Hope Arises Again On the Korean Peninsula

In the Reconciliation and Unification column of  the Catholic Times the writer gives the readers some uplifting news on the relationship of the two Koreas.

At the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean Workers Party on October 10th, the content and method of the speech given by the North's top leader was a popular topic of discussion. Dedicating much of the speech to the military and the people who were on the front line working with the pandemic  and natural disaster recovery, and thanking all for their efforts. We also saw the shedding of tears which was different from the past.

Also noted was the extending of the hand of peace to the South from the leader of the North: "I hope for the day when we can shake hands again." However at the end of the event the military threat of the new ICBM and SLBM appeared, showing  no change. There was a change in the talk but what he saw with his eyes made the writer feel still confused. What is this?

In June of last year, inter-Korean relations, which had cooled after the breakdown of last year's Hanoi talks, resulted in the destruction of the liaison office. After that inter-Korean relations were cooled down enough to define inter-Korean relations as antagonistic. 

Then, at the 5th preliminary meeting of the 7th Central Military Committee of the Party, Chairman  Kim Jong-un withheld the military action plan against South Korea made by the General Staff. After that, confusion continued due to flood damage and corona-virus infection-19. However, the dialogue between the leaders of the two Koreas during this period shows that the dialogue was maintained.The writer concludes not  all things are visible. 

In this process, he is really confused about what the North really wants. In this case, he  has much to  think about. All countries will try to maximize their own interests. What is profitable for the north side? A deal to achieve economic development along with the lifting of sanctions will be necessary, and negotiations between the United States and South Korea will be needed. Eventually, the advancement of nuclear weapons is necessary to increase the bargaining power, and local conflicts can be considered.

However, there are lines that should not be crossed. A knife is scary when it's in the sheath, meaningless when outside. On the other hand, our national interest will be the continuation of a peaceful Korean peninsula where stable economic growth can be guaranteed and maintained in the future. In that respect, two positions coexist for us, pressure and dialogue, depending on the reaction of the North.

So, what stage is it now? As the North position changes, it seems that we need to manage the dialogue phase as well. It seems necessary now to respond to the North Korean position rather than ignoring it with negative predictions and preconceived notions of "I will not be fooled again". This is because when you respond to someone's request, it becomes a conversation. Kim Jong-un said: "I  am hoping for the day when the North and South Korea will hold hands again." We need to make this a reality.

 

 

Usefulness Is Not the Ultimate Value

"We need to cut back on the money spent on social welfare! Too many people don't work, they play and eat."

Korea is gradually becoming a communist country: the words of a taxi driver which the author of an article in the Bible & Life magazine, quotes to begin his article. He is the head of the justice and peace work in his diocese.

The taxi driver along with many others equates socialism and social welfare work. Money that is used for welfare is wasted;  social welfare contributes to citizens avoiding work and prepares for socialism. But is that the truth despite the words one hears on SNS and people spread around without thought in society?

One point that people of this opinion have in common is that efforts in this area are useless and those they are supposed to help are the losers in society. When we help those useful for society this is investing but helping these losers is time and money wasted. Everything is seen with the profit or loss lens.

Who are these losers in society? According to the taxi driver, they are those that spend their time playing and eating but it is not only these individuals who don't work but those who can't work for one reason or another. How can one equate those who don't want to work with those who want to work but can't? They look upon these as good for nothing.
 
Many of us at times had similar thoughts that entered our minds: losers, incompetent, feeble. Judgments that come to us unwanted that belittle and disdain others. On the other hand, when workers are exploited by private industrialists we are not concerned but people that seem to have nothing to do bother us.  We have difficulty when a home for the handicapped is built in a community for the price of property will drop. All that is seen is  the dollar sign.

We hear as truth: Is it not better to have those who are helpful to society than those who are a drain? Is it not better to spend money and effort on the capable than those who are not? This seems to be truer than the opposite but is this the reality for a Christian? In Mathew 5:45 Jesus says: "God causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike… For if you love those who love you what right have you to claim any credit?"

We all know the parable of the vineyard: Matt, 20:1-16. Jesus likens the kingdom of heaven to the generosity of a landowner who hires laborers at various times during the day and then shockingly pays the last hired with the same wage as the first. They all had a need to feed their families and since they were not able to find work the vineyard owner gave them all the same pay even the ones who worked only one hour for they all had the same need.

Is this not also the lesson of the prodigal son, The son who was always with the father and the son that squandered the inheritance received the same love of the father (Luke 15:11-31).

Why did God choose the Israelite? It wasn't because they were the most diligent of the people at that time but it was God's love that wanted to make them lovable. We are all his loving children and we are called to help all of them to live up to their potential. A rock which is not moved by the wind and rain may have a beautiful flower with its roots protected by the rock which is oblivious to the protection given. We are all important not by what we can do but because of who we are not because we are useful but because we are— is this not the kind of world we want to help build?

We Need The Courage to Face Truth

The South Korean government has announced plans to reverse the ban on abortions imposed in 1953 and revise the law to permit abortion.  
In response to this news item, a scholar in  'matters of life'  gives the readers of the Catholic Peace Weekly something to think about in her article in the 'diagnosis of the time' column.

Recently, she was moved by the words of a graduate student on the subject of "Constitutional Nonconformity Decisions on Abortion and Afterwards". The student strongly criticized the church's insignificant response and compromised attitude on the subject. In other words, the church is not to compromise but must be a light to the world showing the right path to follow. When she heard this, her conscience was very uncomfortable, but at the same time, it was exciting because it made clear that the church was not doing its job and a young person noticed it.

Abortion is by no means an easy topic. The present and future of the pregnant woman and the fetus are directly connected, a challenge continuing to be discussed all over the world. The reason for thinking of abortion as a challenge is that, we take a compromising attitude in the prevailing current of society, our conscience becomes very uncomfortable and confused. This confusion and complexity are addressed by St. John Paul II in section 58 of the Gospel of Life:

 "Today, in many people's consciences, the perception of its gravity has become progressively obscured. The acceptance of abortion in the popular mind, in behavior and even in law itself, is a telling sign of an extremely dangerous crisis of the moral sense, which is becoming more and more incapable of distinguishing between good and evil, even when the fundamental right to life is at stake. Given such a grave situation, we need now more than ever to have the courage to look the truth in the eye and to call things by their proper name, without yielding to convenient compromises or to the temptation of self-deception."

Again, when you speak, say 'yes' to say' yes', and say 'no' to say 'no'. Remind them of the Gospel saying that more than that is from evil (Matthew 5:37). Our conflict comes because we are halfway between 'yes' and 'no', trying to escape the criticism and pressure of the world. Acceptance of abortion in our society is viewed as a worldly trend, not followed, we are considered weird, unreliable, and sometimes even considered traitors to society, especially to women. From this distorted view, we think that changing the law will greatly contribute to solving the problems of female pregnancy and childbirth.
 

Also, the movement to respect the life of the fetus is considered disregarding the reality of women. However, this attitude follows the past structure of 'strong against the weak' and the sin that was tolerated against women for many years and now used against the fetus. "The moral conscience of society in a way is responsible, not only because it tolerates or fosters behavior contrary to life, but also because it encourages the 'culture of death', creating and consolidating actual 'structures of sin' which go against life" (Gospel of Life, Paragraph 24).
 
We need 'courage to look directly at the truth', and through this, we will be able to clearly see what our church, as well as our society, should do. The South Korean Constitutional Court on April 11, 2019, ruled the ban on abortion unconstitutional and ordered the law's revision by the end of 2020. Consequently, the right to life of the fetus was seriously infringed, and the government should ask calmly what it is doing to legally protect the life of the fetus.

Also, the reason why abortion is prevalent in our society is the lack of respect for life. As a result, the idea of ​​respect for pregnant women and all women is inevitably unsatisfactory. We must save both lives, not just the life of the fetus. This is the direction that law and society should go. Each of our church members should not be an exception in this attitude.

Let Us Work Towards Climate Change Now

 

Recently in preparation for the Harvest Festival some of the  Sisters, went to a village where volunteers were reduced due to corona-virus infection-19 and helped prepare holiday food. They  talked  while grilling the food,  and from one side, a request for a song by BTS as a help in keeping the vitality of the worker's high. So begins the article in the Catholic Times by a  religious sister.

Sisters liked the BTS, a world famous group and were particularly impressed by the meaning contained in the lyrics, their good influence, passion, and sincere appearance. The song 'Dynamite', which was recently released, is  said to have been released to empower many during these difficult times due to the Corona 19 pandemic. In an interview with a public broadcaster, the leader, said, "There were concerned that such a lively song would be right in these difficult times, but when a person is depressed and sad, among the ways of comforting is a frontal attack,  pleasant and hopeful, which is the  method they chose."
 

People describe depression in these days of ecological crisis as 'corona blue, climate blue', etc. It is said that there are times when people in the climate movement fall into 'climate blue' while looking at the Climate Clock which shows how quickly we are approaching 1,5 C of global warming at current emission trends.

However, on the one hand, even in the Corona 19 situation, we were able to see many overcome difficult times with creative and cultural experiences such as music and art. Sometimes, when she see BTS  fandom (many people singing the same song together) at concerts or on the streets where the  ARMY  gathers— "A.R.M.Y" stands for "Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth" and it carries a lot of  meaning behind it.

 

When she hears the music a catharsis is sensed.  Just as our religious worshipers make deeper communion with God and sisters through community hymns in a well-prepared liturgy, the moment they sing together there is the transcending of the differences in race, language, and form to achieve greater solidarity and communion.

She  gets a hint from the BTS song with a frontal attack  against the current difficulties. How about gathering people together to sing as a way to recognize and overcome climate emergencies occurring all over the planet?

Already 10 years ago, Belgium and other Nordic countries launched the "Sing for the Climate" campaign, and many citizens joined. Many people sang "Do it Now", which was affixed to an Italian folk song called "Bella Ciao".  Since then, a number of grassroots climate movements have emerged in Europe along with this campaign, and at the demands of those who have fought for a long time, many countries are pursuing full-scale greenhouse gas reduction, the '2050 Declaration of Carbon Zero', and effective plans accordingly.  In Europe's "Songs for the Climate" campaign, celebrities like U2 also participated, leading more people to climate action.

Also, it is time for believers, who are God's true fandom, to take the lead in "climate action" to protect God's creation by first responding to the climate crisis. The Holy See proposed seven goals in the light of integrated ecology as the task during our recent celebration of 'Laudato Si' week. Pope Francis used the occasion to announce that the next 12 months be dedicated as 'Laudato Si' Special Anniversary Year which will be celebrated  from 24 May 2020 – 24 May 2021.

  

The seven Laudato Si goals address a range of areas related to sustainability and ecological conversion:

1)Response to the cry of the Earth.  2)Listen to the cry of the poor. 3)Ecological economics, sustainable production, 4)Adoption of simple life styles. 5)Ecological education. 6) Recover a religious vision of God's creation—Ecological spirituality. 7)Emphasis on community involvement  and participatory action.

Although it is a time of desperate climate crisis, the writer  hopes that 2050 will be the first year of zero carbon emissions, the "earth jubilee," and  we can reach this goal happily by singing together.

We are all Sisters and Brothers

 Circle

“He drew a circle that shut me out-
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle and took him In!”

 (American poet Edwin Markham)

 

In a bulletin for priests, a pastor takes a section of a chapter from a book by Ryu Shiva a Korean Poet, critic, and teacher, and wants to leave the readers with some helpful thoughts. 

An anthropologist who studied the lives of the native Africans suggested to the children of the tribe following him that they play a game. He hung a basket full of candies on a tree far away and promised to give all the candies to the first person to reach the basket after he signaled to start.

 

However when he gives the signal something unexpected happened. The children all held hands and ran toward the basket. And after arriving at the tree, they sat down in a circle and happily shared candy.

The amazed anthropologist asked a child why they all ran hand in hand. The child replied: "How can I be happy alone when other children are sad?" All the children cried out, "Ubuntu!" The anthropologist was speechless. He studied the tribe for months, but only then did he understand their mind. Ubuntu means personality, but it also means because 'we are, I am', you cannot be a 'person' by yourself.

 

 We are living in an era in which small circles are drawn and people who are different in their way of thinking or who do not support their side are pushed out of the circle. Even though it’s actually "we" who are all connected together. Here is a surprising truth. As you keep pushing others out, the circle gets smaller. The more you take and attract, the wider it gets.

 

There are two types of people. People whose circle continues to grow and those whose circle gets smaller. Some people have strong circles that others cannot enter, while others have a circle with infinite acceptance of the world. The poet Rilke asks us: What kind of circle are you living in now?

I live my life in widening circles

that reach out across the world.

I may not ever complete the last one,

but I give myself to it.

 

I circle around God, that primordial tower.

I have been circling for thousands of years,

and I still don’t know: am I a falcon,

a storm, or a great song?

 

As Christians and Catholic, these are not words that we choose to use but Pope Francis in his latest encyclical has again made clear that we are all Sister and Brothers and we need act accordingly. Many of the non-religious find religions not to their liking for it comes across as exclusive. 

 

However the teaching is quite clear: "Conscience is a judgment of reason whereby the human person recognizes the moral quality of a concrete act that he is going to perform, is in the process of performing, or has already completed. In all he says and does, man is obliged to follow faithfully what he knows to be just and right. It is by the judgment of his conscience that man perceives and recognizes the prescriptions of the divine law" (CCC #1798). 

 

The reason we are Catholics is to learn how to love and become one with the love that Jesus showed us. It is to keep on making the circle larger and to treat all as sisters and brothers whether they belong to the community of faith or not.

The Dignity of Labor

The Bishops' Justice and Peace Committee held a debate on the topic: The Understanding of Labor in the Post Corona and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This was written up in the Catholic Times.
 
What will the church say in the face of the pandemic and human alienation problems caused by the 4th industrial revolution? Bishop, chairman of the Justice and Peace Committee, said in an opening statement: "In the era of technological innovation, Corona 19 and the 4th Industrial Revolution, labor has faced another new situation."
 
The dignity of the person is lived out in society by the fulfillment of personal responsibilities. Work shapes and fulfills human dignity by providing for the needs of oneself and family. Work belongs to the vocation of every person. This is why it is necessary to rethink the concept of labor today.

Focusing on the concept of labor taught by the church, they examined the meaning of labor today and the direction we need to go.

How has the church's social doctrine understood work? A university professor explained that the church teaching related to labor is divided into two stages. After the Industrial Revolution and before the Second Vatican Council, before and after the 1960s, the rights of workers were stressed, but since then, they have pursued a deeper understanding of labor through the anthropological and theological meaning of work.

One participant stressed the concept of "labor's superiority" through the above two stages of social teaching. In other words, it means that human activities as the subject of labor have a higher priority than the results of technology, capital, and tools. Work is for humans and cannot be vice versa. This concept leads to labor's superiority over capital and the universal purpose of goods over private property.
 
Mankind's first labor was the creation of God. According to the Second Vatican Council, God created the earth and everything in it for use by all people and all nations. Hence, goods must be returned to all people fairly and abundantly, always accompanied by love. This is why the universal purpose of goods should be superior to private property.
 
Based on these church teachings: As we face rapid changes due to the 4th Industrial Revolution and Corona 19, human alienation from unemployment is revealed, and there seems to be no other alternative than a redistribution of working hours and extension of labor— social redistribution.
 
According to the social teachings of the church, fair wages are wages that are sufficient for workers and their families to enjoy a human life. A priest participant stressed that: "social measures such as basic income can restore the personal and subjective character of work, and will help to achieve human self-completion in community and society."

Regarding the role of citizens, one priest said, "It is not only the matter of politicians who move society and make policy decisions. It is important to raise the civic consciousness of each individual so that public interest does not conflict with universal values."

The chairman emphasized: "There is a social atmosphere that takes for granted that the socially underprivileged suffer from intensifying polarization. It is also the role of the church to change this social perception."

Why Do We Go to Church?

 

Why does one go to Church? This question has been asked of the believers over the years and a great many will answer for peace of mind. They are looking for peace.  You also have  those who finally entered the church community because they were tired of hearing the nagging of family members. We have those that have remembered what they were taught and want to be 'saved'. (In biblical language the deliverance from straitened circumstances or oppression by some evil to a state of freedom and security)

In one of the diocesan bulletins a retreat master explains to the readers that there are various  answers to the question of why  a person enters the communion of faith.  Many not only attend Mass but also participate in the many different groups and serve the community in many different voluntary capacities. Of this number you have those who separate life of the believer and their daily life. In the home or the workplace you would never now they were believers. There religious life and what they do daily is clearly differentiated.

Often those looking for peace after joining the community, in their relationship with the pastor or other Christians they lose the  peace of mind they had and became disillusioned. God did not hear their prayers and were distraught. Why do we go to church? To find consolation, on the recommendation of another or is it a duty? The writer is going to give the readers his answer to the question.

The main reason for going to church is our love for God. We want to praise and worship and make happy the God who made us and loves us. The duty of the  members of God's kingdom is to respect God and this is the way we achieve our goal of being delivered from the many evils in life. 

In the beginning those who enter the community are looking for what they lack. Of course we have many who with no choice of their on were born into the community and had to make a decision to remain within the community. Those who remain members and do it for God are not many. The sign of spiritual growth is the movement from self centered faith life to one centered in God.

To think of God first and to make God happy we have many different ways but the most important is to love. God is love (I John 4:16). To make the God of love happy is to love God and neighbor—To share the love shown to us, and become that love. 

When we offer Mass together with the community and pray with the community we are expressing our love,  Especially at communion time when Jesus becomes one with us in the sacramental union of the Eucharist. This is a union which we don't have the words to even  imagine. It is a moment of  exorbitant grace. We become one with the love of Jesus. It is not my love but the love of Jesus that I share with others.

The church is teaching this love. This is expressed especially in the communion rite. Everything we do should be manifesting this love that Jesus showed us. This love goes beyond ourselves to all others we come in contact with.  The spirit of Jesus is in all our areas of life. The Holy Spirit is there to bring this truth to our attention.

Why do we go to church? To learn more of Jesus' great love and to become one with that love.