Mass Media And Truth

There is no one on the face of the earth who asked to be born in a certain year and in a certain country. Our appearance on earth was a completely gratuitous event, putting aside for the moment the providence of God, writes a priest in his column in the Peace Weekly.

Letting his imagination roam, he wonders what his life would have been like if he were born in a tribal culture thousands of years ago, or born in a culture ruled over by a king, or even born into a relatively similar culture to his own but born a hundred years ago. Preposterous, he admits, as the thoughts are, he came to the conclusion that his life would have been as simple and uneventful, or as complicated and difficult, as the society he lived in.

If living a simple life, there would have been no need to doubt the information being received; no need to question how information is packaged and routinely distorted when trying to discern the true from the false. This, however, has all changed for those living in the 21st century, he says. We are overwhelmed with information from all over the world. What is happening in another part of the world will often affect us. The president elected in a country on the other side of the pacific will influence, for good or ill, what happens in Korea or in any other country. And it will, the priest claims, have an influence on our personal lives. 

Without  our approval and without our knowledge, events no matter where they occur will commonly cause changes not only where the events originally occurred but throughout the world. The mass media brings us news about G2, the group of two, the United States and China, which caused us to adjust our thinking from what we believed, just a few years ago, that the two super powers were Russia and the United States. These two powers brought us close to World War III, and led to the so-called cold war. Now, with the change to G2 China and the United States they are trying to keep the peace by increasing their military resources. Korea is no doubt being influenced by this increase in the military might of these two nations by  the  naval base on the island of Chejudo. The columnist wonders if Korea is an expendable pawn in the confrontation between the two superpowers.  

The mass media should be giving us the objective facts but only those who are able to go 'behind the scenes' will have a chance to know what is happening.This is of course difficult, if not impossible, for the ordinary citizen. Mass media reporting about the state of the world often ends up providing confusing and contradictory information, and fostering a general repugnance toward politics with 'no questions need be asked, just vote'. This is easily seen in the excessive slanting of the news, making it difficult to see objectivity, and to believe that any information is being reported impartially.

Are the citizens living in a democracy the masters of their own political fate, as they are led to believe, or are they the unenlightened masses that can be used and discarded at will?

"Political parties have the task of fostering widespread participation and making public responsibilities accessible to all. Political parties are called to interpret the aspirations of civil society, orienting them towards the common good, offering citizens the effective possibility of contributing to the formulation of political choices. They must be democratic in their internal structure, and capable of political synthesis and planning. (Compedium of the Social Gospel#413)

"Information is among the principal instruments of democratic participation. Participation without an understanding of the situation of the political community, the facts and the proposed solutions to problems is unthinkable. It is necessary to guarantee a real pluralism in this delicate area of social life, ensuring that there are many forms and instruments of information and communications. It is likewise necessary to facilitate conditions of equality in the possession and use of these instruments by means of appropriate laws. Among the obstacles that hinder the full exercise of the right to objectivity in information, special attention must be given to the phenomenon of the news media being controlled by just a few people or groups. This has dangerous effects for the entire democratic system when this phenomenon is accompanied by ever closer ties between governmental activity and the financial and information establishments." (#414)
     
           

Pope Benedict Relating in the Social Network

 The Pope broadcasts live each Christmas with the Mass from Vatican City. In 1996, Pope John Paul II sent his Christmas message throughout the world for the first time by internet. And two years later the sermons of the pope were relayed to the world using the Vatican's website. This interest in cyberspace by the Vatican was the subject of a recent desk column of the Catholic Times.

 

The Vatican website began in 1995, with Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, German and English translations. Within two days of the inauguration of the site, it had 300 thousand visitors. When news of the pope's illness became known, the website was flooded with well wishes and prayers. The pope was a cyberspace star.
 

With the beginning of the papacy of Benedict 16th, despite his age, he continued this interest. In 2007, we have  the Vatican joining the YouTube world; in 2007, Facebook and, last year, he sent his first tweet through the Vatican account while launching a new website. He wrote on an iPad: "Praise be our Lord Jesus Christ! With prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI." Within 3 hours he had 15,000 followers.
 

The tweet that was sent last year came from the Vatican's official account. But by the end of the year, the pope will have his own Twitter account and be part of the Social Networking Services. Is this not all to get us involved in getting the message of Jesus out to as many people as possible? At present, the most popular people on Twitter happen to be Lady Gaga and other entertainers. 

The desk columnist tells us that we do have many in the Church who are taking the pope's example to heart, and he praises, especially, a bishop for his initiative in the use of the internet. Many lay people, clergy and religious are using cyberspace to make it a healthier place  for all. The pope is a good example to all on the need to take advantage of this new media.
 

That the pope is going to have his own personal account on Twitter is full of great meaning to all of us. Twitter, Facebook, My Space and Cyworld and many others are ways of meeting in cyberspace. No matter how popular you are or how big you are in society, in cyberspace you have only one vote, says the columnist. It is a one-on-one meeting. Your off-line persona does have an influence online, but the offline persona is not the same as the online persona. The columnist is curious to know what the pope's thinking is on these new systems of communication and their meaning for us and society.

          

Pope Benedict XVI, 85, sent his first tweet last year through the official Vatican account, while launching a new website. He wrote on an iPad: 'Praised be out Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2230364/Pope-Benedict-XVI-set-Twitter-account.html#ixzz2DlFTErUZ
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Pope Benedict XVI, 85, sent his first tweet last year through the official Vatican account, while launching a new website. He wrote on an iPad: 'Praised be out Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2230364/Pope-Benedict-XVI-set-Twitter-account.html#ixzz2DlFTErUZ
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

Moving from the Mental to the Spiritual

The look in the eyes, the words from the mouth, how we eat, work and play, all are affected by the spiritual life. If God's spirit is in me then my spirit needs to reflect God's spirit, which will then very naturally appear in the life we live, says the writer of the Catholic Times' column on spirituality.                                                                                       We can, he says, live in the contemplate mode when playing tennis, climbing mountains or riding a bicycle. We do not have to be in church. He wants us to realize that it is not when  using our intellects to its full capacity that  we are in the spiritual mode. Determining how to swim faster or how to get to the top of the mountain the easiest way is using the mental faculties.

There is a big difference in using our mental faculties and using a spiritual approach to life. The intellect is a great gift we have received, and to use our intellectual powers to understand God and life is a great good. But remaining in this mode we will never come to what God's providence wants to realize in us.

What do we do to  free ourselves from being habitually tied to the mental mode and begin living the spiritual approach to life? First, he tells us to remember something from our past. We all have something from  the past, he says, that can bring us to the spiritual. When we were baptized, we experienced something of the spiritual. But because of our humanity, we slip quickly into the mental. Those who become tepid  go through this process.

One antidote to fixating on the mental is to become more contemplative, perhaps praying before a burning candle, among other practices. Slowing down our lives is necessary if we are to find in our too-hectic lifestyles the leisure for contemplation. But what appears to be doing nothing is difficult for us to accept. We revert to our smart phones, to the TV or to our hobbies. Because of our acquired need for constant stimulation, our internal abundance is difficult to reach. Prayer and the contemplative approach becomes difficult the more we frustrate ourselves by trying to understand everything by our mental approach to life.

We end up failing to distinguish the mental from the  spiritual. Consequently, when using our intellects, we commonly misunderstand this to be spiritual. Many only serve and pray in the mental mode.
  
God likes the concrete. Our eyes, thoughts, words and actions should be concretely spiritual, he says. God is always working inside us, though we often think that God is sleeping. When is God going to  return? we ask, not realizing he has always been with us; our task is to discover him. And for this to happen, we don't need calendars. When our minds are constantly busy, the spirit will not be able to enter. When we can't activate our spiritual faculties, we will not be fully alive.

Happy New Year: Liturgically Speaking...

What  makes for a good leader? Christians have Jesus as an example, and we begin with him today as we journey through the new liturgical year of 2013. On the first day of January, as world citizens, we usher in the new year, and on February 10th, as Asians, we usher in the lunar new year. Today, as Christians, we wait liturgically for the birth of Jesus and go on to grow by his  example in the yearly review and study of his life.

Writing in the  Catholic Times, a columnist tells us of rereading a book on ethics for public servants, written 50 years ago. The second reading was prompted, he said, by the daily media reports, commentaries and evaluations of the candidates running for president of the country.

The book, he says, gives us the qualities that a politician should have and what he should avoid. According to the author, the ethos of a good leader is consistency, fortified by penetrating conviction, followed by the need, both in word and action, to act on these convictions. In addition, the leader should strive to make the will of the people his mandate for change, and should accept with patience all criticisms that may come his way, as possibly useful advice to be explored and acted upon in the future. 

To be avoided are personal traits that come from human cupidity and that can lead to the distortion of democracy: the lust for power, excessive personal profit motivated by avarice, loss of dignity because of vanity, and favoritism that breeds all kinds of injustices.

The columnist would like these traits to be the standard by which to judge the candidates for the presidency. No one, he said, should rate a 100 percent evaluation, but an excellent rating can be the high goal that all should strive for. Even if this is not a possibility, he said, we should pick the best of the two candidates. It  so happens that both candidates have known Catholicism first hand. One considers himself a Catholic, and the other was once a Catholic.

We should have the intention of electing a leader with the qualities of the good shepherd, he said. A leader with whom we can enjoy liberty and order, who searches for love and justice, listens to the people, is humble and willing to sacrifice; one who can inspire  us with his hopes and dreams, and lead us in the way of life and truth. A leader who is concerned for the poor and alienated, and can unite us as a nation.  

Jesus was such a leader; he came to be our friend and continues to come to us as a friend. Our response is to have an open heart, changing our seeing from bodily eyes to spiritual eyes, in order to see what is impossible to see with the bodily eyes. The Good Shepherd model that we have is not only for politicians and public servants but for all of us. And thankfully we have another whole new year to work toward its attainment. 

Preparation for Happiness in the Twilight Years

Can we be old and happy at the same time? Old age and its social implications was the topic discussed this week in the Peace Weekly column on happiness. The columnist reminds us that we are entering a time in history when reaching the age of hundred will not be all that unusual.

 In our passage through life, the decade of the twenties usually is spent by continuing study for the fortunate few, and for most others, work; in our thirties, marriage, and extending into the fifties raising a family. At sixty, most plans have been completed. But, the columnist asks how many have a plan for the next 40 years? For our old age? It's important to think of these remaining years, he says, and make them profitable ones.

Without a plan for these remaining years, loneliness is bound to be a problem for many. We know only too well from the Korean experience that many find life unbearable and have no desire to keep living.

The later years should be years of blessing. A long life is an unexpected gift. These final years  should be appreciated and enjoyed, but for many it's all about loss. Yes, it is true that with age, much sadness comes, and much is lost: the death of friends, relatives, and at times even children. There are also family problems to contend with, as well as financial and health problems, but with the proper attitude these can be overcome.

During the last years, it is important to have friends with which to share our losses. Furthermore, we have a need to continue to study, which is encouraged by the Church by providing parish educational programs for the aged. The columnist recommends these programs to all the elderly.

Living close to the children means  there will often be conflicts. Parents often see the desires they had for the children crushed, but rather than accepting the sadness this brings, the columnist suggests that parents see themselves in their children's shoes, to better appreciate the challenges they have to face in a much more competitive society than existed when they were growing up. The parents and the children both tend to experience different realities: raising their children was the primary interest of the parents; preparing for the eventual  death of their parents often becomes the primary  concern  of the children. These divergent viewpoints only brings sadness to both. Instead of expectations directed to the children the trust in the spouse would be the wiser course of action.
 
In  the States, the house parents live in constitutes about 30 percent of their possessions; 70 percent is in investments. In Korea, the house is 90 percent. The columnist ends by stating that when aging parents give their children their inheritance before they die, they lose three things: their children, their independence, and their savings.  It is better to use that money, he says, to enjoy their lives together.

Japanese and Korean Bishops' Meeting

Korean and Japanese bishops met together November 13-15, in Korea, to discuss nuclear power plants and the problems they pose for our society. After the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan there is a sensitivity on what position to take on nuclear energy. Where should the bishops stand regarding the movement to abolish nuclear power plants was the topic discussed for three days.

They listened to talks on the likely problems that would develop and the direction needed for the future; they visited a nuclear power plant and offered Mass commemorating the meeting. At which time the bishop celebrant said, "God gave us this earth as a place to live on and to take care of,  which requires that we live smaller, simpler, plainer lives. With the abolition of nuclear power, our lives on the earth will be safer, and we can enjoy peace. Is that not  the direction in which the Church has to go?" Furthermore, he stressed the importance of cutting back on the use of our natural resources, which requires that we simplify our lifestyles.  The three days ended with small group discussions and a plenary session.

Both Catholic papers devoted space to the meetings of the Japanese and Korean bishops' conferences commenting on the  discussions  to develop renewable  energy from wind and sun, water and other natural sources. By renewable energy is meant energy that comes from natural resources that  can be easily replenished. One participant said the issue is not a political one but one about life.

On the visit to the nuclear plant they were told  by the representative of the plant that the energy produced, relatively speaking, is cheaper to produce than that from fossil fuels, and that Korea has fewer and less severe earthquakes  so the plants can be built with relative safety. Because there is just so much that can be done with renewable energy in Korea, nuclear energy can be produced safely and is economical was the representative's response.
 
The president of the Korean Bishops Conference was quoted as saying in the article in the Peace Weekly, "We can't see radioactivity, but it is harmful to life. The Church should make known to the citizens the necessary information, so they can make the right decision on the use of nuclear energy." 

Whether or not to use nuclear energy is obviously a very sensitive issue. It is known that it doesn't take an accident for a nuclear power plant to release radioactivity into the air, water and soil. All that is necessary is the everyday routine operation. Germany has made the decision to do away with nuclear plants and there will be other countries doing the same. What will Korea do? The position of the Church on this issue will be watched closely by many.  

Medicine and the Culture of Life

A column in the Peace Weekly, which aims to help create a culture of life, deals with some serious medical issues . The writer of the current column, a doctor and a medical university professor, is a member of the Seoul Catholic Committee for Life.

The first issue discussed concerns patients who begin their treatment in Korea but then opt to go overseas for stem cell therapy. The facts, according to the doctor, are still in the experimental stage and yet there are some patients who stop successful treatment here in Korea and go to countries less advanced for treatment. The expense of being treated outside the country is great: transportation for the surgery and accommodations in the country put a great burden on the patient.  However,many patients see it differently, says the doctor, they see the treatment in the home country lasting a long time and without any guarantee of success.

In Korea, having surgery that has not been approved by clinical testing is against the  law. These stem cell medical treatments have not as yet been proven, and yet many are convinced by the publicity that they are. The doctor feels they are  going overseas to commit suicide. We should be very slow to accept claims of cure and he wants the citizens to become familiar with the facts.

The second issue is the use of secret formulas to treat disease. In Korea, there are many  ways of being treated for disease. This is publicized by the newspapers and by many other media. The sick hear of a certain medicine, a person with the same disease was healed by taking the medicine and, consequently, the sick person wants the medicine. It is very common response. But the doctor says he has treated many from the side effects of these self-prescribed medicines.

The medicines are usually extracted from plant life and not just one ingredient but a mixture of many that can have an effect on the living organism. Consequently, they should also be tested clinically before use. 

The third issue was clinical tests for medicines, both for adults and children. There is a difference in the   results of  medicines given to children, who are still growing, and to adults. There are medicines that are allowed for adults but not for children. This requires that we have tests for both groups, says the doctor. Some of the   companies have difficulty with the tests because of the time necessary and the expense. And since the adults make up most of the consumers the tendency is to want to avoid the clinical test for children. This requires, concludes the doctor, that these companies be cognizant of their ethical mission in the production and marketing of medicines.