Survey of the Parish Council Leaders in Seoul Diocese

The role of lay people in the the Korean Catholic Church has been extremely important and is now acknowledged as constituting one of the  most active laity within the world wide Church.  This was the way an  article on a survey with the parish council presidents and vice presidents began its report. The Church of Korea took form without the help of the clergy and continues this responsibility by raising up lay people as leaders in the Church.

The survey was taken among the heads of the parish councils in the Seoul Diocese and the pastoral head of the diocese comments on its importance.

31.7 percent of the parish heads  consider the  approach to the tepid as the number one concern of the parish councils. Catholics come in one door and go out the back door was how the situation was described. This is like greeting foreign guests and is a serious problem that the Church faces.The second important issue was recovering a Catholic sense of identity (27.6 percent). 20.3 percent desired  unity among the different lay groups in the church.

To the questions about the relationship to the North, the work in society, and welfare work, there were few responses. For the parish heads the focus was less on the problems in society and more within the parishes.       

To the question on what they thought about the small Christian communities, 52.6 percent thought it was a good way for fellowship to grow. This was  more so for men than for women.

68 percent of the men attend the small group meetings; 26 percent  attend when something important comes up; and  6 percent rarely attend, though they attend  more so than the average Catholic but it is still less than ideal.

Those who have read the Old Testament completely was 2.4 percent; those who have read the New Testament, 10 percent; those who have not read anything, less than 1 percent.

27 percent are now reading the Catholic Catechism; 10 percent have read it completely; 62 percent have not read any of it.  59 percent  are slightly familiar with the documents from the Second Vatican Council; 32 percent  are not familiar with the  documents; those who are well acquainted was 7 percent.

74 percent of the parish councils leaders thought that devotion and  service was an important qualification for the work. Those who thought it was respect and support of the Catholics was 11 percent;  9.5 percent thought it was a strong spirituality; 2.4 percent thought that money and social standing was important.

Only 17 percent  of the parish councils had over half of their members as women. Over half of the parish councils had from 20 to 40 percent women. This is a area in which we should improve, said the pastoral head of the diocese.

The article ended with a wish that the parish council heads spend more time with the Scriptures and reading the Church Documents.

45th World Communication Day

Today is the Feast of the Ascension and the 45th  celebration of World Communication Day, a special day for prayer for those who work in the media. It was established by Pope Paul VI, following the Second Vatican Council.

The Catholic Times devotes an  editorial to reflect on the digital age and the spread of the Gospel. Celebrating World Communication Day is the way the Church  shows us the importance of the mass media and makes us aware of its vast  possibilities for spreading the Gospel. The messages communicated by mass media--the obvious and not so obvious messages--influence all facets of our life. It is not only a tool in transmitting  information and news but also a prime mover of society. In the Pope's message for World Communication Day, he has asked us to consider a number of factors as we endeavor to become comfortable relating to the digital age.
 
"First of all, we must be aware that the truth which we long to share does not derive its worth from its “popularity” or from the amount of attention it receives. We must make it known in its integrity, instead of seeking to make it acceptable or diluting it. It must become daily nourishment and not a fleeting attraction. The truth of the Gospel is not something to be consumed or used superficially; rather it is a gift that calls for a free response. Even when it is proclaimed in the virtual space of the web, the Gospel demands to be incarnated in the real world and linked to the real faces of our brothers and sisters, those with whom we share our daily lives. Direct human relations always remain fundamental for the transmission of the faith."

The Pope wants us to reflect on the benefits but also the dangers of the new media.  It has given us the possibility of overcoming the limitations of space and culture by meeting and communicating, often instantly, with others from all corners of the world, but there is also the danger of entering a non-real world and being absorbed by it and losing  contact with reality. In a word, virtual reality can not substitute for the world we are in and shouldn't.

The Catholic Church of Korea is taking a lead in using the new media, and reminding us to be honest, open to others, responsible and respectful in a Christ-like way when relating with  others in this virtual world, just as we would if we were communicating in real world circumstances. 

The editorial ends with a  plea that not only those working in the digital world but all those who use any of the new media should reflect on the way they should be used.

Korean-Japanese Dokdo Island Dispute

One of the troubling issues between Korea and Japan is the on-going dispute concerning ownership of the small islands of Dokdo. An impartial observer would see the islands as only a bunch of rocks. However, these rocks have been a contentious issue between the countries for years. Bishop Chang, the past  ordinary of the  Chunchon Diocese, was interviewed by the  Peace Weekly  for his opinion on how a solution to the conflict may be found.

Bishop Chang, who had studied in Europe and had been instrumental in setting up the Korean-Japanese Bishops Exchange Meeting that goes  back to 1996, compared the conflict to the problems experienced by the French and Germans after the Second World War. He believes that quarrelsome issue can bring some light to the Japanese and Korean conflict.

"We have the tendency of being too emotional," he said, "about the issue of Dokdo. When the problem surfaces, instead of a self-serving  attitude concerning the difference in the positions, we should search for a common understanding from our history." He went on to say that it's necessary to look for consensus the way Germany and France worked to settle their dispute. Even though having a long history of animosity, these two countries, as the leaders for a new Europe, were able to work together to come up with a textbook for use in the schools of both countries that focused on their common history.

Working together in editing a common history was a great achievement. From the end of the Second World War, there had been a continuing search for harmony between the two countries. The textbook was a truly surprising result of these efforts. It was no easy task and there remained many problems to be resolved but there was an improvement in the relationship. Might we we see this as a solution to the problems between Korea and Japan? the bishop asks.

The hostility between between Japan and Korea is not going to help either country as we move into the future. Korea is now in possession of the islands and should, Bishop Chang believes, work confidently toward the time when a consensus on the dispute can be reached, perhaps in the manner of the French and Germans after the War. Even, perhaps, coming up with a common history of the dispute.

During the recent tragedy from the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, Korea gave material aid to the country. So when the new Japanese middle-school textbook was published, having been approved by the government, citing that the Japanese were in possession of Dokto, there was a great uproar in Korea. The bishop did not think that the mercy shown by Korea should  in any way be tied up with the dispute over the Dokdo Islands. They are, he said, two different matters.

He also does not believe it will be helpful to push our right to the possession of Dokto by going ahead with efforts to put more facilities on the island, which would destroy its natural habitat and scenery.                                          

Meeting God with our Gestures

"Meeting God by our gestures" is the title of one of a series of lectures on religion and culture given at one of our Catholic shrines by a professor of Korean Religious History. The series appears in the Catholic Times.

He begins his lecture on the generally accepted rituals of a culture by dividing humanity into two groups: Those who are not keen on expressing what they have inside and those who feel that more is gained by outwardly expressing what is inside.

In our present society, ritual is not considered important. What we have inside us, whether expressed or not, is what is important. In the West there are many who do not believe we need the formal gestures of ritual to approach God, that the Mass is not necessary, that each of us can go to God with our personal prayers. This was the thinking of the Protestants in the 15th century: there was no need of a mediator; we can meet God directly. The communion service was merely a remembrance  of the Last Supper of Jesus.

We can express our  ideas with  words but gestures are not  easily  given meaning and life by words.  Consequently, the gestures accepted and used by different cultures are varied and unique. Is this not the reason, our lecturer asks, that past  generations have tried to keep this alive with books and teachings and other ways?

But these are not the only ways that a religion is maintained. To make a conviction our own requires actions that make it a part of us. We do this, for example, when intending to show respect by appropriate gestures, and by the way we cultivate ascetic practices. These gestures have to accompany us to  make our religion part of who we are.

In many cultures there are ways of showing a passage from one stage of  life to another, such as the child becoming an adult. One of the most dramatic of life passages is the separation of the dead from the living in our rites for the dead. According to a custom observed in some parts of the country, when mourners leave the room containing the coffin to go to the cemetery they put at the door vessels made of gourds or earthenware that are shattered by the bier as it is taken from the house--a fitting gesture showing the separation of the dead from the living.  Similar rites can be observed at many of the critical stages in life.

There are  many diverse ways that we make ourselves known by employing an appropriate gesture. It's a way of becoming joined with others and of being helped to overcome the different crises in life. The  ritual of gesture gives us information on the way to live. With these sacred movements we dream of becoming one with God, expressing  our  worship and taking ownership of who we are as a believer.
 
In the  logic of gestures we find how religion and culture  are intertwined. The lecturer feels that if we consider and live life as a drama, it will help us find peace. And if we at each stage of life were to live the  role we have been given as completely and faithfully as possible, we could then leave the rest up to God.

Living Simply, Freely, Leisurely with Nature and Dementia

A columnist in the Catholic Times tells us of a visit from a couple who were trying to understand the actions of the woman's father, who had become distrustful and fearful of those around him. He had always been a person in control of himself and alert in his younger years.
 
He told them it may be dementia and that the condition takes many forms. He suggested that they should go to a hospital for help. The woman had difficulty in accepting his recommendation, believing her father was too young to have dementia.
 
The columnist mentions that being in complete control of our actions and living a responsible life in our youth is no guarantee that we will not have trouble once we get older. There are many reasons for the problems of our bodies and minds.
 
When he was working in a mental hospital, he would often hear the family and friends of patients mentioning that  before the strange behavior appeared they were living a normal and productive life.  No one can predict, he says, who will have dementia when they reach their seventies; in his  experience persons who developed dementia, he agrees, most often lived a normal and productive life.
 
Dementia, often meaning a variety of mental conditions, can come to any of us. The columnist reminds us that there are many who live to a ripe old age and have no signs of dementia. Most of them, he says, lived unceremoniously, having a free and leisurely lifestyle, and not far removed from nature. But the key to keeping dementia away, he feels, is finding time for leisure and the absence of stress.
 
He hopes that the families with elders will make it easy for the older people  to live informally, with an easy life style and with leisure and close to nature. This will enable the older people to have a contemplative approach to life, and the break with their surroundings that dementia signifies will be checked  by those who are part of the older person's life.
 
It is not easy to talk in the vain in which our columnists writes for it seems to blame  the  person  for  what happens in the later  years. In many cases this has nothing to do with what is happening, and yet since the columnist is speaking from his experience, which may not be that of many others, it is refreshing  to hear what his experience has brought to his attention.

Giving Young People the Opportunity to Dream and Hope

For many years Korean Society has known that something has not been right with the procedures for entrance to college but the remedies have not come easily. The desire of the people for more and better education and the efforts to improve educational opportunities for all have benefited the country; this is not easily denied. But the human price being paid for this success needs to be addressed. 

With the approach of Youth Sunday, May 29, the editorial in the Catholic Times returns to this controversial issue. In a recent survey gauging several factors affecting youth in China, Japan and Korea, the happiness index of Korean youth was found to be the lowest. Blame was given to the educational system's procedures for preparing students for the entrance exams to college, in effect taking away the dreams and hopes of many of our less competent young people.

The editorial asks what has the  Korean Church done to return the  dreams and hope to the young. Also, in the  OECD list of countries, Korea is near the bottom when rating the happiness index of the participating countries. The first step, according to the editorial, is to have a common awareness of the problem and to formulate programs for change.

There is a  movement in Korea for alternative schools which have a different atmosphere and are not geared for college entrance exams.  The editorial is asking Catholic alternative schools to be an example. They have been set up to be freer, diverse in their teaching, and directed to the whole person. There are many ideas on what has to be included, but they all agree on the education of the whole person.

There are  attempts to  change the thinking that getting into a prestigious school or getting  a good job should be the motivation for education. The alternative schools are the means of giving dreams and hope to our young people, and for the most part are meant for young people who find the present educational system unattractive and forbidding.

The editorial quotes from Pope Benedict's 2011 message to youth: "Dear young people, the Church depends on you! She needs your lively faith, your creative charity and the energy of your hope. Your presence renews, rejuvenates and gives new energy to the Church." And also from the same message: "True enough, it is important to have a job and thus to have firm ground beneath our feet, yet the years of our youth are also a time when we are seeking to get the most out of life. When I think back on that time, I remember above all that we were not willing to settle for a conventional middle-class life. We wanted something great, something new. We wanted to discover life itself, in all its grandeur and beauty."

The editorial ends with a plea that young people again begin to dream and hope, for this will also guarantee a bright future for  the Church.

Visit to North Korea with the Eugene Bell Team

This is a report from the Maryknoll Korean local superior, Fr. Gerald Hammond,  on his recent trip to the North. I am delighted to report that our April 2011 visit to the DPR of Korea was one of the most successful we have ever experienced.           On this visit we were able to confirm that the quality of care given patients by local medical officials is steadily improving at the six multi-drug resistant tuberculosis treatment centers supported by EugeneBell in North Pyongan Province, South Pyongan Province, Nampo City and Pyongyang. Local caregivers we met with on this visit were also enthusiastic about EugeneBell’s training program. The decision to adopt WHO standard MDR-TB mediations last year has increased medication costs more than 50% per patient per year (approximately 1,600 USD). Due to the more powerful prescriptions however, we found that treatment outcomes have improved dramatically. EugeneBell enrolled 55 new patients this visit but sadly, had to turn away hundreds more for lack of enough medication.          It was an honor and blessing to be able to offer the first Easter Mass in the northern half of Korea in more than 60 years. Maryknoll’s work began in North Korea. For more than half a century Maryknoll missioners have prayed for an opportunity to return. Every Mass in North Korea, thus, is for me a homecoming of sorts. I was delighted too that Father Emmanuel Kermoal of the Paris foreign Mission could join me.  The Polish Ambassador, H.E. Edward Piertrzh made the Polish Embassy available for the Mass.          Approximately sixty people from more than a dozen nations from Pyongyang’s small foreign community attended the service. Many of those who came were not Catholic but everyone seemed delighted to have a chance to participate in public worship in North Korea.           Though unused to attend church regularly, everyone did their best to participate with the help of an overhead projector. Their enthusiastic responses to the readings reflected a deep hunger for the hope and peace offered to them through the Easter liturgy. We all enjoyed singing several hymns including “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee,” “O Lord My God” and “Amazing Grace.” No one seemed eager to leave after the service. After the Mass, Ambassador Piertrzh hosted everyone to a traditional Polish Easter breakfast  On every visit to North Korea, it has always been my policy to make a full disclosure of my identity as a priest, as well as the identities of Catholic organizations whose medical work I represent. Thus, the North Korean officials who facilitated our visit were informed in advance about the Easter Mass. No one raised any objections. Instead, our official hosts seemed genuinely pleased that we had been able to arrange this special religious service for the foreign community on our visit, perhaps the first recognized Easter Mass in the history of their country.