The Social Gospel in Korea

How do we respond in a Christian way to troubling situations in society with a Gospel understanding?   The response of the bishops, when they convened for their autumn general meeting, was to establish Social Gospel Week, following Human Rights Sunday, on the second Sunday of Advent.

By formally proclaiming this special week and by observing this week each year, the bishops intend that the Social Gospel will find its rightful place in the essential teachings of the Church. They hope that by applying the teachings of the gospels to social behavior, we will begin to change how we look on disturbing social issues we have come to accept as normal, and begin to practice what we believe in our daily lives, becoming what we have been asked to become: the salt and light in society.
The bishops will publish a text book on the Social Gospel that will be a help to the catechumens and to all parishioners. As well as presenting the core teachings in one place, it will undoubtedly sensitize our awareness of the injustices in society, and to the fact that they are an offense against God as much as are the sins of an individual.

The president of the Bishops' Conference hopes that each diocese will use the Social Gospel Week to educate the Catholics on how we should respond to current social issues, and to continue to do so. This teaching, he goes on to say, was thought by many to be a matter of choice, that you could choose to follow or not follow the social gospel. By setting aside one week of the year to remind us of the importance of the 'social message' of the gospels, the bishops intend to correct this misunderstanding. The message that needs to be realized can be summed up by a few words from the Lord's Prayer: "Thy will be done on earth...."
 
The editorial in the Catholic Times praised the bishops' decision to set aside one week to bring more attention to the social teachings of the gospels. Discussed for many years, the need for more emphasis on the ethical teachings concerning social behavior has finally been addressed, and will be welcomed by many. Also needed to help undo the misunderstanding of many is a clear description of what constitutes a just society and what role religion should take in helping to develop such a society.

These questions and others that the Social Gospel Week will undoubtedly generate will be discussed by special programs during the week and follow-up programs in the future.  Everyone will not only be informed about the teachings of the Social Gospel but have a better understanding of why the Church becomes involved in social issues.

NGOs In Korea

Korea has more than 10,000 NGOs (non-governmental organizations ) influencing our society. The director of the Seoul Caritas Volunteer Center writes about NGOs in the opinion column of the Catholic Times.

A member of the Korean Non-Profit Institute and busy with her own work at the Seoul Caritas Volunteer Center, the writer was intent on resigning from the Institute but the chairperson, during the last meeting, upset at the poor attendance of the trustees and the non-payment of dues, reduced the number of the trustees and selected her as one of the new trustees. She decided to accept and then reflected on why she has continued as a member of the Institute for the last ten years.

In her column, she mentions that she wrote her doctoral dissertation on the  Korean NGOs and their importance in society. What do the NGOs actually do in society? she asked herself. Several answers came to mind: there is nothing that they are not able to do; they search for what the body politic is not doing; they advocate for what the body politic doesn't want to do; they reform what the body politic is doing wrong, and they lend support to the body politic when it doesn't have the ability to do what needs to be done. In short, the non-profits intend to uncover the problems that accumulate in society and to alert our citizens to the problems and help solve them.

With the advance of democracy in the 20th century, the limitation of market capabilities, the spread of pluralism and the change of the government's role in society, many areas of concern  have  come to the attention of the  non-profit groups. In the West, the role of the non-profits has done much to advance society.  England has a history of charitable institutions. France  is known for its cooperatives. In South-East Asia, Thailand and the Philippines are far ahead of Japan and Korea in their development of non-profits. Korea has only recently realized their potential in humanizing our society.  In Korea, different names are used to identify the non-profits. Besides the NGO, there is the NPO (non-profit organization) and the NVO (private voluntary organization)--perhaps a sign, there is a difficulty in coming to an understanding  of the work.

Authorities in the field say non-profits are helping to make a better society; that without them, we would have a less humane society. They also believe there should be more effort made to improve the capabilities of these non-profits.However, we should not rely on a few non-profits to supply the necessary know-how and do what we have always done. A broader outreach of many non-profits is needed, each developing its own special area of concern within the constraints of available funding. Also needed is for more of society to acknowledge the importance of these non-profit groups, and to help them continue to do their much-needed  work by contributing financial aid. 

Serious Concern of the Korean Catholic Church

Recently, meetings were held to discuss the best ways of dealing with the growing number of fallen away Catholics. The enthusiastic response to the meetings was beyond expectations. More than 430 from 10 dioceses attended the bishops' evangelical seminar, and more than 1500, the Suwon diocese symposium. Both meetings revealed how seriously the Church considers the problem of the tepids. Both priests and lay people were looking for help to stop so  many Catholics from leaving the Church, and also in finding the best methods to convince those who have left to return.

The desk columnist of the Catholic Times, reporting on the meetings, begins by noting that the increase in the number of Catholics has also increased the number of those leaving the Church. A 2007 survey by the Catholic Times found numerous reasons given for leaving. The reason most often cited was work and studies (42.4%); religious doubt (12.1%); the burden of confession (7.4%);  conflict over religion (5.8%); disappointment with clergy and religious, and time-consuming hobbies, both (4.7%); the burden of educating children (4.3%); discord between husband and wife, and with parishioners, both (3.5%); financial burden of Church attendance (2.7%); and a miscellany of other reasons (8.9%). 

The columnist mentions that three out of four Catholics who stopped  going to church had no one they considered a spiritual guardian. They also said they had plans to return to the community. Outside  of problems with confession and with the clergy and religious, most of the reasons given were not connected with their feelings about Church matters.
 
The remedy for reversing the trend, the columnist says, referring to those who have studied the issue, is  more pastoral care of the parishioners, especially of the newly baptized. She  also noted that failure to go to confession should not be the only criterion in determining a tepid; there should also be concern for those who are weak in the faith. This could be addressed, she  suggests, with renewal programs. However, even before tending to our  concern for the  tepid, she  believes there should be an in-depth look at the way the Church functions.

 

She wants those in positions of authority to take a long look at the results of the  two meetings and come up with concrete proposals on how to move forward on this critical issue. Otherwise  we will have these topics coming up for discussion repeatedly in the future, without any real results.

Mission Sunday 2011

Evangelization is the reason for the Church's existence. It was the last message of Jesus to the community he formed and a mandate which has from the beginning been  primary. The Church is always in mission. Especially today, when as the Pope says, it seems we have lost the sense of ultimate realities and even the meaning of existence itself.

Oct. 23 is Mission Sunday throughout the Catholic World. All of us will hear the Pope's message on this day, and our Catholic papers are devoting space announcing the importance of mission, the sharing of our gift of faith with others. The Catholics of Korea understand this mission, and many are  not embarrassed  to convey this message to others. 

Many parishes take this mandate seriously, providing programs to educate the community, praying for the success of their efforts, printing leaflets to distribute, and even going into the streets to introduce Jesus to those interested. Programs are often set up twice a year to invite candidates to come to a Sunday Mass where the community will acquaint the candidates on what to expect, assigning them to different catechetical classes.                                             

Korean statistics show that about half of the population consider themselves without a religion so the possibilities to evangelize are bright.

There were a number of examples in this week's Catholic papers  on  what was accomplished by parishes and mission stations. In one of the mission stations, 170 people showed an interest in joining the  community. When we consider that it was a small mission station, it is a reason to marvel.

One pastor stressed that in the education of the Christians, it is not the words that are important but our lives; mission is best done by the wordless examples of our lives. A journalist from the paper wanted to visit a parish to write an article for this recent issue but was told not to come. The process of evangelization is not an event to be observed and written about but an inner relationship with those who are intending to join the community. 

The lack of concern for the tepid and the diminishing zeal for evangelizing  in many parts of the world are regrettable facts. The reason for not desiring to  share the gift is possibly a loss of the joy we should  have as followers of Jesus or when the  experience of Jesus is not an important part of who we are. Whatever the reasons, lack of interest, one writer concluded, is the biggest obstacle to mission in the world today and when lost, is  not easily regained.

Words Often Say More Than We Want

The blind in Korean society have a history of  working in massage parlors, work  as acupuncturists and fortune tellers. Massage parlors  in Korea do not have a  good reputation. It is often a place of decadent behavior, one of the shady spots of our society.
 
Writing in the Catholic Times a columnist who has been working with the handicapped for many years mentions the effort that was made to change the image of the massage parlors. A massage center was established to educate the public to the  value of massages, making it easier for them to accept its healthful benefits, and gradually the image began to change.


The columnist points out that the words we use for the handicapped are very telling. Before 1981 the handicapped were described as 'deformed for life'. Over time the words 'handicapped' or 'handicapped person' came into use. Some of the words were extremely sensitive to those with handicaps but were not thought to be grammatically appropriate. The writer feels that addressing the handicapped as 'persons with a handicap' or the blind as 'persons with a sight problem' would be more helpful.
 
The writer has no expectations that changing the words we use is going to help the handicapped in any measurable way. But we are sending a message by the words we use. When we use positive words we are helping to influence a change to a more positive appreciation of the handicapped.
 
The importance of the words we use in our speech and writing is often forgotten. It is not difficult to know where anyone stands on any issue by the words used to describe those we disagree with; words are loaded with meanings and emotions. It is not easy to use neutral words when writing or speaking, and often the words we use communicate more about ourselves than about the subject we are addressing. 

Confucianism and Catholicism

Confucian values permeate most of  Korean society. And Catholicism, before it became an object of belief, was an object of study for Confucian scholars. When Catholicism finally took root in Korea, it was not merely a transplant of a foreign culture to Korea that was to influence the culture of the country but was in turn influenced by the Confucian culture.

Confucianism is covered by the 3rd article in a series on Catholicism and  Other Religions, appearing in the Peace Weekly. The Jinsan incident in 1791 resulted from a refusal of the Korean Catholics to follow the Confucian mourning rituals, worsening the dispute between Catholics and Confucians.  
 
There have been two approaches suggested to deal with the dispute: accommodation with Confucianism, the Jesuit approach in China, or respond to the difficulties by a strict adherence to traditional Catholic teachings. The difficulties between the two religions are briefly noted in the article. The Confucian idea of heaven would be similar to the Christian understanding of the God of the Old Testament; it's both a transcendent and immanent idea of heaven. In early Confucian writings, a word meaning the king of heaven was used, with some implication of the existence of a supreme personal God. 
 
There is a difference in the way Confucians see the creation; it is not a creation from nothing, everything begins with the human and ends with the human. Everything is subjective, positive and optimistic. We are given, they believe, a mandate from heaven that can be attained by the practice of virtue.
 
The ultimate virtue for the Confucian is benevolence (note its Chinese character above left), that quality of goodwill toward others that can and should exist in any personal relationship. This understanding is similar to 'love' in Christianity. However, the  approach to fulfillment in life in each religion is different; in Confucianism, fulfillment is self-achieved while in Christianity, fulfillment, that is, sanctification, can't be achieved only by personal effort.


For a Confucian, there is not much interest in creation apart from humanity. Their interest is in living a life of natural goodness that can be expanded by self-actualization; that is their aim in life, their salvation. The Confucian wants to cultivate his moral sensitivity so that he will be able to act correctly and bring peace to others. All that the Confucian aims for, the Christian finds in Christ.


 

Humanism and Catholic Family LIfe

After the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950, Bernard Wonkil Lee came to  the island of Gyodong where he started the first Catholic community on the island. The trip from North Korea had been short, but when he lost hope of  returning home, he soon became the leader of the island's Catholic community, which developed into the Gyodong Mission Station.

The Peace Weekly in its special feature on a recent meeting of an international forum on Catholic humanism, convened to consider what is meant by Catholic humanism, used the life of Bernard Wonkil Lee as an example of what this might mean for all of us in living a more fulfilling life. One of his sons, a priest from the diocese of Washington DC, reminisced about his father, who was, he said, a man of action and a trail blazer, whose daily Mass attendance had a great influence on his own life and family.

Wonkil Lee remained here on the island until 1954 before moving to Seoul, and after retiring in 1988 went to the United States where his sons were living. In all these different locations, his Catholic humanist principles were evident by the concern he had for those who were having difficulties in life: he taught the illiterate to read and helped those who were hungry.

One of the participants in the forum, a professor at Seoul University and a one-time education minister in the government, spoke on humanism and the family, noting that there has been a breakdown  of the family not only in Korea but in other parts of the world. This world-wide development, he said, has to be brought to an end if we are to have a truly functioning society. Catholicism considers the family as the origin of, and primary stabilizing force in, society, as it was meant to be in God's plan. A healthy society, he emphasizes, begins with the healthy family. Even if much of society has been infected with evil, the family need not be contaminated if strengthened by the humanistic values of Catholicism, which allows each member of the family, and thus society, to express our inherent human dignity.

The professor proposes a plan to implement this within the context of Catholicism. Beginning with family attendance at Mass, he notes that family members often attend Mass at different times. There are Masses for the very young and also for teenagers; he would like to see them all attend Mass together. The family could attend, he suggests, a Mass at 9:00 am and, after Mass, have the parents teach the children. And those who come to the 11:00 Mass with the family, could remain after Mass with the parents again teaching the children. He would also like to see the Church take more of an interest in the young parishioners, getting them actively involved in educational programs aimed at eradicating the problems within families.

The other participants shared their ideas on what Catholic humanism should mean. The professor who proposed working directly with the family is applying the same ideas here that motivate Marriage Encounter and Focolare movements. Whether it's feasible now to devote more time and effort to working on family issues, considering the pressures of society on the family, is a difficult decision for the Church to make.