Lack of respect for the opinions of others is prevalent in all societies and especially when we find it so easy to express ourselves. In offenses against the truth in the Catechism of the Church # 2478: "To avoid rash judgment, everyone
should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's
thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way:
- Every good Christian ought to be more
ready to give a favorable interpretation to another's statement than to
condemn it. But if he cannot do so, let him ask how the other
understands it. And if the latter understands it badly, let the former
correct him with love....
St. Thomas Aquinas many centuries ago, engaged in argumentation by first arguing for the position he disagreed, and often making it stronger, before giving his opinion. A religious priest introduces to the readers of the Catholic Times a serious problem in the community of faith when we forget we are Populus Dei (the People of God). This is the 50th year after the close of the Second Vatican Council, and he wants us to remember our call to renewal, and adapting to new circumstances.
The Church is one of the organizations in society. It has a special object and clear boundaries, and the members' status and roll are specialized and has strict regulations. He has asked his parishioners in the past who is the owner of the parish, and unanimously he gets the answer that the parishioners are, but he reminds them they will all one day have to leave. God is the master of the church and community.
Without this understanding, we are just like any other organization in society. To behave as our own master is one of our temptations. In the community, we have dissonance and conflict, light and darkness, good and evil. We are not a church of the good and healthy, but a church of sinners asking for forgiveness daily.
Today we hear the words not infrequently: a follower of the North, a leftist, Red. They give these tags to some bishops and priests: impure elements. At times we even hear: "take off your clerical clothes" -- "renounce the priesthood," and the like. In the past when they didn't like some of the acts of the clergy, which they considered extreme, they did not express this publicly. We have now those that call themselves Patriotic Catholics for Korea and wonders about their Catholicism.
No need to talk about those who are pro-North but whether we are pro-God. The Church is not here for itself, but as light and salt of the earth.
"Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is nothing else than the culmination of
the way he lived his entire life. Moved by his example, we want to enter
fully into the fabric of society, sharing the lives of all, listening
to their concerns, helping them materially and spiritually in their
needs, rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep;
arm in arm with others, we are committed to building a new world. But we
do so not from a sense of obligation, not as a burdensome duty, but as
the result of a personal decision which brings us joy and gives meaning
to our lives" (Joy of the Gospel 269).
In 1945, on August 15th, with the defeat of the Japanese, Korea
received independence. At a recent symposium the topic of Independence
and the Catholic Church was examined, celebrating 70 years of freedom.
It was not all happiness, for the country was divided under the Russian
and American military rule. Both Catholic papers had articles on the
place the Church had in preparing for a self-governing Korea.
Three
years after the Japanese defeat on August 15, 1948, the self-governing Republic of Korea was established. In 1910 they signed the
Japan-Korea Annexation Treaty which took away the freedom of the country and made it a colony of Japan. Over 40 years later independence returned to the nation.
One of the participants in the symposium mentions how
before and after liberation the Korean Catholic missionaries had a
role in setting up the Republic of Korea. At the outbreak of the
Pacific War in 1941, the Maryknoll missioners in Korea who were
deported had written a manifesto which she brought to the attention of
those present. When they were deported because of Japanese imperialism
they made known in magazines, and in the mass media the persecution of
Koreans under Japanese rule, and the importance of the missionary work
in the country. Even after liberation the Maryknoll Society continued to
form groups to push for the self-government and editorials on the
issue. They continued to work for the independence and self-government
after the end of the war.
Bishop Byrne, a Maryknoller, who
returned to Korea in 1947, as the Apostolic Visitor of the Holy See was
made the first Apostolic Delegate to Korea in 1949. He did much to help
the new government and showed the interest of the Church in Korea's struggles. She mentions that the expulsion of the western missioners
made the Catholic history of Korea, and the
aspirations of the Church known internationally.
Bishop Byrne did a great deal
in his position as Apostolic Delegate, to have the Korean National
Government recognized internationally, with his diplomatic contacts. Bishop No
Ki-nam the bishop of Seoul did much also to help with his
contacts and in getting the Vatican's blessing. Another participant mentioned that
the recognition had to come from the general meeting of the United Nations. Some countries were opposed but many
national groups were on the side of Korea.
Another participant mentioned that the
military government did prefer Catholics and Protestants over the
Buddhists and Confucianism. This helped the growth of Christianity in
Korea. However, during the occupation of Korea at the hands of the
Japanese irregularities were overlooked, and those who were
pro-Japanese remains a problem in society. Without the punishment of
those who cooperated with evil and overlooking this period, will only
lead to the same in the future, was a comment by a participant.
Another participant
mentioned the Church and the North Korean Christians. The Church was
not quick to detect what was happening and responded to the
circumstances as they arose. They were not conscious of the change in
society, had no plans to counter the movement against religion, and no systemic response to the North's treatment of religion.
A bishop, in conclusion, encouraged the participants in his talk.
Korea has had many ups and downs but to have reached the present level of
development means many have sacrificed much, and
asks all present to continue to agonize on how the Church can be a light and salt in society.
Money gives power; it can give life and take it away: dangerous, but there are few who dislike its possession; we give our full attention to its search. In a capitalistic society, this is easy to understand.
These are the introductory remarks in an article in the Peace Weekly about money. Without money, life can be shabby and uncomfortable. In a capitalistic society, poverty is looked upon as a sin but money can end up being the master and we its slave.
In the church, money is also important. There are all kinds of reasons we give money to the church. Many are the names we use for the different offerings: asking for blessings, in thanksgiving for blessings received. Since the Christian community is composed of human beings, there is a need for money. Not only the need for running and maintenance of facilities but also planning for the future. Money is needed for many reasons, a natural outcome of a community's need to help others. How it is raised is important.
Many dioceses, religious orders, and groups need money to continue their apostolic works. Many of their programs also bring in money. They are a means of income: schools, hospitals, and welfare works. Many others do the same work as the church in society, but the church has a different value system, and has to be careful not to imitate what we have in society.
To prevent this from happening the church has to be alert to the dangers we have in following the methods of the capitalistic system. We need to follow our principles, and our traditional attitudes must be clear. In hospital work the need is to help the sick. We do have simple hospital facilities that are only concerned for the sick and poor, but they are few.
Many of our hospitals are large, and the numbers continue to grow. They are getting larger, and the columnist wonders whether they are mirroring the Catholic method of what care for the sick should mean. There are many reasons for the problem, and one of them is the need for money to exist. The competition among the hospitals is intense, and the fear of falling behind is present, but here the columnist has a problem: why the fear?
Since the way of the world is to make money the church should especially be conscious of this reality and operate differently. People have to come first before the money, and to keep in mind the gospel message. This is not always an easy task but one that is required by the calling we have received.
In a column in the Peace Weekly, the writer introduces us to a study that was made in 1932 of 180 nuns who wrote about their spiritual life. 70 years later, psychologists went through the written autobiographies and examined them to see how many times the words: wonderful, happy, moving, joyous, thankful, and the like were used.
Those who were in the top 20 percent in the use of these words, 90% of them lived over the age of 85. The lower 20% who had the least use of these words only 34% lived over 85. There are other issues that are involved in such a study but for those who made the study, it was indicative that positive thinking has an influence on longevity.
Positive
thinking is a healthy way of living, needs little help from science, for
most have an intuitive feeling of its wisdom. She mentions very few are able to keep a strong disposition in a long illness, but words can help someone bear up under the difficulties.
The columnist mentions that we are called Homo Narrans. Over and beyond our thinking, we have the ability to store in our heads and express in story form narratives that are welcomed by others and that fosters communication, a quality society esteems highly. We feel that if we do our best and even keep silent we will have a meeting of hearts, which is not the case. If we don't express ourselves, sincerity will not be conveyed.
No matter, what the past was we should pick out some positive words and express them. However, she mentions that if we are too excessively attached to that positive mind, we will fall into the trap of having a people pleaser complex. When not authentic our attempts to be charitable backfire, for words that do not come from the heart are often empty.
She
goes on to show that this is noticed in her radio work where you hear
only words; insincerity is quickly noticed and you lose
listeners.
We often hear about the glass-is-half-full person and the half-empty person. There is something that is being expressed by these words, and it may be the wise person who sees the entire glass but is not elated or depressed by either half, and accepts it as reality and gives thanks. This is also being positive when we choose to see reality as is and make the most of it.
Parents over 40, in raising children what did they fear the most?
Is it the years of puberty or the times children refused to talk and locked
themselves in their rooms? Also, few are the parents who don't worry about
the use of games.
The number of children overcome with lethargy, and are
lost in their own world and refuse to grow are larger than we think. With these questions an educator, in the Kyeongyang magazine, writes about the place of internet games in our society.
There are many children who
listen to lectures on the internet, but she asks parents, do they ever look
at the monitor? Very often they will be playing some game. To
prevent this from happening parents will do many things such as removing
the bolt on the door.
Movements within society are
trying to stop the use of games from midnight to early morning and the
children are not happy. Some mothers when they see the child using the
computer, their blood pressure increases. Even when the child has done
all the homework, some parents are not happy and want them to return to
the books.
Many things have changed, but for most
parents of children, one thing that has not changed is when the
children are playing computer games they are considered addicted.
We are
all attracted to games. Recently the Dragon Flight game was spreading
like wildfire. Have you heard about it? She reminds us that about 25 %
of the world population enjoys playing games. She asks the parents how
long will they be tied to an obsolete way of thinking? She gives us the
Korean proverb that you don't give up making some food because of the
fear you may find a worm.
We have programs for game
literacy for parents by the education ministry.The fact is that most
children are attracted to games. Rather than say they are addicted and seeing it all negatively, try to make good use of the games for
educational purposes.
In fact, excessive use of games does foster obesity, depression, digital dementia (overuse
of digital technology is resulting in the breakdown of cognitive
abilities) and games that use violence do promote violent actions.
However, she maintains, using the games properly can help a person to succeed in life.
One of the best
results is when persons are absorbed in some pursuit which they enjoy, dopamine is released in the brain, and you feel elated, and memory is enhanced. They also present a
challenge to the person on how to accomplish the task at
hand.
However
the question remains that we don't want the children to just play
games. She agrees, but she wants the parents to know why a child gets
addicted to games. A child with a low estimation of self can find
satisfaction in getting recognized by the results of his gaming.
Children who have difficulty in relating with others also can identify
with the characters of the virtual world they have entered. Children
with stress find the release of stress life giving.
She
tells the parents to get to know the strong points of their children
and help them to find release in other ways. We should be more concerned for the place gaming has in our culture than the danger of addiction to games. Today without knowledge of gaming one
will not be at home in our culture. She concludes, one
can not be just opposed to gaming for it has become a skill of our times.
According to the lunar calendar, today is the Mid-Autumn Festival Day, celebrated in many of the Asian Countries. In Korea, it is called the Harvest Festival (Chuseok), and Great Middle of Autumn Festival (Hangawi). Celebrated on the 15th day of the lunar calendar. We have three red-letter days, which gives many families a chance to spend time with their extended family. Both Korean Catholic Weeklies gave space to the holiday.
Today families remember the past. In the morning, they will have the rites in the home, in which they remember the dead ancestors. The Catholic Church at one time opposed the rites because of the mixture of superstitious elements within the rites, but with the passage of time and the education level of the people changing, the rites were recognized as a civil practice, and encouraged by the Church.
Most citizens continue this practice, but most Protestants do not. The remembrance of the dead is a beautiful practice which Catholicism has incorporated into the liturgy on Chuseok with a short version of the office of the dead during the Mass. Koreans would also go to the graves to cut the grass and beautify the burial sites, during the days preceding or shortly after.
During
this time of the year cities will be empty for families will return to
their hometowns for family reunions, enjoy their time together, and
perform the family rites. Thanksgiving for the new harvest and the bonds of family make it the
Asian Thanksgiving Day.
For many in Korea, they are facing an economic slump which will bring a chillness to the festivities of the holidays. This Sunday is also the last one for the month of the martyrs.
Shortly after the holidays we will have the bishops' synod on the family, and the examination of the problems families face. The extreme individualism and materialism continue to inundate society with deleterious results on the family: not something new but a challenge to the Church.
Korea has one of the highest divorce rates of the member countries in OECD. From an agrarian society where the family bonds were important, we have moved to a society in which the young people have accepted the individualism from the West. The editorial wonders what the Autumn festival will look like in the future when the young become the corner stone of society.
No matter how much society changes family needs to remain at the center. At this time of the year, we need to remind ourselves of this reality. God is with us, and we have to do what is necessary to make the bonds of family stronger in the years ahead.
We hear many words about democracy, begins the column in the Catholic Times, by a priest working in the labor apostolate. For some democracy is too much talk, and only brings division, some see it as a return to a dictatorship, and some find it as no big deal. All living in the same county and with the same system of government, and yet we have this difference of opinion on the same subject.
There are few words that have such a difference of opinion. The way we understand democracy is going to determine very clearly the degree of maturity and level of implementation. Our standard of democracy is going to be different in Germany than in Korea. Generally speaking, we say a democracy is one vote per person, at regular times, for parties that discuss and debate among themselves and the opposition looking for the best way to govern a country, and citizens voting for the party and candidates they prefer. With this understanding of democracy than Korea is a democracy, but this is why we hear the citizens' lives are not improved by this system of government.
Tocqueville the French political thinker, and philosopher said it was not the voting procedure that was important but the conditions in society. The means of voting is not central to a democracy but rather the intelligence, virtue, and culture in which the voting is done. For this reason, the democracy of Germany and the European countries would be different from Korea.
Catholic teaching as found in the compendium of the Social Gospel would say the same. "An authentic democracy is not merely the result of a formal observation of a set of rules but is the fruit of a convinced acceptance of the values that inspire democratic procedures: the dignity of every human person, the respect of human rights, commitment to the common good as the purpose and guiding criterion for political life. If there is no consensus on these values, the deepest meaning of democracy is lost and its stability is compromised" (#407).
Democracy goes beyond the system and procedures and considers the dignity of the person, human rights, and efforts made for the common good. The Second Vatican Council stressed the reason for the existence of a country was for the common good, and we can evaluate the degree in which this is accomplished by the concern for the common people.
Looking at the 10 biggest conglomerates for the last ten years we see that the money in their possession has increased over twofold, and yet the number of the poor that are able to leave their poverty continues to decrease. No matter how hard they work they find it difficult to make ends meet. Korea in the polarization between the 'haves' and 'have nots' is comparable to Mexico, and the number in poverty would be similar to Turkey.
These statistics show that the common good has not always been considered in governing the country. A sign, the columnist concludes, that democracy has not been effective.
