The Seoul subway
system is probably the world's most extensive and because of recently
installed platform screen doors--the only subway to do so--one of the
safest. With this change, the number of those who have committed suicide
by jumping in front of an on-coming train has declined dramatically.
Suicides of those jumping into the Han River, however, have increased,
with most taking place at the Mapo Bridge. In an effort to change the
negative image of the bridge, colorful pictures and life-affirming words
can be seen posted around the bridge to dissuade future suicides.
The
Culture of Life column of the Peace Weekly once again reports on this
suicide problem in Korea, suggesting that several causal factors may be
responsible for the increase: the rapid change to an industrialized
society, the difficult experience during the IMF period, and the
advancing age of the population.
The column notes that in
2010 there were 15,566 suicides, an increase of 19 percent from the
previous year, and three times the average of the OECD countries. One
person's death by suicide affects, the
columnist says, at least 6 people. And for every suicide the conjecture
is that 10 times that number have attempted suicide, and
10 times the number of attempted suicides have considered suicide. She
comes up with an overall figure
of about 5 percent of the population that have been directly or
indirectly affected by the problem.
In
New York City there are 5.5 suicides per 100,000 people, in London 9,
Hong Kong
18.2, Tokyo 23, and in Seoul 26. What are we to make of these numbers? she asks. Why is New
York City so low? She believes that because of the 9/11 terror attack,
New Yorkers have become more sensitive to the needs of fellow citizens
and
this concern has spread throughout the city. And the city government has
also helped by setting up a city-wide aid system.
In Korea the
older the person the more likely the suicide. For those over seventy,
the rate of suicides per 100,000 is over 100. In all age categories, the
men have a higher suicide rate than the women, except for men in their
twenties, where it's the same as it is for the women. The reasons
generally given for the country's high suicide rates are many, but
usually include the increasing divorce rate, childless marriages, the
number of those living alone in the country, the lack of family time
together, and an insensitivity for those unable to thrive in our
competitive society, because of age or lack of skills.
The
columnist believes the main reasons for suicides are 'being alone',
being out of work, the loss of a loved one, a mental trauma, dependence
on alcohol, and despondency--perhaps the most important factor
contributing to the high rate of suicides. Many with serious diseases
are also vulnerable to suicidal thoughts when a feeling of helplessness
takes over.
What
may be needed to prevent suicides, the columnist suggests, may be no
more complicated than for each of us to become more compassionate, more
sensitive and empathetic to the suffering experienced by many in our
society. When these problems arise we need to provide opportunities for
those who are struggling by offering them ongoing assistance until they can help
themselves. And the mass media should do their part by publicizing the
available programs, such as the Gatekeeper program, which intends to
make us more sensitive to those who are struggling to make it in our society. But
even without these worthwhile programs, we must remember that all of us
have a mission to further the culture of life and to bring hope to
those who have lost it.
Science and its remarkable technological achievements in recent years
have influenced the lives of all of us and raised doubts about the
religious
understanding of life. Believing that religion and science are mutually
antagonistic thought
systems, with religion relying for its truth on subjective, unverifiable
experience, and science relying on objective, verifiable evidence,
science now gives us their standards
by which to judge truth, and even the existence of God, Two scientists
writing in the
Catholic Times refuse to accept this understanding; both science and
religion are necessary, they say, for a complete understanding of the
truth.
They cite the principle of complementarity of Niels
Bohr, one of the founders of the new science of quantum physics, who
said that our views of the nature of things are often inconsistent and
contradictory because whatever is viewed is viewed from any of many
possible and valid points of view, depending on the nature and
background of the observer. Ultimately, however, Bohr said these views
must complement each other, and are required for a complete
understanding of the truth.
According to the article, belief
without science can become religious fanaticism
and superstition. Science without belief can become a closed-ended
hypothesis, neglectful of the possibility of the transcendent dimension.
There is both the search for truth using the inductive methods of
science, and the search for truth using the intuitive wisdom that speaks
to us directly from our experience of life.
Religion can
transcend the intellect, but
it can't be opposed to the knowledge that comes from our intellectual
pursuits. When it refuses to accept them, fanaticism, superstition and
pseudo-religion are likely to follow. Since we are intelligent beings,
made in the
image of God, it is imperative that we
follow the dictates of our intellect.
One of the
scientists mentioned a well-known philosopher who said that those who
believe in Christ and think themselves physicists are quacks. If
that is true, the scientist said he considers himself a quack. Sadly, he
says that years ago there were many Christian scientists; today this is
no longer true. Even within the Church, one has the feeling
that if you get too involved with science, you will lose your faith, so
they stay away from it, he said. However, he added, when we are
threatened and yet overcome the threat, we become stronger.
He
gives us an example
from his high school years when a teacher said that Christians
believe in predestination. That was not his understanding so he asked
his parish priest and was told that Christians believe in freedom
of the will. It was at that time he read a book on Heisenberg's
uncertainty principle. In contrast to Newton's deterministic, static
principles of
physics, he read that if you shot a gun and later shot the gun under the
same conditions you may not hit the same object. This was his
introduction to the anti-deterministic physics of quantum theory, and
confirmation of the underlying freedom present within nature.
In
graduate school he noticed how many had left
behind their Catholicism. He believed the reason was a lack
of a mature spiritual life. Politics, the culture, and the desire for
money had something
to do with it, but for him he placed the blame on a spirituality that
was not able to provide guidelines to overcome these difficulties. The
article ends by telling us that humility needs to be part of the way we
look at science and religion and the search for truth. There are limits to any search
for truth, whether scientific or religious. As noted in scripture: "Now
we see indistinctly, as in a mirror...."
Both Catholic
papers carried the story of a Chinese priest invited by the Cardinal
Kim Research Center in Seoul to discuss the current condition of the
Church in China and its prospects for the future. Reliable accounts are difficult to
find because Catholicism there is split into two factions: the patriotic (approved by the government) and the so-called underground
Church. The government diligently guards against all interference from outside the country and everyone is told (including religious persons) that their country must come first before all other considerations.Those who have refused to accept this mandate are what has been called the underground Church.
In his speech the priest stressed the importance of having men like Cardinal Kim in the Chinese Church, which needs organizing around the metaphor of the circle rather than the more traditional structure of a pyramid. He also pointed out that the Catholics of China do not have a strong
evangelizing spirit, but leave this task to the priests and sisters. This
problem can be solved, he believes, if the Church is seen more as a tightly knit community, with members sharing their beliefs and putting them into action in the community setting (the circle metaphor), instead of relying on the pyramid metaphor: seeing the Church as a
loose collection of members waiting for instructions from the top of
the organization before taking action. Although the Church is ultimately
responsible, he said, for its weak position in Chinese society, with few capable leaders, a lack of good formation programs for seminarians, and
little ongoing education for priests, he explained that the materialism and hedonism of
the society stifles whatever message the Church succeeds in publicizing.
There are about 6 million Catholics in
China, recognized by the government, and about 6 million more, he says, in the underground Church. The government recognizes five religious groups: Buddhists, Protestants, Muslims, Taoists, and Catholics. In 1949, with the inception of the Republic of China, there
were 3 million
Catholics and about 700,000 Protestants in the country. The tendency of
Buddhism to stress blessings, and the strong missionary efforts of the
Protestants have made these two religions the largest in China. And today, many Chinese holding influential positions in society are converting
to Buddhism.
Catholic vocations are few, and the formation of seminarians is poorly done and, as expected, the underground church is struggling. The
one-child per family decree has added to the problem but the example of the priests on the young, he says, is not one the young want to
follow.
After the talk, a Korean priest of the Foreign Missionary Society of Korea said he had a problem with how the circle and pyramid styles of the Church had been explained. He agrees that the ideal
way to understand the metaphors is to give the Pope his rightful place
within the circle; he felt that China has opted for the Anglican model
of Church. It is this model, the Korean priest believes, that the Chinese government wants all religions in their country to follow. If successful, this approach, he says, could be used by the government to making Catholicism independent of world Catholicism. Which is exactly what has happened.
The Chinese priest, in his final remarks, said he was glad to receive the invitation
to speak.
And Since China had a great deal to do with bringing Christianity to
Korea, he sees his invitation as a call for mutual help between the two
countries. He hopes that his country will eventually have many men like
Cardinal Kim, a man who had great love for his country of Korea, and
was a great example to his people.
One of the most
often used words in church articles this past year was the
word 'healing'. Best-selling books often had the word in their
title. TV programs appeared with healing themes, healing foods;
concerts and talk shows that healed seemed to be everywhere. Can we
doubt that our society has a need
for healing?
A member of the Spirituality Research
Center at the Inchon Catholic University, writing in the Kyeongyang
magazine on his experience as a professional using music to heal, states that the art of music is ever-present in our lives, a
sound form we are familiar with, from our time in the womb
until the time we die.
Music enters through the ear, and from
there to
the brain and then to our whole being, where it influences us in many
ways, working on our emotions, knowingly and unknowingly. We know this,
he says,
from the background music we hear so often in
restaurants and theaters. This being the case, what music should we be
listening to? he asks. There is no correct answer, he says. What is
right for
one person or situation might not be right for another person or
situation. Of course, a person knowledgeable in the
field will be of help, but it is not necessary, he says. Choose the
music
you like, he advises, and learn to savor its message.
Another
way of getting the benefits of music is to sing. The music will affect
our emotions and even
strengthen our immune system, he says. He gives an example of a woman
who was depressed for 15 years. By using singing as treatment for her
depression, she was able to overcome the depression. She finally could
make contact
with her feelings, give them expression and control them. He
would like to tell all mothers when washing dishes, to sing out loud some of their
favorite songs. It would be an opportunity for healing.
For a Catholic, healing is the work of God.
We try try to respond to his great love without condition and judgment,
and to surrender to him for the great joy of being one with him. It is
when we have given up all that we hold precious and have worked to
achieve that we experience oneness with him and find self-healing. If we
live this way, no other
healing is necessary.
One of the best ways of
accomplishing this healing is to sing hymns. And at our next Mass, he
says we should make
this a priority, savoring the words
of the hymn, letting each word fill our heart with its appropriate message. And if we listen carefully, he believes we will hear
God's voice in the singing.
Those addicted to
'fun' would do well to uncover the meaning of this addiction, writes a
Salesian
sister, with a background in media studies, in the
Kyeongyang Magazine. Boredom, she says, may be causing the addiction.
Though in the past boredom was a catalyst for change, today many find it
difficult to accept, a thing to avoid at all costs.
We have
heard
the saying: "When you play you play, when you work you work." Today
we often want our work to be
pleasurable, and don't mind if our leisure time is taken up by intense
study or stressful activities. When we are tired we flick on
the TV or engage in conversation or do something, anything, as long as
it keeps us from feeling bored. But all this does, she says, is add to
our mental turmoil. There's no avoiding 'doing,' she admits, but we must
also understand, she emphasizes, that 'not-doing' is
something positive and creative.
She reflects on the
times in the subway when just sitting becomes awkward and we take out our
smart phones and begin toying with them. Conversation can start up with
someone sitting beside us, but when a call comes during the conversation,
we most likely will take the opportunity to go back to our smartphone.
She
asks if we have ever for even an hour taken
time to do nothing but be with ourselves in silence. A time when we can
give our
thinking a rest, letting our thoughts ripen and the stress and
frustrations of the day pass from mind--a time to get to know ourselves.
In
the digital society we live in, the more dependent we become on the
digital resources now available, and the more concerned with things
outside of ourselves, the more impoverished our internal life becomes.
Reading becomes unbearable, and deep reflection nearly impossible; we
forget the meaning of life and its
values. We end up, sister says, thinking with our feelings and judging
with our emotions.
We
are living in a society where fun is often the goal of every pursuit.
Our emotions are given priority, and the effort to delve deeply into our
experiences is missing. In Korea we are all
familiar with the Gangnam Style, a term describing both the phenomenally
successful music video and the lifestyle "where everything is cool."
Though many have been critical of this recent cultural craze that has
spread throughout the world, there's no denying that many have embraced
its lavish, carefree lifestyle, if only in spirit.
The video is
not the sole possession of those who made it, she reminds us, but now
belongs to anyone who has seen it and is moved by
what they see; they are the owners as well. The sister wants us to
realize that
besides those who found the text 'fun,' thrilled by what they saw and
heard, many others had even more fun by examining the meaning of
this 'fun' event.
More
than being overcome with the 'fun' of the moment is to examine what is
seen for meaning. It is this meaning that will add a great deal to the
'fun' that we have in life.According to Ecclesiastes 2:10: "All that I undertook I
enjoyed, and that was
my reward for my work." Sister hopes that we will
find the same joy in everything we do in life. It all starts, she says,
not with those who are content to have fun without looking for its
meaning, but with those who search for meaning, and see with the eyes of
Christ.
What is the prayer of silence? It can be as simple, says a Salesian priest, in a recent issue of Bible & Life, as what occurred to him while visiting the birthplace of St. Francis de Sales: being awe-struck by the beauty of the alps and the snow-capped mountains. Because of this experience he is not surprised at the Saint's dispositions for the spiritual life. We are very much affected, he says, by our environment.
We
are often brought to silence, he says, when we find that no words can
adequately give voice to the beauties of creation. One of highest
manifestations of
the beauty of creation is humanity, he goes on to say. The actions of people often surprise him by how well they express the love and beauty at the core of existence. This keeps him motivated, he says,
and in the throes of hell-like problems helps him to respond with a hearty laugh. And when seeing the happiness of another human being, spontaneously joyful from life itself, he also feels energized by the same joyful presence.
This
experience is similar, he says, to our deepening relationship of love
with God. When our love of God deepens and grows, the words we use in prayer decrease. Within silence, having put aside our worldly concerns, we are content to be in his presence, alone, just as our predecessors in the faith did before us, discovering that the best response to God's love is often a silent listening. Though praying fluently
and freely is thought to be a sign of one who prays well, and that
praying by using different prayers is a sign of a prayerful person, this
is a misunderstanding of prayer. Without silence, he says, as the
background for our prayer life, our words will be an obstacle to true prayer.
When we reflect on the love of God for us, the thoughts themselves are prayer. To reflect on this and the graces received, our whole being becomes a silent, prayerful response.
He recalls several New Testament accounts of this kind
of silent prayer. Mary Magdalena, according to the Gospel writers, had seven
devils which were driven out by Jesus. She was not the kind of person that would have friends, and she must have suffered much with
her condition. But meeting Jesus her whole life changed; she became a new person. In a moment, her pain and grief disappeared, replaced by joy. The only thing that interested her now was to be with Jesus,
hear his words, and to live them.
Other examples were St. Joseph and Mary. And though Joseph obviously was a great influence, along with Mary, in the life of Jesus, a great deal of silence
surrounds him in the Scriptures. He was clearly a person whose whole
life was a life of silence in obedience. Like Mary, there were many
things he did not understand, but he obeyed: marrying Mary, seeking
refuge in Egypt, and returning to Israel. Mary's silence is referred to
as: "[she] treasured all these things and reflected on them in her heart."
When
resting in silence, the foundation of all prayer, we are able to hear
the sounds coming to us from all sides: the sounds of nature, our
brothers' pleas, the sounds from God, and the sounds coming from inside
ourselves. From silence comes our spiritual life. Within this silence--as scripture counsels "Be still and know that I am God"--we come in contact with God. And in this silence, if sufficiently still, dying to all we believe ourselves to be, we are brought to a grateful appreciation of the life we have been given, and to an all-encompassing love for the source of that life.
Is
the Church obsolete? A relic of the past that is no longer relevant in
the modern world, especially for our young people? Looking over the
statistics for 2010, a professor at Sogang University notes that
although attendance of adults at Sunday Mass is low (30 percent),
attendance of the young is even lower, much lower at less than 7
percent. The young people, he says, are leaving the Church quietly.
Expressing
his opinion on the open forum page of the Catholic Times, he believes
this situation could have been foreseen by the way the young students
were not attending their Sunday school classes. They did attend while in
grammar school, but on entering middle and high school the expectations
to do well, along with the intense preparations for the college
entrance exams, was more important to them than attending Mass. More
attention should be given, he says, to educating the parents on what is necessary for raising mature and responsible Christians.
The
young are not only leaving the Church because of outside interests.
Being Catholic, he says, no longer has the attraction it once did for
many of them. Compared to what it was like in the 70s, when large
numbers of young people and the well-educated were coming into the
Church, the numbers have steadily decreased. He reminds us of the saying
that the Church in the West lost the workers in the 19th century, and
the young in the 20th century. In Korea, we lost the workers in the
1990s, and can we now say we are losing the youth in the 21st century?
When
the young are no longer coming out to the Church and those who are in
the Church are leaving, the future of the Church is not bright. And the
situation is no better with the religious orders, which have also
experienced a decrease in numbers. Even among those who do show an
interest, the quality of life and understanding of the commitment
involved is not what it once was. This is not a good omen for the future
of the Church. His recommendation is that the dioceses and religious
orders need to work together, and fund the efforts to prepare for the
future. We should not be content with one-time efforts or a display of
energy, but draw up 10-year plans to do something about the situation.
The
professor mentions two examples of young people who have joined
together to affect change in the Church. In Korea, it's the Movement of
Scripture and Faith Sharing, which has been going strong for over 30
years. Outside Korea, he mentions the Taizè Community meeting in Rome at
the end of last year. 45,000 young adults came together to pray with
Pope Benedict XVI.
The common element in these meetings that he
believes is responsible for their success is having the youth in
control of the
meetings. Their input is encouraged and appreciated; they are not there
as guests but as the hosts--they are
running the show. A second element that makes these meetings a success
is having God at the center. In the Taizè meeting they get together 3
times during the day to pray. They want something that the world cannot
give, which prompted the professor to recall the words of St. Peter to
describe the nature of their commitment: "Lord to whom shall we go? You
have the words of eternal life" (John
6:69).
He mentions that when Pope John Paul II brought up the
idea of having a Youth World Day, those around him tried to dissuade
him. The young
would not be interested, they told him. He went ahead with the idea, as
we know, and with great success.
The professor ends his remarks
by repeating that if the Church is not to lose the young people, they
have to be the pastoral agents; they must be encouraged to come together
to experience the power of the Scriptures. The only remaining
question that needs to be answered is, Who will be the leaders of this
movement in the
future Church?
