Korea like many other countries of the world has an ongoing confrontation between the pro-abortion and pro-life groups in society. Recently the pro-abortion group has petitioned the government to abrogate the law against abortion and allow the drug Mifegyne to be sold in Korea to terminate pregnancy. They received more than 200,000 signatures. The government responded they will conduct a survey.
The bishops began a nationwide drive for signatures against the abrogation of the law and within two months passed over one million. The UN Human Rights Council has recommended that across the world they repeal laws that criminalized and unduly restrict abortion.
A parish priest writing in the Catholic Times on the issue mentions the church has long seen abortion as a killing of the fetus. Women are now promoting self-determination and see it in opposition to the right of the fetus to life. Many believers rather than accepting the teaching of the church see this as a matter of choice. Clear evidence of the weakening of the church's influence on the members.
The changing times invalidates the church's essentialist approach to abortion writes the priest. The slogan of abortion as murder is no longer effective today. The church should be concerned with a culturalist approach that focuses on a way of life. An attitude that emphasizes the relationship and process of love in which the pregnant woman and the fetus interact in the womb, from an initiative of their separate lives.
The controversy over birth or abortion focuses only on the consequences of life, and there is little concern for the whole process of life as a human being within the womb. He mentions the movie "Juno" (2007) which shows a new way of seeing the process of life in the womb and not only the outcome of life outside the womb. The 16-year-old girl, Juno has sex with her boyfriend and is unexpectedly found to be pregnant. When she goes for help she is told the child has fingernails at this stage of growth and she decides against abortion. She was helped to make the decision because of the environment in which she found herself.
Juno frankly told her parents of her pregnancy. The parents weren't pleased but accepted the pregnancy and went along with what the daughter wanted and was beside her during the process of having the baby adopted and the hospital calls. The boyfriend stayed with his girlfriend during this time knowing they were too young to be parents.They found a couple to adopt the child. There was a center to which Juno could go for information and advice during the pregnancy.
The Seoul diocese has a program for pregnant mothers to help them during their period of pregnancy. They are told of ways to communicate with the fetus and to appreciate the mystery of life and how to interact with the new life within them.
The priest mentioned a program that he saw on TV in which a 7-year-old girl gave an amazing pansori (Korean genre of musical storytelling performed by a singer and a drummer) performance. The mother who likes traditional Korean music while she was pregnant provided the music in the education of the fetus.This shows clearly, he says, how prenatal care affects the baby.
Pregnancy is an important time for the physical, emotional and cognitive development by providing a good environment for the fetus. More important, however, is that pregnant women interact with the fetus to develop the ability of the fetus, to establish the identity of the parents, and to begin to build attachment by sharing meaning between the parents and the fetus. Therefore, it is necessary for the church to strengthen and widely spread this teaching as one of the alternatives for protecting the life and cultivating a culture of life.
A well dressed middle aged women shopping in a clothing department of a large department store, waved her fist in front of the face of an employee and finally struck her on the cheek. The employee holds her cheek while the woman customer continues raising her voice and her behavior getting worse. This kind of behavior is given a new word in Korean called "Gap" behavior. In a diocesan bulletin, the writer tells the readers of how this behavior is far from rare.
'Gap' is a term used in contracts in which the employer is 'Gap' and the employee is 'Eul'. 'Gap' describes the behavior of those who in a superior position treat people below them in a mean way. A famous example of this was an executive of an airline who was on board a plane in first class and ordered the captain of the plane to head back to the gate because she was upset with the way the flight attendant treated her.
The numbers of these kinds of incidents are many: acting arrogantly with others who are in a lower social position, economic situation, or power. The continuing #me too movement calling out the sexual harassment and violence that are newsworthy events these days is a form of assault by the 'Gaps' in society.
Those who have suffered under the 'Gaps' often feel great contempt, shame, doubt about their worth and at times bring about death from their own hands. This kind of 'Gap' behavior is a killing of the personality. A problem is that it's not only the lack of virtue on the part of the 'Gap' but also the social structures that allow this to happen.
We celebrate tonite the Easter Vigil and the death and resurrection of Jesus who suffered at the hands of the 'Gaps' of the world of his time. Jesus was their scapegoat for all the evils they saw and felt better for it at the expense of truth and honesty. We deceive ourselves rather easily, for often we fear the truth. Christians, readily see the irony of the death of Jesus on the Cross.
This 'Gap' behavior is a deep-seated evil which we need to work to eradicate in every possible way. This was the attitude that Jesus showed us in being on the side of the weak and suffering. So what are we to do? We should look at our own behavior and check to see if we have acted like the 'Gaps' we excoriate and have the right to throw stones at the 'Gaps' of the world.
A 3-year-old grandson of the writer was excited playing with the bathroom faucets. He called to his grandfather to come and join the fun. He slipped and hit his face on the wet floor and started to cry. "I knew this would happen" he blurted out between sobs.
Apparently, he was repeating the words of his mother when he behaved as he shouldn't. Why did he do it? But isn't this true of all of us? Why do we do what we shouldn't. It's true of his grandfather, inspectors, poets, actors, teachers, priests, human right's activists, pastors, politician....
The #Me Too movement continues and is shaking the whole country. Names are mentioned as perpetrators but it's safe to say that all of us males are perpetrators.
The writer in an article in the Catholic Times brings again to the attention of the readers this movement in Korea which has even seen the suicide death of a famous actor after being accused of sexual harassment. Of course, harassment can be grave or slight but the news reports often don't make the distinction and the possibility is always present that a person becomes a social outcast for an impropriety that may not warrant the penalty that society imposes.
The article in the Catholic Times mentions that we should not be seeing people as means but as ends. The movement is doing a great deal of good but the danger is always present that what should be a matter for a criminal investigation and tried in a court of law is tried in the court of public opinion with public ostracism.
The words of Confucius come to mind: hate the sin but not the sinner. Obviously very hard to do in practice. We know the incident in the Scripture where Jesus does not respond to an angry crowd who want to stone a woman caught in adultery. He writes silently on the ground and tells the innocent ones to be the first to cast the stones. They all walk away. "I do not condemn you, go and sin no more."
Korea is a patriarchal society and this movement should be a help in changing the culture, which has considered women as the object of a man's sexual gratification. The writer sympathizes with the feelings of the women but hopes they will not bury all the perpetrators with criticism and hatred and forget the need for forgiveness and when necessary the legal procedures opened to judge wrongs done. He concludes the article with the judgment that it's
difficult to criticize without hating.
These last days of Lent give us many things to think about and not the least is the lesson from the washing of the feet at the celebration of the Mass on Holy Thursday.
At present, the equality of the sexes, cooperation between them is the direction in which society is going. The Church needs to redefine its understanding of this relationship. An article in the Kyeongyang magazine by a professor at a university graduate school shares her thoughts with the readers on the subject.
The Bishops in 2005 seeing the results of a consciousness survey, became determined to have a greater number of women in leadership positions and to change the structures that are preventing this from happening. Mentioned also were programs to facilitate this change. However, she says, this is easier said than done for many still feel the women's role is behind the scenes as a cooperator and not as a leader.
The Second Vatican Council was to become an updating of the church (Aggiornamento). It was a call to open the windows and reform. It was to be like the first community led by the spirit, fellowship, conscious of being the body of Christ, returning to becoming the people of God. We are all part of the church. The church was to change from a vertical to a horizontal understanding of Christ and the community. From a woman's view let us look at what we have.
In 1994 the pope makes clear to the church: "I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful." Understanding this teaching the writer looks for the place of women within the church and sees the role as motherhood.
The Church understanding of woman related to motherhood and their mission is seen by many feminists as the motherhood myth: women are born with an innate instinct for sacrifice and giving love. Many feminist see this as ideology and criticize it greatly. They see this as curtailing the rights and freedom of women. This kind of thinking on motherhood that enters society limits the role of women both in politics and society and gives men their patriarchal control over women as a settled given.
There is a departure in the teaching of the Church and many of the feminists in the way they look at the women's role in society. She proposes the role of women as mothering but not as some of the feminists see the concept. It is a caring, an understanding that is not limited to the family and the raising of children. She quotes the passages of Scripture where the praise of Mary was not as a mother of a child but as a person who listened and obeyed the word of God.
Motherhood is not limited to the family but is a characteristic the world needs today and our Blessed Mother is an example of this type of motherhood and caring and it was not limited to the birthing and nurturing in the family but extended to the church and the community that was born.
The spirituality of women is based on a motherhood that spreads to the whole world. This motherhood needs to go beyond the family and begin to influence the whole world. This social characteristic of motherhood contains love, caring, mercy, sacrifice, wisdom and hope. Qualities that the world sorely needs.
In an interview with America magazine, published by the American Jesuits, Bishop Kang of Jejudo urges Trump to reconsider North Korean strategy. An article in the Catholic Peace Weekly reports on the interview in which the bishop asks for peaceful dialogue and cooperation based on mutual respect as a peaceful solution preparing for the summit on the Korean Peninsula.
"True peace cannot be achieved with weapons and military operations," says the bishop. North Korean people have a strong pride in their regime and its people. North Korea has survived many extreme calamities: the floods of 1995, many died of starvation. They are prepared to face any economic pressures that may come.
Bishop Kang explains that North Korea has received Chinese aid for a long time, it maintains its independence even in the face of extreme adversity because of its national pride. "I will not give up even if I starve to death."
We need to respect the pride of the North Koreans. It doesn't help to hurt their pride. The bishop hopes President Trump will use more refined language when addressing the North. Even if the Korean leaders continue to use very aggressive and violent language as in the past.
North Koreans are living abnormally in repression and under continual surveillance. We have seen in recent world history that other socialist countries because of tension can collapse unexpectedly.
We can not expect peace as long as we have hate in our hearts. Necessary is working to realize the principles for universal peace. We need an attitude that sees what interferes with world peace and criticize it. We should not condemn others as demons, curse them and wish them to dissappear from the planet. We were filled with hostility and grudge toward our brothers and sisters across the border. Hostilitiy encourages struggle and conflict and does not promote peace.
The Korean and American Church are able to contribute to the peace of the Korean peninsula. Diplomacy is limited but we are able to give humanitarian assistance which has a role to play. In 1995 when North Korea because of the flood were starving the Korean Church supported them with food, and we had a meeting with the North. Our expectations for peace and reunification have been betrayed for a long time but peace can come unexpectedly.
The writer of the column on reconciliation and unification in the Catholic Times mentions a time when in high school, on a cold wintry day, she was going to an after-school academy for study. She was wearing a jacket and hat. As she exited the subway station, a young man coming from the opposite direction, their eyes met, as he passed, he quickly grabbed one of her breasts. She was confused not knowing what to do: call the police, yell —attempting to put it all together—she gazed in the direction of the young man and he gave an ugly smile, turned around and disappeared.
This was an incident in her life. How do we cope and overcome the problems that arise? Here was a case of shame added to unbecomming moral behavior. She seriously thought whether she could continue to live as if nothing really happened. For some time she began to realize it was terrible. Did he realize what he did was not just a mischievous little trick but could seriously leave scars for life?
The #Me Too movement is in full swing. If you asked any Korean woman and include serious assaults along with minor sexual harassments the containers would overflow. If we look closely we pass over much of what has happened, much has been covered over, secretly cultivated and defined as minor.
The church was no exception. We look towards the church when in difficulty. We have great faith in the church and when we see it break down the believers and the devout workers feel great pain and sorrow in their hearts. The efforts to remove the offenders remains but the way the Korean Church responds to the crisis will influence the believers and non-believers and give hope for the future.
God often permits the darkness in our lives and we are faced with pain and humility. We again go in search of God. The most dangerous moments become an opportunity for great change.
Recently we have seen the corruption in the government of our leaders and the errors of respected people in all levels of society. Which enabled us to see the values and basic morals that have been ignored and abused.
The Republic of Korea at this point is full of opportunities. Only when the crisis reached its peak between the North and South did we see the opportunity for dialogue for the first time since the rule of Kim Jong-eun.
The weak and oppressed who hid in silence lifted their heads one by one enabling others to come forward and prepare for change. She concludes the article with a prayer that during this Lent the church which is on the side of the marginalized and poor will look forward to the resurrection of Jesus and the new life of the church, the Korean peninsula and all of us.
Although recently it appears to have lessened, the division in society between the progressives and conservatives has often been violent. Since the church exists in the world, confrontations on many of the social issues are present in the church.
A seminary professor writes in the Catholic Times of this divide and asks the readers on what side are they on. Are you progressive or conservative, left or right? What side is the church on?
With these questions, many will select one of the two as the direction of the church. But is that the reality? Is the church progressive because it opposes the death penalty and conservative because it opposes abortion and contraception?
The church is evangelical only. It judges, chooses and acts on the basis of Jesus Christ and not according to the values of the world. It is neither conservative or liberal, socialist or democratic but on the side of Christ.
Archbishop Helder Camara of Brazil said: "When I give food to the poor they call me a saint when I ask why are they poor, they call me a socialist."
The world loves to give food to the poor but when you try to make a society without the poor you are condemned as a socialist. Pope Francis was acclaimed for the many things he did after becoming pope but also called a Marxist.
The church wants to follow gospel values. It's not against the death penalty because it's progressive but because it promotes the dignity of human life that God has created. It's not against abortion and artificial means of contraception because it's conservative but because of the dignity of the person.
Consequently, members of the church must inquire constantly about who is Jesus and how to follow him.We must question whether what we judge and pursue is truly in accord with gospel values. We can not be sure our thoughts and judgments are evangelical, but the more confident we become the stronger our voice. In prayer, we will find the answers on how to live as Christians.
Christians do not live in a progressive or conservative manner but according to the teaching of Jesus. We need to search for the answers continually. For we are weak human beings and yesterday's answers may not be today's answers. We find the answers in the encounter with God and through prayer.
"I believe nothing can happen that will outweigh the superior advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord" (Philippians 3:8).
Korea like many other countries of the world has an ongoing confrontation between the pro-abortion and pro-life groups in society. Recently the pro-abortion group has petitioned the government to abrogate the law against abortion and allow the drug Mifegyne to be sold in Korea to terminate pregnancy. They received more than 200,000 signatures. The government responded they will conduct a survey.
