  bishop's  clothing  he helps an old man who has fallen by the side of the road; this will make  the newspapers. If he does it in his ordinary clothes, no one hears about it. In  the same way, he says, God is involved in our lives, but we are not conscious  of it.

The martyrs, however, were conscious  of God's presence in their lives, and we too can become conscious of God's presence in our lives, the Bishop says, if we look more closely at the small things that happen and try to see the hand of God in those events.

We often say all is grace. All is a gift. All is a miracle. We try to find words to describe this world that is seen and understood only with the eyes of faith. It is a world that awaits all of us in the "chance happenings" that come to us repeatedly. We need only observe with the eyes of faith not to miss these movements and moments of grace.

Mission of the Korean Catholic Church to Asia

Cardinal Telesphore Toppo of India  gave one of the talks at the recent Asian Lay Peoples Meeting in Seoul. He began with a story of a priest in his diocese who went  frequently to a grocery store in the neighborhood.  On one occasion, the owner asked him to recommend a good book to read. The only book he had in Hindi was the New Testament, which he gave to him. 

A few days later when he returned to the store, the owner asked, excitedly, "Is it  true that Jesus rose from the dead?  It says that he died and rose from the dead, did he really come back from the dead?"

"Yes that is true," said the priest.  He is alive today and is working through me." The owner again asked,  "Why wasn't  it mentioned  before? You should make this wonderful news known." We, the bishop stresses, have been called to deliver this news here in Asia. 

The Cardinal then told the story of the Jesuit priest Constant Lievens, the apostle of the Chotanagpur, and  the tribal people of central India. Before he arrived in 1885 they  had no hope; they worked at menial tasks to eke out a living.

When the Jesuit arrived, there were only 56 Catholics. At the end of seven years, at which time he had  contracted tuberculosis, it increased to 80,000.How could he  move the hearts of so many of these poor tribal people? He   listened to their sad stories. He learned their language. He learned the laws having to do with the ownership of land and then helped to free them from the control of the landowners.   He gained  their  trust   and they began  to trust in God and themselves. This is the miracle of Chotanagpur.
 
Asia is the land of many poor. Pope John Paul II  had the hope that Asia would become a fertile field for the harvest in the third  millennium. Following the example of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, we know we have to go to the poor.

There are two dimensions  to missions. One is the missioner, the other the message of the Gospel. We can't all go to the missions, but we can, with our way of life and thinking, be a witness to the missions.

There are three areas in which we have to witness. The first is the strong call of the Gospel to go out to the poor,  weak, and the suffering to love them. The second is to stand up to the corrupt political and financial powers and with courage speak the truth and witness to Jesus. We are not called to do religious activities but to be a light and the salt for the world. The third follows from this understanding: Follow the simple example of our Lord. The Cardinal finished his talk with a quote from Paul VI: "And may the world of our time, which is searching, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, be enabled to receive the Good News not from evangelizers who are dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervor, who have first received the joy of Christ, and who are willing to risk their lives so that the kingdom may be proclaimed and the Church established in the midst of the world" (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 80).

The Fascination of Eugenics

 A retired professor from Seoul National University, in an article in the Peace Weekly, discusses the science of Eugenics and recent efforts to remodel our gene pool. The fear of death brings many strange things to mind, and he reminds us that we are learning beings from the time we are in our mother's womb, and learning to die well is an important part of living well.

Genetic engineering is often mentioned as a means of producing "better" people, starting with the children. Our children, he says, are to be accepted as given and not to be considered as products that we can design  at will to meet our tastes and ambitions.  Using our recently developed technologies in this area to design our offspring for "success" is an evil, he says, we all should acknowledge. Any attempt to control the future of children by these means is to ignore the mystery of life and belittle the gift that it is.

It is true that when sickness comes our medical practitioners do everything possible to correct the problem. It is an attempt to return the person to health, health that was enjoyed, or that we should expect. This is medical treatment, a therapeutic intervention, and  not genetic engineering.

In the sports world, using drugs to enhance performance is prohibited, yet throughout the world of sports it is widespread.  If genetic engineering becomes part of the attempts to enhance performance, this will obviously not be detected with urine samples, and the athlete will become yet another victim of commercialism, the writer acknowledges.

But even in areas that appear benign--improving memory and taking hormones to make us taller--who are most likely to benefit? The wealthy. Obviously  unfair, but does this mean that if we can make it accessible to all there is no problem?  We are playing God, he says, when we use the new science to make radical changes in our bodies and mental faculties.

This genetic manipulation to improve the species is not accepted by the Church; gene therapy to cure a disease or eliminate defects of an embryo and similar interventions are permitted, with appropriate restrictions.  The professor believes that efforts to change the makeup of our species will intensify in the years ahead. Being captivated by the same fascination that prompted the Nazi atrocities and the racial discrimination in  the United States, we are coming closer to the day when we play at being masters of our fate. A prospect that should be a concern to all of us.

How Do We View the Handicapped in Society?

In Korea the treatment of the handicapped has  changed a great deal  since the  proclamation of the welfare law for the  handicapped in 1989. The "Window of the Ark" opinion column in the Catholic Times, written by a director of a Welfare Service, describes the problems that remain even though much of the prejudice has  disappeared. Policies enacted for the handicapped have improved their living conditions, handicap-friendly facilities have continued to appear throughout the city, and the welcoming for the  handicapped is noticeable in many business establishments.

The law forbidding discrimination of the handicapped was passed in 2008, and amended to strengthen the law the following year. Good news, but it also means problems still existed which necessitated the law. The basic principle affecting the welfare of the handicapped is their entitlement to the same  human rights and dignity we all share. Although they may be bodily or mentally disadvantaged, they should enjoy the same benefits given to all other citizens. This is basic and has to be stressed.  Strange  as it may seem, there are many who do not realize how basic this is.

Some look upon these disadvantaged persons as if they were faulty products. Typical attitudes are reflected by such statements as: "He is a simpleton; if you speak, he doesn't understand; if you feed him, he will work. To feed them and give them a place to sleep is all that is necessary;  give them wages you say?  They do  little work, and  don't   do it well."

Although there is, in theory, a difference of opinion on how to treat the handicapped, the statements above indicate how many are treated in the practical every day situations by some  who hire the handicapped.  They not only do not give them a wage for the work they are able to do, but also take the government subsidy that the handicapped receives.The disadvantaged, the director emphasizes, are not dispensable; it's good to remember that if they are dispensible because of their handicap, all of us are potentially handicapped. As we get older, there  is a good chance we will be in their position. We are all preparing to be handicapped. And some, even before reaching old age, might also be considered handicapped, even though society fails to acknowledge the handicap.

We do not consider, for example, persons wearing glasses handicapped. They choose to wear glasses to remedy a defect in eyesight, and no one gives it a second thought. However, if someone feels embarrassed when wearing glasses, or goes without them when needing to wear them, or when wearing them avoids appearing in public, then that person is handicapped.

The same can be said about someone using a wheel chair. When he is not embarrassed and those who see him do not consider it strange, he is not handicapped.When this simple fact is routinely accepted by all, then we will realize what it is to be living  in God's world.

So Close and Yet so Far-- My Birthplace

Two reporters from the Hankyoreh  newspaper visited our mission station a few days ago to talk to some of the Catholics who are refugees from  North Korea. Today is the Harvest Moon Festival, the most popular holiday of the Korean Calendar, and a time for families to come together to celebrate and, like the three men interviewed by the reporters, to remember their homes in the North and those they left behind.

Matthias, one of the three men interviewed and now a white-haired member of the community, left the North when he was 25 to avoid the fighting. He took a boat from Yeonbaek County in the North to Gyodong, which is only 3.5 km away. He left his father, his wife and three year old daughter, planning to meet them again when the fighting was over. That day never came.

He spent the next 10 years traveling around  Korea  working as a laborer and as a civilian in the army. In 1960 he returned to Gyodong to work as a farmhand. On one occasion, he went to Chiseok village here in Gyodong where he could see the middle school for girls and his house beneath the pagoda tree. It was there that the unbelievable happened.
He saw his wife that he had left behind 10 years earlier; she was standing there also nostalgically looking toward the home they had left. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming. His wife, shortly after he left, also made the trip to Gyodong hoping to meet him. She told him that their daughter, who she carried on her back during the long trip, died from lack of food. She also lives with the regret that she did not bring her father-in-law. This was the beginning of a  new life for the homesick Matthias and his wife.

Matthias took the money he earned as a farmhand and bought land in the mud flats, turning it into productive farmland. At the age of 38, he could now prepare a table for the rites of the dead with the rice from his own land, a small fish and a pear; it was his first harvest as a landowner and the first ritual of remembrance for his dead family members.
 
That day of the interview, the three parishioners interviewed stayed around after the reporters left to reminisce on their own. This time of the year brings sadness to the lives of many. Many have died or moved to the mainland, and those left from Yeongback number only about 20. The Hankyoreh interview ends with a poem written by a member of the community in memory of her husband.

Separated only by the river some 1000 leagues away
A home I can see but can't go to.
Where the Han meets the Imjin and Yeseong
And flows into the sea.
We are the lord of creation, they say,
But I cannot do, alas, what even birds can do.