St. Peter probably was puzzled when asked to change his occupation from fisherman to disciple. The writer of this column in the Catholic Peace Weekly also changed his job a dozen times. In high school, he dreamed of being a doctor. At that time Medical and Engineering Colleges would not accept the handicapped or even allow them to take the entrance examinations.
He finally did get a degree in Korean literature and felt that teaching was the most stable job open to him. He went on to graduate school and lecturing. School positions for the disabled were closed at that time. He was early on challenged and faced many disappointments. The discrimination against the disabled he found difficult to accept. Helen Keller's words that when the human door is closed, God opens a widow; he found valid in his case. He became economically independent, winning a literature prize that started him off with a bestseller.
Fortunately, the bestseller, made his name known. As a family man with children, he was drawn to children's books. He felt the books on the market left a lot to be desired. He was successful with his first children's book, selling the most that year and making that his career.
However, a strange result of the popularity that came was the invitation to give lectures all over the country. Persons wanted to meet the author of the books. In the beginning, it was a few lectures but with the passage of time, now it is more than 300 times a year. If I say I am a lecturer there is little that would contradict this—a far cry from the desire to be a doctor while in high school.
Everybody is preparing for the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. No one knows how life will change. It will come for sure but we are full of insecurities on how to face the new age. Artificial intelligence, robots, and new technologies will replace the role of humans who will lose their jobs.
When people talk about their dreams it's usually their jobs. Now it is difficult for a career to become a dream. We don't know what jobs will be made and which ones will disappear. This is the question of many parents. What do we teach our children? If robots and artificial intelligence do it all—what do they teach in the schools? No safe jobs in the future. Doctors, lawyers, pharmacists, entrepreneurs are all in crisis, the simple laborers all the more so.
Jesus' apostles abandoned their profession and as if hit by lighting began a new life. Our writer never dreamed that he would move around the country as a lecturer. We need always be ready to cope with the new circumstances that come our way. That is the mindset that we need and to pray for an openness to accept the situation. We will need the flexibility to do our best whatever it is. Like Peter who left his net, we must prepare to go boldly toward a new life holding on to our faith.
One of the diocesan bulletins had an article about the conflict with parents of an older generation by a 33 year old son married for just three months. The past two weeks, both the wife and son had trouble sleeping and eating over the conflict. What was to blow up did blow up.
He grew up in a patriarchal home. His mother and three siblings have always answered yes unconditionally to their father. Because of the son's job he had on a number of occasions disobeyed his father but his mother persuaded him to go along with the wishes of his father. Although he lives in another city his father continues to interfere in his life.
During the ancestral rites at the Lunar New Year, his wife went to the homestead to help her mother-in-law two days before the day of the rites. After the ancestral rites at the house, the mother told the daughter-in-law she could go on to visit her parents and sleep over since they lived close bye and she could return to the homestead before going home. The older sister of the writer told her mother, no need to return to the house but return home from her parent's home.
These kinds of issues are what break up families said the sister. The mother replied that the father was against sending her but she forced the issue. The older sister added that this is the reason many stop coming to the homestead after marriage. The daughter in law, gathering courage, said her parents are upset about the situation.
After the father heard this interaction of the family he retorted: "she didn't learn what is necessary for a daughter-in-law when they married. I am not interested in those who want to do their own thing. You can all go."
The daughter took a taxi and left for her parent's home and from there went directly to her own home. The husband was in a difficult situation. He wanted to save the marriage. The father needed to change his attitude toward the couple.
The son didn't know what to do. They needed to return to apologize to the father. The issue, however, couldn't be solved with an apology. They had to maneuver between the feelings and culture of the two families. How were they to deal with the situation.?
The father was a hardcore traditionalist and both families had great dissatisfaction with the situation but kept quiet. After all, this was the universal understanding of what was required of a daughter-in-law: common conflict in families. Big changes are coming but in the process many scars and hurt feelings don't quickly disappear.They decided to go together to apologize to the parents and hope they all learned from the incident.
During May of this year, many face masks appeared at Seoul Station and Gwanghwamun square. They wore a Guy Fawkes mask which represents those who have not been able to express their feelings of being underdogs in society. They have come out of the silence and began to voice their frustrations. A professor in a humanities program of a Catholic University writes in the Catholic Peace Weekly of the meaning of this movement.
Guy Fawkes (1570-1606) was a member of a Roman Catholic Revolutionary Organization. He was the best-known member of the group who tried to assassinate James I (1566-1625) king of England who led the Reformation and persecution against the Catholics in England. However, an informer prevented the plot and Fawkes was killed.
The Guy Fawkes mask comes from a comic strip character and movie where the V stands for Vendetta the revolutionist V and protagonist. Masks have appeared in protests against totalitarianism. In 2011 on Wall Street against financial capitalism.
Anonymous, a group of the people on the internet who want justice for every citizen of the world wear the Guy Fawkes masks and declared war on the ISIS and also the American Scientology Religion. The masks have appeared in Korea with the members demanding the resignation of the family members of a company they considered using arrogant behavior in their dealings with others.
Persona, is a Latin word originally meaning a mask used by actors in theater plays. The writer wants to concentrate on mask and personality. 'Guy Fawkes Mask' means you will not give up until you win. They hide their identity so as not to be disadvantaged. The person hiding their identity may be members of the company and in their attendance at the candlelight vigil with the masks prevents any retaliation from the company.
Masks protect their anonymity and symbolizes resistance, victory, disadvantage, anonymity to be truly a person with a personality. It's an attempt of the disadvantaged in the world who want to go beyond wealth, honor, education, specialties, power, position, age, race, culture, capitalists and workers. A need to recognize a person as equal and respect them. It is a revolt of the disadvantaged seeking their proper place in society which should go beyond rallies.
The disadvantaged revolt against the advantaged is hoping to see the end of this dichotomy. The key to solving the problem is to the love and respect the poor, the alienated and to put them in the first place as Jesus did in his life on earth.
We need to change the understanding of silence in the presence of injustice. When absurdity and corruption is singled out, one should not be disadvantaged, it's this kind of society we want to see. A society in which common sense exists. When the advantaged and disadvantaged can work together in building a just, equal and happy society and have this common dream we will see results. She hopes that the masks will be the first steps in seeing the true 'personas' appear without the masks.
The medium is the message is a saying of the Canadian theorist Marshall McLuhan (1911-1980). A different medium a different message and the world we see changes. So begins a column in the Catholic Times by a newspaper editor.
The contents of a face-to-face conversation, a telephone conversation, and the contents of a newspaper and TV are different from each other in sensitivity and response. The development of technology has expanded greatly the way news is delivered and what is delivered. The old concepts are changed: the type of media, the category of news, and the boundaries between the producer and consumers disappear.
More people in Korea consume news through the new media than the traditional media. Single person media is transmitted through online, mobile, and social networking services (SNS). Today anyone can be a reporter and a producer.
In the late 70s and early 80s, when the writer worked as a journalist, they were registered with the government as reporters. They had the authority to cover, produce and deliver the news. Compared to the present it was a time hard to imagine in today's world. Media now is an important factor in the change of modern civilization: economy, politics, society, and culture.
We divide the government into the legislative, juridical and executive and the writer puts the media as the fourth branch of the modern state. Today some put economics as number one and the media as the second.
Many reactions and challenges are present in the new civilization. Fake news media is a big problem in the world. What is fake news? News that manipulates facts and destroys trust can eventually destroy the function of society. The first requirement of news is accuracy, false news does away with this. Before the local Korean elections in June, it's natural that the election committee is tense. Democracy is the starting point and without fairness, and fictional news used by certain interests and ideologies, democracy is destroyed. Pope Francis has made this a topic of many of his talks.
When you see fire important to cry out 'fire' but more important to put out the fire. The writer has witnessed in the church situations where problems pending are left dangling with a recourse to prayer and some formalistic activity, letting God solve the problem. God does not listen to those kinds of prayers.
We are concerned with fake news. This is important but more so to do something about the situation with concrete countermeasures. We need to have knowledge of the truth, humanistic sensibilities and media literacy to distinguish fake news. This has to be translated into concrete measures. Ethic codes and outlines that world journalism has accumulated are a great help.
Within the clergy, there are few who know the reality of the media. It is not a subject in seminaries and the decision making power in the church is exercised entirely by the clergy. Making policies without knowing the workings of the media, delaying decisions and perfunctory events that the laity are made to conduct while the world civilization is being changed by the new media is not the way to go.
A new document published in early May: 'Synodality in the Life and Mission of the Church' approved by Pope Francis, explores the pope's hope for a synodal church: a church that walks together as the pilgrim people of God.
This is the description of the chuch given in the documents of the Second Vatican Council. The church is a communion and the responsiblity of all Catholics for the life of the church and its mission. The pope and the bishops assisted by their priests, still retain the decision making authority but all working as partners in the mission of Jesus.
Any process of discernment needs to begin with the consultation of the laity. Both laymen and laywomen need places in the church where they can express themselves which requires a need to overcome the clercal mentality that keeps them at the margins of church life. A call to a spritituality of communion, listening, dialogue and communal discerment.
A recent editorial in the Catholic Times gives the readers an understanding of synodality, collective consensus, and the meaning for the church. It is an old concept practiced in the early church and an important concept of the Second Vatican Council.
Pope Francis particularly brings back to us the tradition of collective consensus and is leading the local church to deeper reflection on the issue.
Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, 'collective consensus' means that all members of the church will listen to each other and seek 'direction together' and respect each other. The bishops' synods and parish synods operate in the spirit of common consensus. This is different from the process of democratic consensus based on majority rule. However, church leaders are not to make arbitrary decisions regardless of the will of believers.
One of the greatest achievements of the papacy of Pope Francis in the minds of many is the revival of the "collective consensus" in the church. He also added that the journey of communicating with one another may cause tensions, conflicts and debates within the church, but it is a true fellowship.
The principle of 'common consensus' is the modus vivendi Ecclesiae, which is not limited to the synod. It is a principle that should be applied to the existential life of all members of the church, from the universal church to each local church, parish, institution, and organization. Therefore, church leaders must be in a position to respect all the reflection and judgment of all God's people through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Each
year in October, Harvard University hosts the Ig (ignoble) Nobel Prize
(parody of the Nobel Prize) a ceremony that began in 1991, also called
the Screwball Nobel Prize. An award given that can't be imagined with
our ordinary powers of thinking but is an interesting and preposterous
discovery such as the one of Professor Alberti Minetti of Italy, who
proved that humans could walk on water if only the gravity was reduced
by 22%.
One
was awarded a prize for studying why woodpeckers have no headaches. A
woodpecker pecks a tree at the speed of 25 kilometers per hour and
twenty times per second and the honor went to the awardee for revealing
that a thick sponge-like skull protects the brain of the woodpecker.
The
column in the Peace Weekly made a study of the research of those who
received the prize and found four Koreans who won a prize. The latest
for determining the reason a cup of coffee spills over the edges while
walking. The principle of winning the Ig Nobel Prize is research that
makes people laugh at first but then makes them think.
North
Korea and US summit have attracted worldwide attention and the
possibility of a Peace Prize. Some Republican members of Congress have
suggested Trump as a candidate. The contents of the letter to the
Norwegian Nobel Committee is that Trump's peace through force is working
effectively and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula.
However,
following the fire and anger that was displayed for a time by Trump the
Ig Nobel Peace Prize is more suitable. Obviously, if the peace
settlement of the Korean Peninsula through the dismantling of the North
Korea nuclear weapons is achieved then the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize will
not be a dream.
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear
Weapons(ICAN) along with many other individuals and organizations have
made efforts to denuclearize. ICAN has often succeeded in getting others
nominated for the Peace Prize.
President
Moon is not concerned who gets the Peace Prize, Korea only wants peace.
Hopefully, the negotiations will not break down at the last minute.
Otherwise, the laughter of the world will follow and the
Ig Nobel Prize.
He ends
the column by suggesting, a crazy idea that the driver for peace
on the Korean Peninsula President Moon and two nurses who have worked on the island of Sorok with Hansen patients for 43 years, be the
recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. He prays to God that we do get
blessed with peace and continues dreaming.
A parish priest in a Catholic Times' column tells the readers of a mother whose son volunteered to work in a Filipino slum last summer and wanted to tell her son's story to the priest. He was so different from the past.
Until he volunteered the family never had a quiet day and they continued worrying about the son. He wasn't concerned with the world nor interested in looking for a job but spent his time in his room playing computer games. However, when his mother suggested he go to the Philippines for volunteeer work in the slums he readily accepted.
His experience in the Philippines was such that during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics he had a part time job which continued his international interest and the use of the few words in knew in English coming again to his help with his experience of overseas service. The experience in the Philippines changed his life. The mother wanted to thank the writer for the opportunity given her son.
The priest was delighted to hear that his running of the youth vounteer service for the past ten years continues to help many young people and their families. He feels this is one way of revitilizing the pastoral work of the church. Young people are experiencing a sense of crisis with the way society is moving. The 'sam po' generation is a word used in Korea for the young who because of social pressure and economics have to give up courtship, marriage and having children.
Not lilke the past when they graduated from college and got a job and went on with their lives. The young pople are confronted with great competition and face an unstable future. In the church they are also disappeaing. According to the statistics from 2017, only 13% of the Catholics are in their twenties. This is a 2% drop from 2008. With the continuance of this decline the future of the church is not bright.
The writer believes that to revive the stagnant current youth ministry is the youth service abroad and actively promotes and invests in the program. These days youth volunteer programs are rare and carried out by a small number of parishes schools and organizations. Safety of the youth and financial support are burdensome but ultimately the lack of interest in young people.
Youth volunteer activities provide a variety of pastoral results. They revitalize the youth pastoral care of the parish, inspire young people's faith, and instill a sense of service. It also gives young people an international perspective in the era of globalization. There are many other additional effects. It is a great opportunity for young people to have their own identity, cooperate with others while building bonds with others. Furthermore, what they learn from the experience remains with them for a life time and they gain the strength to cope with adversity and hardship.
The writer has experienced the good that is done with the efforts of helping the young people to do volunteer service overseas. They become wiser, the only thought of making money and being socially sucessful has been extended to helping others. Isn't this the aim of any good youth pastoral program? Experiencing overseas service will contribute to the revitalization of youth pastoral care and changing the way of life and thinking of the young.
