Synodality and the New Way of Being Church

Synodality is a word seen often in Korean Catholic circles. We had two articles in a bulletin addressed to priests recently on the subject. In the past we would talk about partnership, team ministry, working together, they were just words but it seems there is a change in the way the words are heard recently. I wonder if the coronavirus is not the catalyst that is bringing a change. 

One of the priests writes about a two-day training program on Synodality on the theme of 'God to the Church of the Third Millennium,' 'Synodality, a journey. It may seem like a new thing today, but in fact, it was there from the beginning in the long tradition of the Bible and the church. The two days spent together was to find ways to apply and practice it in the diocese and parish ministry.

Because of the coronavirus, there was some uncomfortableness among the group. However, after listening to the two lectures and sharing, the atmosphere was just right for dinner. Humans are made to live together and this is again experienced with the two-day program. The younger ones more so than the older. 

 In his room, he read quietly the Constitution of the Church of the Second Vatican Council. Particularly noticeable were Chapter 5, "The Church's Universal Call" and Chapter 7: "Pilgrim Church." Not only the clergy and religious but all the members of the Church are one— God does not drag us, unconditionally, but invites us with his strength and gifts.

The "sense of the faith of believers" is a gift of guidance by the Holy Spirit and the foundation of the Synodality we are called to. The writer has heard the good news of salvation, but since still in the world, he realized why co-consensus is critical as a 'road together' in an incomplete and uncertain community that wavers and moves forward.

The words he has heard most since becoming a pastor was: "Father, we want you to give us direction." Priests need to change, but the change of believers who have lived with "tell me what to do" will not be easy.

The Korean Catholic Church developed its faith from an intellectual group of seekers who were making "efforts to get the truth and seeking the right" (實事求是). Besides, those who saw the new world of equality and friendliness beyond social status were the leading players. It was a pioneering church. Society has changed, and the Church is now trying to change.

In joint participation and shared responsibility, the number of people and procedures are more complicated, but the 'moment of decision' starting from "everybody-some people-one person" is a church tradition familiar and not beyond our strength.

He concludes the article reminiscing having lived actively and with enthusiasm. But now that he has arrived at his middle 50s: "I want my fellow priests to help me, and the believers rather than respecting me to share my burden."

The Korean Real Doll Controversy

'Real Doll'  controversy was a news item in the Catholic Times. What’s the problem? Commercialization of women for sexual purposes. Where is human dignity?
 

On July 8, last year, a citizen posted a message on the bulletin board of the Blue House: "Please prohibit importing and selling 'real dolls'."  [The Blue House communication platform to communicate directly with the People, officials will respond if the petition has over 200,000 who agree]  The Supreme Court said that it was not considered to have seriously damaged or distorted human dignity, and permitted the import of the 'real dolls'. ['Real Dolls' are life-size sex dolls]
 

In doing so, the petitioner pointed out: "Will people who use a tool that has a woman's face and body without movement for their sexual satisfaction see women as a fellow human being?" No was his answer and within a month, 260,000 people agreed with him.

Despite the fact that the Supreme Court gave permission to import some of the 'real dolls' last year, objections continued because the product targets women as a sexual object, and appeals to male-oriented thinking. It's a sex tool.

In 2017, a company filed a lawsuit to cancel the pending suspension of 'real-doll' imports. The first trial denied the right: It expresses a specific sexual part of a person so that it can be said to seriously damage and distort human dignity and value.  People are more concerned about infringement of dignity and the male-centered structure of society than that "the state should minimize entrance in the private and hidden sphere of the individual." However, in the second trial, the first trial decision was overturned and allowed the import.

A professor is quoted as saying: "the verdict in the second trial does not deal with any possible sexual harm to women. The ruling on the license to import and sell 'real  doll' is a male-biased and unequal decision that completely eliminated the position of female citizens."

The problem is that the promotion of human rights and protection of dignity will be made more difficult for women if 'real dolls' are imported, sold, and used. This was seen in a recent scandal where over 200,000 people 'in nth rooms' (chat rooms) where users of illegally produced sexually dehumanizing footage of women, where real-life assaults became online content.


On May 17, a professional soccer team was criticized for using real-dolls in the stadium because of the coronavirus. It showed how an organization accustomed to women's sexual targeting could be satisfied with the infringement of women's dignity. In fact, 28 out of 30 life-size dolls were female mannequins. The problem of sexualizing women itself was not recognized.
 
Therefore, it is pointed out that the production of 'real dolls'  should be prohibited. Protests were held to condemn the import of 'real dolls', their production, sales, and imports. The government audit said, "It can provoke more sexual targeting of women."

Above all, the church also forbids the sexual instrumentalization of women and the need for self-discipline when it comes to matters of sex. Masturbation is not only an immoral act that harms human dignity, but sex and sexual relations outside of marriage, openness to childbirth, and love of the spouses are no longer a sign of a healthy society and a harbinger of many future problems.

A priest is quoted in the conclusion of the article: "Masturbation is adultery committed by the sexual imagination; the mind and  habitual masturbation can cause a complete abandonment of sexual control and maybe the rehearsal of sexual crime."

Living Close to the Poor

In a bulletin written for the clergy, a priest mentions how in each new assignment he goes with many resolutions. Some are particularly memorable. He mentions his desire to imitate Jesus in the way he related to the poor.

30 years ago he was assigned to work with young workers. At the time, he lived with the workers, eating and relating closely with them. He heard the words of many of the poor in society. His eyes were opened to the world in a new way. Words, of justice and love no longer theory and began understanding Jesus differently.

The words of the Gospel touched his heart at a deeper level. When he returned again to parish work he tried to do things together with the poor, but it was difficult: the poor and marginalized people work on Sundays and find it difficult to come to church. The poor rarely come to the parish to talk with the priest. Those that come are those active in the church community and not poor.

People who invite him out to meals and with whom he converses are usually those with a certain amount of leisure. People who are wealthy meet and talk easily; poor people require that we go to them.

People instinctively like to converse and meet with others and it is the way we grow close. The poor and marginalized are those with whom the encounter is usually burdensome and rare. Consequently, it requires effort and desire to make contact. He has often resolved to find the poor and marginalized during his assignments, at least once a week, but it never lasts very long.
                                                       
Some agree we need to love all without discrimination. However, when assigned to a parish they say to the nun, "Please write down a list of people who are capable and economically free," to promote various things in the parish. Talented people to do the work is necessary but it is not the proper pastoral attitude.

Jesus emphasized the love of others especially the marginalized, more than any of the holy sages in history. Even in the teaching of the church, there is a famous saying: "Preferential Option for the Poor and Vulnerable." Although there were strong counter-arguments that we should love all equally the church held firmly to this teaching of Jesus as being in the spirit of Jesus. And if we reject the poor and marginalized and stay away from them, we are not living in God's love.

He admits that he was not an example of what to do but did make efforts to keep them in mind. He didn't talk about donations that would be a burden to them, and conscious of them tried to operate the parish simply.

Many believers and churches have been financially challenged because of coronavirus and the parishioners have dropped off from what it was making the running of the parish difficult. Because of the financial difficulty, some parishes are pressuring the parishioners to pay their denarius cultus. The poor who have become poorer find this a great burden.

After the Korean War, everybody was poor and there were little financial burdens attending church. At that time he was a teenager and he frequented many churches during those years but doesn't recall any financial burdens on the poor. The church communities were poor but were considerate of the poor. The church was a church for the poor and one that loved the poor.

Responsibility to Others

When hundreds of corona19 patients were diagnosed every day in Daegu, the hardest-hit city in Korea, it was difficult for the citizens to control their emotions, hearing about the infections in nursing and mental hospitals. The death of people without defense was terrible. So begins an article in the Peace Column of the Catholic Peace weekly by a university professor whose field is Slavic Literature.

She recalls the day, the words of a teacher struck her like a lightning bolt. "The reason why we are laughing happily at this moment is because of the tears someone cried somewhere. We are healthy because of patients, sick somewhere."

Having a relatively stable daily life except for big and small discomforts, she felt like sitting on a comfortable sofa and crying as she watched the scene of the pain reflected on the TV screen —a scene of absurdity.

Remembering that someone suffered does not mean you felt sorry for them. Using the words of a philosopher— we need to feel responsible for the sufferer. Compassion is not the same as feeling responsible. Responsibility is the attitude we must have towards the suffering of others.

"How can I enjoy the light that nobody else can see, and how can I enjoy the sound that nobody else can hear? I feel responsible for the darkness of others and I feel as if I am a thief stealing light." (Emil Cioran 1911-1995)

 We live in a world where no one is responsible for anything. Whether it's time or money, it's people who cry out for charity without sacrificing anything, people who think that large empty slogans change the world, people who sit at their desks, and discuss justice with flowery vocabulary. I wonder where responsibility enters the picture in their discussions. Obviously, it's surreal, beyond the possible, that persons responsible for their faults and mistakes are so rare, is it possible to find persons who feel responsible for the misfortunes of others?

But Corona19 showed us that there are people who actually exist, and feel responsible for the sufferings of others. They are medical staff struggling with viruses all over the country including Daegu Hospital. Unless they were willing to risk their time, stamina, family, and even life to save the lives of others, all of us would have felt helpless with the idea that all humans, were ultimately trapped in the survival of the fittest. Not everyone can be a hero. However, one needs to discriminate between those who take all kinds of risks and those who do not.

Emmanuel Levinas saw human beings as ethical subjects only when they responded to the call of others in pain. Here, the response is much more profound than simple interest.  It means that I recognize the existence and consciousness of others as my own and ultimately accept others' suffering as mine.

This is neither a matter of legal justice nor an ethical issue. It is a conclusion that can never be reached by calculation or analysis. But if this is not possible, where can we resist the evils of the world? She concludes in paying tribute to the medical staff who risk their lives and fight viruses from all over the world.

Religious Freedom Is Necessry to Protect Freedom

An article in the Catholic Peace Weekly is headlined: As religions need freedom, so does humanity need religion to protect freedom. The article considers two writers who have little sympathy for Christianity and yet express ideas not foreign to Christianity.

The world's interest in the epidemic is growing and the novel The Plague by Albert Camus (1913~1960) has again become a best seller, thanks to Corona 19. Camus himself called the book an "anti-Christian book." People are now busy opening this book rather than the Bible. The interest in Yuval Harari the author of Homo Deus is no less of interest. The world media confronts and consults historians, not religious leaders, to overcome the crisis facing humanity.

What are the challenges to religion revealed through the Corona 19 phenomenon? The writer looks at the messages these two intellectuals present to see if religion can come down from its abstractness and express the universality of truth based on the concreteness of reality.

Why are people reading The Plague (1947) again? The novel was rated as a masterpiece at the end of World War II. It's based in the port city of Algeria, Oran. The Plague tells us that life is a rebellion against this absurd world but we don't give up hope even in the face of cruel reality and death from the plague.

The interpretations of the book are many. The Plague was used to symbolize the internalization of the war thinking prevalent at the time in the setting of the closed city of Oran and the way the characters in the novel respond to the reality of the plague.

Another interpretation would emphasize the human solidarity we should have in the face of the crisis, whether as an individual or as an entire group like the Oran citizens. There is no pure individual situation for Camus. Each situation affects all and requires a common solution. 

The importance of solidarity also agrees with the author of Sapiens and Homo Deus. In an interview, Harari pointed out that the greatest danger threatening humanity is hate, greed, and ignorance, which is the human inner devil, not the coronavirus, and hopes they will overcome the current crisis through compassion and international solidarity.

Harari predicted a change in the traditional perception of death after coronavirus. In a contribution to the British daily newspaper The Guardian on April 20, he said, "There are technical solutions to all technical problems. To overcome death, we do not have to wait for Jesus' return. Just a few scientists in the lab. In the past, death was a profession for priests and theologians, but now the engineers in the lab have taken over."

This is the same as the content analyzed through Homo Deus published in 2015 and indicates that his opinion did not change even in the corona situation. In the same book, Harari said, "Modern science and culture take a completely different attitude toward life and death. They do not regard death as a metaphysical mystery, and, of course, they do not see the meaning of life coming from death."

In The Guardian, he said, "The best minds of mankind are no longer trying to figure out what death means. Instead, they are busy prolonging lives." Because of the advancement in science and technology, he predicted that humans would put more emphasis on extension rather than finding religious and metaphysical implications for death.

At the same time, Camus and Harari recognize the problems and inequality of human history that will remain and not a rosy future brought by science. Camus in his writings drew limitations on the scope and role of science, saying, "Science explains functions, not existence."

In The Guardian, Harari said, "Doctors can't solve the mystery of human existence, they can only provide extended lives." He continued, "If human life is extended indefinitely within a few centuries, it is only possible for a small number of billionaire children."

Both warn against 'totalitarianism'. Critics point out that Camus, who went through World War II, viewed war, totalitarianism, and Nazism as a catastrophe.

In the "Post Coronavirus World," published in the Financial Times in March, Harari stressed that citizens do not have to choose between personal privacy and health, and have the right to both. He warns of the shift of the center of gravity to the totalitarian surveillance system in the name of the health of citizens in the corona crisis, which is not a good sign.

Despite Harari's criticism of the values ​​and meanings of religion, there exist mutual ideological agreements on human consciousness and freedom. Pope Benedict XVI emphasized in The Light of the World (2010) that "as humans developed, their abilities increased, but not their moral and human maturity and potential. We have to regain the internal balance and also need mental growth." 

Pope Benedict XVI also warned in the Future Challenges (2005) that he was concerned and warned that scientific development would produce 'new oppressions' and a 'new ruling class'. Pope stressed that just like religion needs freedom, freedom needs religion to protect that freedom. The true nature of science disappears when science does not contribute to respect for human beings but aims only for the success of science itself. 

Despite Harari's view that science has replaced religion and that Silicon Valley will eventually create a new religion, it still remains the role of religion to fulfill its mission of criticizing the reckless praise of science. Will we have a new understanding of religion, including Christianity, in the 21st century? Will the views of the Camus and Harari and other intellectuals be reviewed in this new situation of the Coronavirus and its lessons. The writer concludes the article with the mention of the priest who appears in the novel The Plague, Fr. Paneloux, who dies but from causes unrelated to the plague. His experience of the Plague changed him.

Pride that Destroys Life

The recent suicide of an apartment security guard broke our heart, begins the column of the Catholic Times' Eyes of the Believer, by a parish priest. An apartment resident constantly assaulted a security guard making violent threats that were too much for the guard, and he ended his life.

There was an appeal in his suicide note; he had no way to solve the oppression, this is a good example of classism— class discrimination and exclusion based on social class which is to benefit the upper class at the expense of what is considered the lower class. It is rooted in society and emerges at times as violence against human life and dignity.

Not long ago, in the United States, an African American, George Floyd, was choked on the knees of a white police officer for about eight minutes before he died. He said he couldn't breathe repeatedly but no response from the officer. The officer was immediately arrested for murder, and protests have intensified throughout the United States, leading to the deployment of soldiers.
 
Even though the States are dealing with the Corona 19, the riots in response to the death of George Floyd
has complicated the situation due to this extreme case of racism. A white police officer in a 'Gap' position dealing with the 'Eul' offender who was African American. Would the police have the same attitude towards a white man?
 
'Gap-Eul relations' in Korean society comes from business language where two people are in contractual situations. 'Gap' or (A) is in the dominant position and 'Eul' ( B), is in the subordinate relationship. This is a hot issue in Korean society.

The above two incidents have in common that the perpetrator, 'Gap', was using threatening anti-life behavior against the victim, 'Eul', and the violence led to death. The difference, however, is that the apartment security guard's death was self-inflicted due to the culture of dominance and subordination, while the death of the African American was a direct killing.

The root of Gap's actions lies in mistaking the relationship between 'Gap' and 'Eul' as a vertical power structure. The tenant did not see the security guard as a person but treated him as an object, screaming and threatening him. The white police officer ignored the other person's personality, dignity, and treated him as a disposable object. The most extreme act towards another is violence and killing— a culture of anti-life, death.

Gap behavior belongs to the culture of death and is rooted in the pride that others can be controlled. Human pride is the absolutization of oneself.

Really, can one absolutize oneself? Then you become like God. So pride leads to sin and evil, and sin leads to death. God is the only absolute human being. The arrogant person depersonalizes the other person. As a believer, aren't we committing this? Our original sin itself is attributed to Adam and Eve's desire to become like God through the temptation of a serpent in the Garden of Eden. The Tower of Babel shown in Genesis also originated from the pride of humans who wanted to become like God, and as a result of committing the absolutization of themselves, life was devastated and chaos, division, confrontation, and conflict in language resulted. Therefore, mankind has been describing the history of sin as the history of the human desire to become like God. We must take this lesson of history and take the wise path to love and life, not the foolish path to sin and death.
 
Being a service to others like Jesus is the way Christians go about shaping the world. There is no desire to be a 'Gap' rather, the 'Eul'. which should be our default position as Christians. You must practice the love of giving yourself like the Master Jesus, who kneels, washes, and wipes the disciples' feet. Sugar and salt are definitely different. The sugar melts and gives its taste, but the salt melts and makes everything taste better. Let's be the person who plays the role of salt!

Responsibity of the Media

The Peace Column of the Catholic Peace Weekly gives readers some background with problems in the media presentation.

The politics of the Argentine military forces after the 1980s were terrible and mean. The so-called 'dirty war' (Guerra Sucia) against the people by the military is recorded as the country's black history. At that time, the Catholic Church also suffered considerable injuries. The military gave excessive favors to Church leaders who cooperated with the regime. On the other hand, the clergy who shouted out against human rights violations and for justice, the military cleverly tried to bring them under their control.

One of the tricks they mobilized was to throw 'suspicious bugs' into public opinion. For example, if there was a priest that was giving them trouble the intelligence agency falsified or distorted the information about him. Fake news that is dubious but heard often, remains.

Since we also experienced a military dictatorship, the techniques they used are not unfamiliar. "Lies are denied at first, then doubted, but if you continue, they will believe later." Words attributed to Goebbels, a prominent propaganda proponent of the Nazi regime.

The word 'suspicious bugs' is rarely used in Korea. This word was found in the "Bergoglio's List" a book written by an Italian journalist Nello Scavo. He went behind the scenes when the future Pope Francis was 39 years old and serving as the provincial superior of the Jesuits of Argentina in 1976. The military overthrew the government in a coup and went to work against those they thought were subversives and communists.

Several Western media alleged that Pope Francis remained silent or cooperated with violence during these times. The facts presented by the media were mostly 'suspicious bugs' that intelligence agencies used to degrade Bergoglio's reputation. Nello Scavo overturned the charges with this book. The author commented: "Suspicious bugs permeating public opinion can be more effective than threats and rude interrogation procedures."

The writer mentions the recent TV reports on the unfortunate incidents at the Youth Center of the Salesian Society a few months ago; SBS "I Want to Know That" also recently reported the connection between the death of young priests in the Incheon diocese and the sexual harassment case of the first president of the Catholic University of Incheon. The scandals reveal an undeniable fact. The Salesians and the Diocese of Incheon humbly apologized for this and promised improvement and renewal.

The reactions to the scandal are different. Along with the facts, are points of distortion, exaggeration, and speculation. In particular, although it was clear that the case of the Incheon Diocese was individual, there was a lot of criticism about the crew's attempt to stitch together the death of young priests with sexual harassment. The picture that is left with the viewer does not fit the facts.

There is no intention on the part of the writer to undermine the right of TV investigative reports that shed light on society's shady places and bring to light human rights problems and justice. He hopes the broadcast crew will not take his concern as a one-sided argument by an apologist. He is not overlooking the faults of the church. Even if the crew did not intend the results the 'bug of suspicion' released through the broadcast will continue for many years.

The Church needs to be more alert when doing God's work. "The Church, embracing sinners in her bosom, is at the same time holy and always in need of being purified, and incessantly pursues the path of penance and renewal."(section 8 of the Constitution of the Church) these concerns must manifest itself in speedy practice.

When we are slow in doing what is to be done, these crises will abound. A crisis does not suddenly strike like a thunderbolt. When the scandals come repeatedly, the real crisis is when people begin to react contemptuously.