Religion Has to do a Better Job

Efforts  made by religions in Korea to live harmoniously together without any serious problems is an example of healthy coexistence. However, the Catholic Times editorial asks if religious people are also giving a good example to those without any religion. Recently, we have a number of books that appear in our book stores that tell us that society would be better off  without religion.

There is interest in these books; a sign that secularism is part of the society in which we live. The message to Catholics and other religious people is our efforts to show transcendence and religious values to society have  not been successful. We have to reflect on how much we have been an example to the non-religious  persons and groups in society.

Many scholars who have  studied the issue no longer see society listening to religious talk.  Words have lost their attraction it is an example of a life well lived that inspires: authenticity and genuineness.  

Looking at the lives of religious believers how much of an example are we to others? We have to be able to critique our own lives. Politicians who are religious believers have not been a good example  to those without any beliefs. Religion doesn't make much difference in the way life is lived. We have seen the moral life of religious people censured repeatedly for conduct that is not in keeping with what they believe.

There have been scandals within religious groups that have hit the press recently that have shown the weakness and immorality of believers. These stories do little to endear non-believers to think twice of the benefits of belief but rather to turn them away from what they see as hypocrisy. 

The editorial mentions that, for the time being, Catholicism is relatively highly respected   and is considered a strong bulwark for the upholding of conscience. However, this should not be taken lightly nor should we  rest satisfied   remembering  the honor that we had in the past. To continue to have this respect we have to be open and concerned with the  tensions in our society.

Educating the Whole Person

Teaching gospel values in educating the whole person is taken for granted in Catholic educational theory. The practice of these values, however, is not so easily taught in our schools, which usually designate their teaching of the whole person, made in the image of God, as holistic, humanitarian, character education, among other terms--all of which take into account that  we are a composite of mind, spirit and  body.

Catholic Schools in Korea face the dilemma of being unduly influenced by societal thinking as they try to incorporate more gospel values in their educational programs. The article in the Catholic Times deals with this serious issue.

Government regulations, the article explains, takes away the freedom of the schools to decide what programs of study to provide, what students to accept, and what teachers to appoint.  The government requires that private school imitate the public schools.

Another serious problem is the emphasis given to preparing for the college entrance examinations, in effect paralyzing any desire to work for the education of the whole person, success or failure of one's education being determined by grades and the chances of entering a first class college. This unnatural emphasis attempts to change the values of parents and society, with the relationship between the providers of education and those who seek it being weighed in favor of the consumer. Competition in society is the obstacle that makes educating the whole person difficult.

There have been some examples where schools  have managed to control half of their courses and freely accept Catholic  students. By having seminarian classes like a "seminary," they don't have to follow the school group system. There have been some famous cases were the schools have followed the education for the whole person and have done very well in the government exams for college. One Catholic school principal stresses there is no conflict between studies and growing as a human being.

The principal of Nonsan Daegeon High School was honored for developing a new education model, described as utilizing an approach  to education that sought to balance the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of a person, while also balancing study and service in the school. Surprisingly, the  spiritual was at the center of the program. There was a great deal of opposition to the change but when 96 percent of the students went on to college, this brought a big change into the thinking of the community and the teachers. Many thought the whole effort was a waste of time and money. But for a small high school to achieve the results they did and not have to jettison their educational ideals made many take a second look at his balanced approach to educating the whole person.               

From the Diary of a Prison Chaplain

Although there are some law breakers who have become altruistic members of society after leaving prison, following many years of crime and imprisonment, most ex-convicts have a different story to tell. In his pastoral diary in the Peace Weekly, a prison chaplain recounts his experience with those who have left prison, only to return after committing another crime, which is a concern for those who have to deal with this sad reality.

The chaplain mentions an odd fact that when some ex-convicts return to spend time in a prison other than the one from which they were released, he hears about it from his former prison inmates. Surprisingly, they know, in addition to the prison they are now in, when and what they did and all the details of their crime.  How can prisoners separated from societal life be so knowing so quickly? He remains perplexed.

He recalls one of the inmates who received the chaplain's blessing before being release, and after a crime returned to the same prison, saying to him--as most have done on returning to prison--"I'm sorry." But there are those who do not acknowledge their past relationship with him, and avoid him.  All know what crime the person returned to prison has committed, even though there are those who shamelessly tell a different story.

Some of them can't forgive themselves, he says; they suffer alone, hating themselves. They need a great deal of consolation and therapy. Often you also meet, he says, those who have no qualms of conscience for their criminal acts, no remorse for what they have done. in an attempt to do whatever is necessary to reach them, he has sometimes gone with the religious sisters to a police station to talk to those they knew well when they were in prison, after they were picked up again for a crime.

What is true in prisons is also true in detention homes for the young, he said. The inmates are familiar with what has happened to their companions, and their conversation is very much like those in the prisons.

The reason for prisoners returning to prison, in the chaplain's opinion, is their difficulty of fitting back into society. Society is not welcoming to those with a record of crime; the opportunity to rehabilitate is generally not available. It's the same story the chaplain hears from most of the prisoners who have not made a successful return to society.

Many of them are not familiar with the basic family life that all should have, leaving them with emotional scars not easily healed. The efforts to correct the problem are ongoing but the needs of those who are seeking to make amends for their life are great. The chaplain ends by asking his readers to be open to embracing those with this history of crime and who seek to rehabilitate themselves to an honest and productive life in society.

Spring 2012 Visit to North Korea

 A partial report of Father Gerard E Hammond's  visit to North Korea is printed below with his account of the Holy Mass for the Foreign Community in Pyongyang DPR of Korea.

As has been my usual custom for more  than ten years, this spring I traveled to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea with the Eugene Bell Foundation. Other members of the delegation included Dr. Stephen Linton and his wife Hyuna Linton, Dr. K Justin Seung from Harvard University, Professor Teresa Moriss-Suzuki from Australia National University, and Father Berard Christophe of the Paris Foreign Mission.

This spring's visit was scheduled for April 16th through May 1st but a Maryknoll Asia Regional conference in Hong Kong meant I had to leave North Korea on April 26th. Gratefully, I was able to celebrate Holy Mass at the Polish embassy for the foreign community in Pyongyang as usual.

North Korean authorities limit the number of delegations permitted per year as well as the number of days a delegation can stay in their country. Consequently, much must be accomplished in a relatively short period of time. On most days our delegation leaves the hotel no later than 6:30 am and returns long after dark. Because multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis is such a dangerously contagious disease, most of our work takes place outside. For this reason, our visits are scheduled for the spring and fall; when the  weather is most agreeable. Despite these precautions, however, we sometimes have to spend wet, cold days out of doors, and this spring was no exception.

Occasional discomforts notwithstanding, I really enjoy these trips and this spring was not exception. As each group is different, usually two or three members on our delegations are complete strangers. I serve as the official delegation chaplain. Despite our busy schedule, the absence of cell phones, internet connections and other engagements provides many opportunities  to discuss issues related to faith, particularly around the supper table on days we do not make site visits. For some who are not used to seeing so much suffering, these visits can trigger a spiritual re-awakening. Those who have a Catholic background often attend their first Mass in years in North Korea....

For the past few years, it has become a tradition for the Polish Embassy in Pyongyang to invite the foreign community to a celebration of the Holy Mass when I visit North Korea. This  spring the Mass took place on April 22nd.

Celebrating Mass for Pyongyang's foreign community by visiting priests has now become an accepted custom. While it is still too early to expect that North Korean authorities will permit regular visits by priests, they have  no objection to my ministering to foreigners when I am there to engage in humanitarian work with the Eugene Bell Foundation.

On Sunday April 22nd, Ambassador Edward Pietrzyk opened his  mission and home to  Pyongyang's foreign community and sent First Secretary Michaal Skotnicki to our hotel to conduct us to the Polish Embassy for the Mass. During the service, I was assisted by Father Berard Christophe of the Paris Foreign Mission. Approximately, fifty people attended from more than a dozen nations.

After, we were invited to a dinner prepared by Madame Anna Pietrzyk. I was deeply moved when the Ambassador and his dear wife got up from the table and served us themselves. On this and other occasions, by word and action, Ambassador Pietrsyk gives  amble evidence of his deep reverence for the Church and the priesthood. My prayer is that God will expand this small beginning into a regular Mass for Pyongyang's foreign community.

Father Gerard E. Hammond

Media Literacy and Sex

"The distorted understanding of sex the culture portrays is a massacre of life. We have to make efforts to redesign the environment of this erroneous culture." These are the words of a researcher of culture writing in the Catholic Times. He continues: "Culture is a strong tool that subtly internalizes the prevailing values of a society, which then becomes, unconsciously for most of us, the foundation for our actions."

Our children and teenagers are being bombarded with sexual stimulants, giving them a distorted understanding of sex, crammed indiscriminately into the heads of our children by the culture we have made. An example: the 'literary youth' is now referred to as the 'erotic youth'; our culture is internalizing sex to the point where sexual relations have reached the threshold of normal behavior for the young. Even though they understand, he says, how wrong this emphasis on sex is, unconsciously they tolerate it.

As a professor in a university who heard stories of students who had abortions, he decided to devote full time to the study of the culture of life. These students were not juvenile delinquents or raised in families with problems, so why, he wondered, was it so easy for them to talk about their abortions?

To answer the question, he gave up his professorship, and without  permanent job security decided to devote himself to this work, researching and lecturing. Listening to his lectures enthusiastically, he noted, were mostly those in their 20s and 30s, who were having their eyes opened to another facet of sex that was being ignored by society and unfamiliar to many of them.

The professor does not talk only about the preciousness of life and what should be our attitude about life, but he wants his listeners to see what the media is doing by fantasizing sex and how this approach inculcates the culture of death.

He urges us to become media literate and be able to see what this unhealthy approach is doing to our society. We have to learn to see how cleverly and systematically the media has influenced the popular culture by using sex to sensationalize the way we see life.  Our efforts have to be directed to show, he says, the results of this sex culture on our society. One way of resisting this dangerous trend, he suggests, is by creating programs in the schools and churches that focus on improving our media literacy and raising our maturity in judging more effectively.

Hope in the New National Assembly

Korea had a recent election for the National Assembly. 246 members where elected and 54 members were allocated by proportional representation. Guest columnist writing in the Catholic Times is hoping for a change  in the 19th National Assembly from that of the 18th.

He lists the many problems the 18th National Assembly had with scandals, violence, dereliction of duty, failure to agree on the national budget. They have squandered the hard earned money the citizens have paid in taxes. They failed to take into account the living conditions of the citizens but rather the needs and tactics of their political parties.  It goes into history as one of the worst and hopes the next assembly will be different.

The legislative measures brought before them only 43 percent were passed.Those that had to do with systematic change and the needs of the citizens were abandoned. This will now mean the 19th assembly will have the task to  bring these before the floor with much time and money involved. The 18th assembly have left an embarrassing record.

The citizens with their one vote were expressing their desire for the future in electing the new assembly, but the columnist seeing the talk after the election wonders if this hope can realistically be entertained. Regulations for the assembly state that the new session of the National Assembly should meet before June 5th but each party fighting for its turf it doesn't appear this will happen. The 18th was 42 days late.  Since at the end of the year we  have the national elections for the president the prospects are not bright.

Of the 300 members of the assembly 74 are Catholics.  The columnist is hoping that this will make a difference but the last assembly had even more Catholics. He wonders if this trust on  the Catholic members  is not too naive. They know they should  put the needs of the people ahead of the needs of their respective parties.

He prays that the persons of faith in their work as legislators will remember their Gospel mission  and be true to their calling and serve the people as parliamentarians.  He hopes  we will see a change from the politics of an underdeveloped country and for the members of faith to be an example.            

Happy Buddha's Birthday

Both Catholic papers had editorials on Buddha's  birthday, celebrated on May 28th this year. Cardinal Nicholas Cheong Jin-suk  delivered a congratulatory message to all the Buddhists: "May the  mercy of Buddha spread to all the world, especially the poor and suffering. For those that can't find meaning in life, we hope that Buddha's teachings will enable them to find true joy and happiness."

This is the 2556 year of the Buddha's appearance on the world stage, 500 years before Christ. Buddhism has been in Korea 1400 years before Christianity came to the country. For most Koreans, Buddhism is more than just a religion, it is part of their religious culture. For them, Buddha's birthday is what Christmas is to Christians.

The relationship between Buddhists and Catholics has been close. In addition to the congratulatory message from the Vatican, many churches have a placard over the entrance to the church grounds celebrating his birthday.  


Because relations among religions have not always been peaceful, there is a greater need to try to achieve it in the present. The world has come closer together, which often accentuates our differences but fortunately also our similarities; respect for each other' differences in a world increasingly polarized is becoming more necessary than ever before. Without this respect, we will all suffer the consequences. 

If one simply takes the numbers of religious adherents in Korea, they would be greater than the total population of the country. In this "museum of religions," as the editorial described it, how open are we to the different religions, the editorial wondered, and will we be able to hand on this understanding to the younger generation?

Christianity and Buddhism have two world views and two different  starting points; they are two very different religions. It is an impossibility to see them united in doctrine, but in the understanding of mercy and love and going out to the poor and alienated, we are of the same mind. The world is ardently in search of peace and love. The editorial, expressing what all Christians should hope for, wishes to see Buddha's peace and mercy spread throughout the world.