Today is Human Rights Sunday and we have a week in which to become
familiar with the Social Gospel of the Church. All those who are
interested only need to put: 'Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the
Church' in your search engine and click. We have at our finger tips a good preparation for Christmas.
In Korea, the second Sunday of Advent, is Human Rights Day, and the bishops want
each parish to devote a whole week to bringing our Christians to a
better understanding of the Social Gospel. Articles and the editorials
in the Catholic Times and Peace Weekly discussed the Social Gospel and its role
in the life of the Church. Many of
our Catholics have a personal appreciation of their call as disciples, however,
forgetting its social dimensions, they are separating their faith life
from their daily life.
Many are the ways we can summarize the principles of the Social
Gospel and the following would be some you would see: human
dignity, made for community, participating in building society, option
for the poor, solidarity, stewardship, subsidiarity, human equality, working for the common good.
The
bishop head of the Justice and Peace Committee of the Korean bishops
wants the Christians to be protectors of human rights of all the
citizens. The Korean Catholics have with other groups been working to
abolish the death penalty in Korea. One of the articles mentions the campaign that was launched by the bishops to gather signatures and sadly
reports not a few of the parishes threw the petitions in the waste
basket. Many still do not see any connection with concern for the
weakest members in society and our faith life.
Jesus
asks us to love our neighbor as ourselves which means our neighbor's
human rights are as important as our own. One lawyer is quoted: "To work
for the common good is of the essence
of our faith life and our duty. This is not only true of those who are
working within the movement; human rights is just another word used
for loving our neighbor and our faith life. Human Rights is an
universal value for
all Christians, and one with which we need to be involved. We should not
politicize it with terms like liberal and conservative. "
Words are merely words and we need them to express what we need to say; human rights is another way of saying we need to love our neighbor, and especially those who are the weakest in society. They are the ones who need our help the most, for they have no one to speak for them.
"Each morning when I get up, Sister has my meal ready, and each
evening I have a nice warm place to sleep, it brings me back to the time
I was a child. It's wonderful." The religious sister in her column
gives us the words of a young woman who ran away from an entertainment place, and is now in the care of the sisters.
Another woman mentions how her mother taught her how to play the piano and compose even
after a divorce. "Do you know why I kept practicing the piano during all the hard times? My mother is in the piano. When I am at the piano I
can feel the love of my mother."
The common element of
these young women is they overcame the difficulties of life by the
remembrance of the love they received as a child. Where is the mother
that doesn't provide meals for her child? It is not the meals provided,
but the mother's loving presence she remembers. Let us suppose that the mother was busy with a thousand different things, and the child was busy with her smartphone, do you think she would
remember those days with such a loving memory, and be satisfied with her
ordinary life? If they had both been in their own world, do you think they would remember what happened in childhood?
In
today's world it is difficult to be focused on one object. There are
too many things that are vying for our interest, we are busy
hearing, seeing, thinking and being moved: connected to everybody and
everything. We have become proficient in being disconnected from
time and place. We are losing contact with our present. Happiness comes
from the way we relate to our now.
The
digital equipment we have in our hands dissociates ourselves from the here and now. The more information in our hands the busier we are, and the more we enjoy it, the more time we invest.
In our society the parents are doing much for their children but being with
their children is not that prevalent. When we are not present to the here and
now we can be lost in our dream world. When we are with the family we
can be lost in this world with our digital equipment, and be satisfied
with the pleasant feeling it brings. When we are not relating with
those we love we are not developing our interior life.
She concludes the column asking us to remember that the memories children receive, give them the strength to face the world
they will meet as adults. Parents have to give the children these
warm experiences that will continue: the times they
spent praying together as a family, the time they spent at table
harmoniously talking to each other, the time they enjoyed each others company. These memories are the most important treasures
you can pass on to your children, a legacy that can't be lost.
"Lies, damned lies, and statistics" are words we often hear.
Statistics can be made to say pretty much what we want. 'Events of the
Day Column in the Peace Weekly gives us an example of how this is
done.
The
article looks into the crime rate of Korea. The statistics show a very
high rate for crime and he looks into the number of murders reported. In
news reports under the term murder was the number 966 which included
attempted murder, aiding and abetting of murder, murder conspiracy and
others. The rate is given per 100,000 of the population and Korea's
rate is 0.69 which is the lowest except for Japan. The United States
has 5 and Western Europe has 2 per one hundred thousand. The way you
use the statistics can make Korea one of the safest countries in the world or one
of the most dangerous.
The way the crimes are reported are all with the same qualifications: attempted, abetting, conspiracy etc.. The columnist doesn't want to discount the harm and hurt that even one murder causes, but he wants to make clear what the statistics mean. Sadly, he laments, there are other deaths that we tend to overlook.
The
Sewol tragedy is considered a homicide and not an accident. Last year
3,233 where killed in auto-accidents and there were 14,427 suicides. The
number of suicides are 40 times the number of the murdered. This comes to 40 a day.
The
power that a country possesses is great. They have the power over life
and death. And yet the money that is set aside in preventing accidents
and suicides is very little. Korea spends about two million and Japan
spends about 300 million for suicide prevention, and Japan has less of a problem.
The
writer deplores the fact that we can spend so much money for the safety of our citizens with a large military, police force, and justice department,
demanding an enormous amount of money; and be so abstemious when it comes to protecting the lives of citizens from accidents and suicides.
Multitasking is doing more than one thing at the same time.
Sister columnist in the Catholic Times focuses our attention on this
very common experience in our lives. She mentions hearing the sound of a
radio in the class room below, and goes down to the room. A
teacher is preparing his lesson plans with a book open, listening to the
radio. Out of curiosity she asked him: Are you able to listen to the
radio while working on your paper? He told her that while he was
absorbed in the book he doesn't hear the radio, and when he is listening
to the radio he is not reading. She then asked why does he have the
radio turned on? When there is no sound he feels something missing. Some
feel when they are doing more than one thing at a time, they have a
feeling of completeness.
Many, both children and
adults, listen to music while they read or work, and we have those who
watch TV while reading. Common to see someone drinking tea, listening to
music and reading. By doing this they feel they are more efficient, one
will stay with the reading longer. But are they really more efficient?
Authorities
tell us that it is difficult for the brain to be involved in two
activities at the same time. The brain is strained and is fatigued. What
is really happening is we are switching very rapidly from one task
to another. Step by step and continuously we are going from one task to
another, and we are under the illusion we are doing it all at the same
time.
The brain she says is like a remote control
device that switches from one thing to another. When the mind is
enjoying stimulation from the outside, and you are reading a book your
full attention is not on reading.
There is music that
can help you to be absorbed in your reading and block out the noise,
chatter, and other distractions and give one a quiet refuge to attend to
the reading. But once you become habituated to this way of reading you
will find it difficult to stop. Our brains are influenced by our
emotions and affects the chemistry of the brain: the way we become
addicted to drugs. We can become dependent on feeling to move us to
action.
She uses the words of a philosopher to
show that we are moving from the contemplative and meditative to a more feeling and amusement orientated direction in our lives. We are
more interested in the stimulation that comes from the outside.
She
concludes her article with the well known incident in the life of
Augustine where he was moved deeply by seeing Ambrose reading without
moving his lip. Now, "as he read, his eyes glanced over the pages and his heart searched out the sense, but his voice and tongue were silent.
Often when we came to his room—for no one was forbidden to enter, nor
was it his custom that the arrival of visitors should be announced to
him—we would see him thus reading to himself. After we had sat for a
long time in silence—for who would dare interrupt one so intent?"
We who find it difficult to give our attention to what we are doing should take these words of St. Augustine about St. Ambrose, and make them
our attitude when we approach our reading.
The domestic work of a homemaker has recently been given a monetary
value. Society does not consider a women's work in the home a career. For insurance purposes and accidents, women's work in the home is not
recognized nor when it comes to inheritance, division of property,
pension inheritance, or inherited status; this is still a work in process.
What can be said is that the making of meals, cleaning and washing is
very cheap labor when we give it a market value. A sociology professor
in a column in the Peace Weekly follows this with some of her reasons
for the low birthrate in Korea.
Today even the birth
and the raising of children is given a market value. This was not the
original intention but developed over time. No longer is a human being
considered as capital an awkward use of the word. The cost efficiency of
the investment in education within a project is seen with the future
return. We have those who are in the humanities who transfer to the
school of business. In the past there would be resistance to such a
move, this is no longer the case.
Marriage is now a
marketable item. When the writer was in college, a doctor's wife took
pride in her position even more so than being a doctor herself, which is
no longer the case. Today the women no longer vicariously take pride
in the work of their husbands, but want the status for themselves. When women are asked will it be marriage or a career the women answer
more than the men that they want a career. At present this reality has
slowed down somewhat because of the difficulty in finding a place in
society, and movement towards marriage is seen.
When
it comes to marriage they give a value to all their assets: education,
family status, income, and the like, considering anything that will give themselves a
higher grade. They don't want to underestimate their value when they go to the matchmaking companies. They have become a market commodity.
Does
not this mentality make it easy to understand the low birth rate? A
mother's love for her child even if it required her life was never
regretted in the world's folklore, but we see the woman being dragged
into a patriarchal way of thinking. If we give a monetary value to
giving birth and raising children, no government is able to have
policies that will compensate the sacrifice required. Calculations have
to give way to an interior value system.
We
need to go beyond the market values and start reflecting on the value
of life itself, and its meaning, and as a gift of the creator. We have
to see the birth of
children with a larger all comprehensive understanding of life.The columnist is a 'baby boomer' and was born during the Korean War. Her parents during this sterile time in our history opted to have a
child. The respect that these parents had for life has to be recovered
if we want to see an end to the low birthrate.
Are there ways our children can enjoy their studies? This is a
question that a retired high school principal attempts to answer in the
View from the Ark column in the Catholic Times.
He
went to morning Mass and in the small chapel where Mass is usually
offered, nobody was there. He found this strange and went up to the
church proper where he found it completely filled, and realized it was
college entrance exam day. His prayer at the Mass was for all the
students taking the exams, and especially for those who find studying
difficult. It is the duty of the adults to find ways to make study
enjoyable, and he brings to our attention the wisdom gained from the
migrating geese.
Geese migrating can travel thousands
of miles.They travel in a 'V' formation to take advantage of the reduction
of air resistance, and the uplift and buoyancy of the air from the
flapping of the wings of the bird in front. This gives them 75 percent
more energy.The birds behind keep on honking which gives the bird out
in front encouragement. When the lead Goose gets tired it is replaced
with another bird and the lead bird goes back into the formation. What is more
marvelous is when a goose gets sick, is wounded or goes to the ground
exhausted, two or three other birds will stay with the goose until
recovered.
The lessons learned from the geese, the columnist says, can help
in the class room: the collaborative working together to achieve a goal, sharing one's knowledge, encouraging one another, will bring joy
and fraternity to the school classroom. The teacher will have the
students helping each other. Those who have difficulty in math, English
and literature will be helped by those who find it easier.The teacher
would help those who will be tutoring to work with the poorer students in
areas that the teacher feels needs attention. The process will help not
only the poorer students but the ones giving the help. The ones
mentoring will have more confidence in the subject matter and
learn how to convey information.
Some of the teachers had
difficulty with selecting from the students those to be the tutors for
others, thinking that it would not be good at such an early age to be
singled out to be a mentor. But they changed when
they saw during physical education class some of the slower students
showing their mentors how to throw a 'free throw' on the basketball
court. Fraternity is not only one way.
Competition for college entrance will continue. Ways have to be found to decrease the stress that is built up, and to help the students realize that life is more than doing better than others in their exams. The columnist feels that making the competition more human will help to dissipate some of the stress. The concern that is shown to others will hopefully carry over into adult life, which will not only be good for the individual but for society. He
hopes those with a faith life will be leaders in this
educational process.
Recently
in a wealthy area of Seoul, a security guard at an apartment complex, set
himself on fire because of the humiliation he received from a resident. He later died and ostensibly the firing came about because of the end of the contract, but the labor
union said the suicide so disgraced the apartment community that at one
of their meetings they decided to change the subcontractor who hired
the security guards. This brought about the retaliatory notice of the firing of 78 security guards.
In
the Peace Column of the Peace Weekly the columnist mentions how
devastating this is to the individuals and families at this time of
year. Without the experience of being fired, he says, it is difficult
for us to even imagine what is happening to these workers. When
the security guard attempted suicide many of the other guards knew harm
would come to them, which was the case. The writer knows it is not
the Church's work to solve all the problems of society, but he is
disappointed that not even a small attempt to side with the fired
workers was shown.
He
agrees with the activists who are working to better society, but wonders
if they are not just interested in big events and not concerned with
the smaller human rights infractions. He is in
complete agreement with the efforts to make know the injustices in
society, to stress human dignity, and work for the progress of society
and the citizens' welfare, but he feels that they are aiming too high,
and forgetting the smaller injustices in society: forgetting those like
the 78 security guards who may be out of work shortly.
On Pope Francis' trip to Korea the pope mentioned in his talk to
the Asian bishops to beware of the "temptation to the superficial".
Bishop Kang explained this in one of his talks as being concerned
about the kind of smartphone you are using, what car you are riding, what hand bag you have and forgetting the important things in life. Giving oneself over to superficialities and losing the real
happiness one should have in life.
Should
not those in the Church working in social pastoral ministry of the
Church beware of the 'temptation to the superficial'? Accepted by certain public groups and the press, should not blind one to the basics of
the social ministry. The columnist mentions certain events that claim
the limelight and interest of many, but forgotten are the small works in helping the poor and the alienated in society.
One
of the bishops recently in his diocesan meeting of the priests
requested strongly the following: From now on no more
bouquets of flowers when he visits the parishes, no banners to welcome
him, no lines waiting to greet him, no special table for the bishop,
he will eat the same as the parishioners. And next year, he said, 5
percent decrease in all the different programs of the diocese to take
some of the financial pressure off the parishioners.
In response to the bishop's entreaty the priests decided to raise the money allotted to the poor from their personal monies from 40 thousand dollars to about 80 thousand. This is one of the first steps to change the 'temptation to the superficial' and to act on what the Pope was hoping, and the bishops in their own meeting have decided to do. Our columnist hopes this is the start of what will happen in all the dioceses.
