What does it Mean to Love the Poor?

“If investments in the banks plunge, this is a tragedy....If families are hurting, if they have nothing to eat, well, this is nothing....This is our crisis today”-- reflections from the Catholic Times' editorial on the talk of Pope Francis on  Pentecost and to the new ambassadors. What is important, he emphasized, is humanity.

Pope Francis called on the world's political and financial leaders to consider the words of St. John Chrysostom: “Not to share one's goods with the poor is to rob them and to deprive them of life. It is not our goods we possess, but theirs.” The editorial mentioned that he spoke his words filled with distress that a child or a homeless person who dies of the cold or of hunger does not make the news but when invested money in the stock market is lost, we have all kinds of consternation.

This kind of thinking has to change, he said. The pope complained that we have turned people into consumers who can be used and discarded. We have arrived at a point where we worship money and have become its slave.

The editorial agreed wholeheartedly with what the pope said on the world of finances; in today's society tenderness and mercy are disappearing.  We have been hearing for many years now that the Church has become middle class, and that the poor do not have a place within the Church. The Church has to become poorer, the editorial said.
The synod of the  Seoul diocese mentioned, ten years ago, that a serious problem in the diocese is that the poor are distancing themselves from the Church. This has been evidenced repeatedly in surveys and studies, and the problem is likely to increase in the future. 

Inchon diocese also in the synod in 1999 also made mention of this same situation.  Poverty is spreading rapidly, and as the gap between the poor and the rich expands, distorting the problem of distributive justice, human as well as communitarian lives are being destroyed by this limitless competition.

The editorial concludes that the concern of the pope can be easily solved. Christians and the Church should be examples of what a life of poverty should be. We need to become aware of Christ's love for the poor and what it should mean to us. A rather simple idea but to put into practice difficult.    
                                                                                    

    

"Healing a Broken World"

 "We are all a part of creation. We have to realize that we preserve our life in harmony with creation." With these words, the Catholic Times begins the interview with Fr. Pedro Walpole from the Philippines, an expert in ecology who visited Korea to discuss ecological issues with Korean Jesuits.

"It is an opportunity," he said, "to discuss the situation and how we've responded to the world of creation, and to see what Korea has been doing to achieve peace." Fr. Pedro was one of the experts who drew up the paper "Healing a Broken World," a report drawn up by the task force on ecology of the Social Justice and Ecology Secretariat of the Society of Jesus.

The 2010 report, translated into Korean this past March, provides information, global vision and spiritual resources and recommendations, which Fr. Pedro passed on to the Korean Jesuits. The paper explained not only to the Jesuits but to the whole Church that we have to take responsibility for caring for the environment, examining and carrying out the recommendations suggested in the report.

The paper mentions many areas of concern, including an interesting insight regarding the climate impasse we are all familiar with. Three reasons were given for the difficulty:

1. The enormous economic challenge of reducing greenhouse gases.

2. The complexity of climate science.

3. The deliberate campaigns to confuse the public and discredit the science.

Fr. Pedro in the hour interview, instead of talking about the big and small ecological issues, stressed that our primary concern should be to discover the cause of the problem, which he believes can be found in our wrong attitude toward the problem. There is a lack of trust in one another, resulting in more of us deciding to live separated from others.

People in the city, especially, having lost the bond they should have with others, are searching for comfort as their number-one goal, he said. They are like a floating buoy, with many not reflecting on what is eaten or where it comes from. To solve the problems, we need to become more conscious of our lifestyles, he said, and more grateful for the life that has been given to us.   

" We should be giving life to one another and be concerned for the sustainability of our relationships with others and with nature," he said. "This is important not only for Christians but for all of us. We have to rid ourselves of the habit of consuming for our comfort, and seek to communicate more with others. Many aspects of our life depend on finances for the development of science and industry, however, we should be at least equally concerned with efforts to preserve and develop a healthy way of living."

 

Love Needs Justice

Pastoral social involvement in society includes family, marriage, culture, politics, finances. In all these aspects of society, the Church has to protect and foster human dignity, the community of peoples, the common good, dialogue, and to cooperate with others in society in finding ways to achieve these goals. These words began the article in the Peace Weekly by a priest-participant in the symposium on the Critique and Future of Catholic Pastoral Work in Society. This should be, he says, the standard the Church should use to examine its activity in this area of need.

For many, the social gospel is based too much on the hereafter. At times it seems a patronizing blessing after death, the priest says. Instead of working for the common good, it's concerned with the faults of society in an abstract kind of way. The Church has to work to help those who are working to make a just and peaceful society. He can't erase from his thinking that at times the Church seems satisfied to merely serve the weak, being one with them, without the additional effort to better their lot.

He laments the fact that this integral part of the Gospel message is not understood by so many Catholics and is seen as unimportant or, worse, as interference, as something having nothing to do with the Gospel message. Sadly, many see participating in society and living a life of faith as two different divisions of  life.

It has been 20 years now since the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which incorporates the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. The existence of the catechism is not even known in many parishes. The change of life, the engagement and sacrifices we are being called to are not attractive to many. Working for justice is seen as painful and is avoided. We separate the Mass and our liturgical life from our daily life. The obligation we have to love is also the obligation we have to work for justice.

Another participant mentioned how we can say many things in our formal meetings, such as the synods we had 10 years ago in the diocese, but little comes from their deliberations, he said. He also mentioned that the numbers of Catholics in the wealthier areas of the diocese are higher than in the poorer sections. The Church has to model a simpler lifestyle, he said, and be concerned for the poorer areas of the diocese with more investment in personnel and funds.

The priest emphasized that he would like to have all our Catholics be exposed to the teachings of the social gospel. They need to know how we as citizens and people of faith can live the social  gospel in our daily lives. This had to be, he says, part of the teaching for all those in pastoral work.

This has been a concern of the Church in Korea for some time and we are seeing some changes. The "either-or" thinking is still prevalent in many areas where it doesn't belong. The "both-and" thinking is the healthier way of being concerned for the good of all. 

The Gap and Eul Culture in Korea

Recently, we have seen the words 'Gap' and 'Eul' in articles and editorials. A Catholic Times columnist explains that the words are usually used as names of legal parties in a contract, but originally derived from the first two words in a list of 10 "Heavenly Stems" and another list of 12 "Earthly Branches," denoting a period of 60 years in the old Chinese calendar. In English we would probably say A and B.

They now have meanings that were not in the words as they were first used: bigger and smaller, stronger and weaker. This kind of thinking has been associated with a number of incidents where a person's position in society allowed for the demeaning of another who was not, according to that person's standards, of comparable worth. "Bigger and stronger" would be Gap; "smaller and weaker" would be Eul. One company, for example, used its strong position in the marketplace to force a small retailer to buy more than they needed. Such incidents have recently been reported in the media, giving rise to the expression "The Gap and Eul Culture."

Thinking in this mode is certainly not only a Korean phenomenon but evident throughout the world. It is prideful thinking that often comes with a prominent position in business or in any organization or group where some believe themselves superior to the others in the group. In a contract, the Gap party is seen to be in the favorable position, with the Eul party being disadvantaged and having to respond to the Gap party. The columnist reminds the reader that there is always a bigger Gap above him, and it's easy to forget that there is room for the positions to change. There are circumstances when we are Gap and at other times Eul, but most of the time we give in to the illusion we are always Gap.

When we are treated as Gap, there obviously is no problem. When we believe we are treated as Eul, anger can easily arise. With this rather long introduction, the columnist sees the Gap-Eul phenomena not only as a problem in society but also within the Church. There are many cases within the believing community where the difficulty Christians are experiencing comes from the results of this kind of thinking. From the II Vatican Council we know that the community of  believers is a fellowship of brothers and sisters who are to communicate with each other as equals.

"Each one of you is a son of God because of your faith in Christ Jesus. All of you who have been baptized in Christ have clothed yourselves with him....All are one in Christ" (Galatians 3:26-28). This understanding by St. Paul, the journalist stresses, is not only true of his time but for all time. He concludes his column with the suggestion that we look at ourselves to see if we are not acting like an ultra Gap. To be one with Jesus requires that we lower ourselves, and not be afraid of being considered a EUL.

Interpreting the Catholic Korean Statistical Report

The recently published Catholic Korean Statistical Report has shown an increase in the number of Catholics but those going to Mass has dropped to 22.7 percent, the lowest in history, a red light that not all is well.  

The signs have been present for sometime, and efforts have been made to face the problem and do something that will bring about change. One of the parishes in Seoul invited all parish council members, district heads, pan and parish group leaders to gather together for a discussion on solving parish problems. The Peace Weekly starts off its coverage of the gathering with a question that gained a great deal of interest. "Out of necessity, when a person doesn't attend Mass you can substitute with prayer or a good work, but what is a sufficient reason for not attending Mass?
 

"If there is another way to substitute for not going to Mass," it added, "the burden of having to go to Confession will be lessened, and you will have more attending  Mass."  The pastor read the Korean pastoral guidelines and the bishop's explanation. "When one is not able to attend Mass or go to a mission station liturgy, for a  good reason, one  can substitute with a rosary, reading the Scriptures or a good work."

One parishioner said "There are many reasons that on Sunday one is not able to attend Mass. If you have to go to confession every time that happens, confession becomes a big burden. When there is a clear  alternative to the obligation of Sunday Mass, this will be a great help to those who have to miss the Sunday obligation."

The following thought sums up the thinking often expressed during the discussion: "If one in conscience makes the decision that there is a good reason to miss Mass, and the obligation can be filled by attending a weekday Mass, the numbers of those not going to Church will decrease." There were also some who considered this not a problem. Another thought that the Korean custom of Easter and Christmas Confessions should be dropped to just once a year and make this a serious time for examination; the present system is too superficial, he said.

One person recommended that retired priests be invited to come to the parishes at special times to take care of the confessions on a permanent basis. This would enable more of them to go to confession. Another thought that liturgical music at Mass would increase attendance.

The problems expressed are certainly real and need to be addressed, but perhaps more importantly the understanding of Mass as liturgy is not sufficiently internalized and found fulfilling and necessary for a meaningful life.

Liturgy, a Greek word meaning originally a public duty, a service for the state undertaken by a citizen, is also something we as Christians do publicly. It is Jesus calling us in a public way to do something together. If this could be fully appreciated, it would cause a change in our attitude toward the Sunday Mass.

Education Without Competition

The word used in Korean for 'season' is the same word used for 'discretion.' A child comes to the age of discretion, it is said, when she can tell the differences in the four seasons. In the column View from the Ark of the Catholic Times, the writer notes the wisdom of the ancients in seeing the relationship of the age of reason with the laws of nature. No matter what we think or feel, the seasons will come and go, and we have to accommodate.

The columnist introduces us to Dosan, Ahn Chang-ho, one of Korea's respected patriots and educators, who began the Hung Sa Dan for the independence of Korea, while the country was under Japanese rule, a hundred years go this May. The core of his educational philosophy stressed the need to address the whole person, the body and the mind, and their virtuous uses, along with the four principles of truth, effort, loyalty and courage.

With a long history of the wise telling us what is important in educational programs for our young people, the writer laments that a kindergarten student must learn a foreign language before knowing well his own mother tongue. Parents are being persuaded that a child who knows a foreign language will have a better chance at getting a good job.

We are all different, he says, but many parents want their child to take  a certain path, a path that someone  else followed and was successful. The educational system today is primarily concerned with knowledge that prepares us for the marketplace, without enough concern for the health of the body, mind and spirit. He recounts the many negatives concerning our competitive race for success, but the pressure to succeed is so strong that it trumps everything else.

If we took some time to contemplate our present situation, he asks, wouldn't we see some other alternative? The life road that everyone seems to be taking is overly crowded and filled with competitors, and not very welcoming. Wouldn't the road others are not traveling be more attractive? The struggle, he says, would only be  with the self.

Mother Theresa said she was not out to save the world but just one person at a time; she was only able to love one person at a time. And if we are able to lead one person to discretion, the columnist says, we are a good educator. This discretion begins with the self, and if he personally can introduce another person to the life-long path of learning, then he too has become a good educator. Thomas Merton is quoted as saying that being a saint is what we are meant to be. And that our life is spent in learning what that should be.

Each flower waits patiently for its time to bloom. They do not fight over who has the greatest beauty; each expresses its unique beauty and fragrance. It remains for us to find our objective in life and take the steps to achieve it. Isn't that what it means to arrive at discretion? he asks. 

The Catholic Church of Korea has set aside this week as Education Week to help inculcate this way of thinking into the educational  programs of the Church throughout the country.

Cyberspace and the Church

"Believers are increasingly aware that unless the Good News is made known also in the digital world it may be absent in the experience of many people for whom this world is important. The digital environment is not a parallel or purely virtual world, but a real part of the daily experience of many people, especially the young."

These words are taken from the Communication Day Message of Pope Benedict that begins an article in the Catholic Times on the use of the digital possibilities for communication. The Pope mentioned that the social networks are helping to build a new "agora,"  an open public square, where people share ideas, information and opinions, and where new relationships and forms of community come into being. 

A number of graphs in the article reveal who are using the different media for news. The young born after 1982 are shown to be the more  frequent users of the Internet;  TV and the print media are used more by other age groups. A graph also shows that young people use the Social Network Service (SNS) much more than do any of the  other age groups, Facebook being the most popular, followed by Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

The  Pew Research Center survey showed  that the SNS is used mostly for music and watching interesting images. Secondly, sharing personal matters with their virtual friends, followed by sports and politics; religion was at the bottom. To  the question, how often do you go to the Internet for Catholic content? 53 percent were not aware that one could do this, 16 percent go sometimes, 12 percent a little, 11 percent not much, and 8 percent go often.

Benedict had made it clear that we should not delay using the mass media, for the influence it has on society is great. Since the Catholic population of the world is over one billion, it is easily seen that a great number of Catholics would have access to the Internet.

The article mentions the obvious fact that with the internet we are dealing with an important reality in our lives that has influenced all of us, and consequently we need to make use of it to further our goals. Both Benedict and Francis have access to the SNS portals and have given us examples of how they can be efficiently used in the digital world. The Papa Francisco Facebook site has already topped 7 million viewers.