No Man Is An Island

 

A professor emeritus of Chemical Biological Engineering gives the readers of the Kyeongyang magazine his ideas on the importance of relationships.

 In education, he knew many in the field and the words he heard often: "students' marks are good but the capability is low". Besides grades other elements are needed.

Why is this the case? Justus von Liebig (German scientist who made a great contribution to agriculture with his 'law of the minimum'. (If one of the essential plant nutrients is missing, plant growth will be poor even when the other essential nutrients are in abundance).

This is the same when it comes to capability. An intelligent quotient may be high with many special qualities but if relations with others are poor capability will suffer. Here is a need to add the emotional and spiritual quotient to the intellectual.

Relation-Ship can be compared to traveling on a ship together. Sea-sickness comes from living together with others. Even the smallest storm that is experienced if not overcome, will not allow one to head out to sea. But with the power of the will, we can overcome the difficulty.

The Anglican priest John Donne wrote in the poem: For Whom Does the Bell toll, the line that No man is an island.

No man is an island,

Entire of itself.

Every man is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

.....

Any man's death diminishes me,

Because I am involved in mankind.

.....

We are all part of the continent. The death of another has a connection with me. With the worldwide social media and internet, we can readily understand this new reality. We are all connected but we are not all communicating or relating, there is no contact.

In our world, information is not what is most important but our relationship with others— but before we think of the world-family let us go to our own families. When we come to the dinner table do we come with the hand phone? Even pope Francis has mentioned we should put our hand-phones away when we come down to the dinner table.

The essence of the Scripture is the love of God and neighbor. That is our mission to love God and neighbor. It is in this relationship with others that we find out who we are. 

This is necessary for traveling on the ship of life. The compass will give us direction, for the Christian, the Scriptures.

We are made up of trillions of cells. The process of growing an egg and sperm from a single cell into an organism with such an organic and unified life is still an area that cannot be fully explained scientifically. Cells, which were initially identical, soon differentiate into different organ tissues. Cells with strong vitality before differentiation are called stem cells. Stem cells do their own thing while constantly interacting organically with neighboring cells and the surrounding environment without errors to form a unity.

Stem cells have the same 3 billion sequencing genomes but express only a small portion of the information to play a necessary role at the required site.

In addition, while making the necessary proteins, each cell is differentiated to live well so it can do its job. How wonderful this is! For example, if a stem cell is injected into a damaged heart, the stem cell becomes a heart cell. By injecting stem cells around brain cells with Parkinson's disease or dementia, they can grow into new cells. So stem cells give hope for the repair of organs of the body. It will soon revolutionize future medicine. Of course, obtaining stem cells from embryos poses ethical issues, but obtaining them from somatic cells avoids this problem.

Our students dream of college and a number of them are planning for masters and doctorate degrees, he wants all of them to be like stem cells and work to nourish their possibilities and potential in the years ahead. This is his prayer for all of them.

 

You Can't Look at North Korea from a Western Perspective

The 5th International Conference of the Catholic Institute for Northeast Asian Peace was covered in an article in the Catholic Times. A brief summary of the issues that were raised are mentioned in the words below.  

You can't look at North Korea from a Western perspective... Religion needs to play a humanitarian role. North Korean human rights are considered the worst in the world, but good results can be obtained if the end of the war and a declaration of peace are pursued. After the UN sanctions, we need to help the children  that are dying because of lack of food. Religious role: Instead of approaching the North Korean human rights issue with hostility what is  needed is mercy and love— dialogue between the   North and South.

On the first day, North Korean human rights were dealt with from the perspective of the international community. The presenters all agreed on the importance of human rights itself, but they showed a difference of opinion in approaching human rights in North Korea. 

The first presentation was made by a Georgetown University professor. He emphasized the universality of human rights in the light of Catholic social doctrine, and said the concept of human rights can be applied in various ways to suit each country's situation. He was of the position that the view of human rights in the East, which has a communal character, should be recognized rather than viewed only from the Western perspective. However, he was cautious about human rights in North Korea. He said: The human rights situation in North Korea can be classified as the worst situation in the world. Nevertheless, he said that now is the time to put an end to the war between North Korea, the United States and the United Nations. He suggested that the Korean church needed to build connections and friendly relationships so that they could carry out forward-looking strategies on human rights and exchanging with private human rights advocacy groups. 

The second presentation was made by a professor from the  University of London. She looked at human rights in North Korea from the perspective of the right to life. She said: "The most pressing issue in North Korea is the right to life," and analyzed the North Korean food crisis from the great famine of 1990 to the present. According to her North Korea's agricultural production recovered significantly from the mid-2000s to 2017, and children's nutritional status improved significantly. However, in 2018, a food crisis arose again, citing UN sanctions against North Korea in 2017 as the cause. North Korea, which relies entirely on imports, suffered a severe blow to agriculture as oil and natural gas were cut off, resulting in a food shortage. As a role that the church can play in this situation, it is suggested that humanitarian assistance through cooperation with Caritas International and maintaining a dialogue window with North Korea should be maintained.

Finally, a professor emeritus, from the university of Georgia gave a presentation. He pointed out that "powerful countries such as the United States are demonizing and isolating North Korea with Western values," and pointed out that the view of North Korea itself is biased. He argued that we must understand the unique situation of North Korea, which moves as a group, and that we must acknowledge diversity. He further emphasized that North Korea should be recognized as a normal state and that North Korea should be able to improve itself in terms of human rights. He also said, "Human rights should be an end in itself, not a tool." He also said that religion should not have a  missionary goal, but we need an attitude that can help North Korean children by feeling hunger together with them  and want to help them.

On the second day, they looked at North Korean human rights issues from a religious point of view and sought solutions. A Protestant pastor gave the first presentation, emphasized the need for solidarity for reconciliation and cooperation above all else. The state, churches, and civic groups should share their roles as advocates and watchers to improve inter-Korean relations and improve the human rights of North Koreans. 

The process of acknowledging North Korea as a dialogue partner and cooperation as a partner in the peace process must continue. In particular, he said, "The role of the church is to care about the least of the people because human rights ultimately start with the problem of one specific person."

Next, Pax Christi Korea  shared about the role of the Catholic Church in improving human rights in North Korea. He explained: "North Korean human rights should be dealt with from various perspectives: internal issues in North Korea, inter-Korean relations, and international human rights issues."

In the discussion that followed people with different religions put their heads together on human rights issues in North Korea.

Two of the panelists pointed out: "The international community considers itself to be a fresh apple, and treat North Korea as a rotten apple because it tastes different like an orange." They argued that the North Korean human rights issue should not be seen as a means to achieve international order but should help North Koreans to solve them on their own. 

On the other hand, anther participant  took a more cautious approach. "There is intervention from the outside on the the North Korean issue because it is difficult to resolve internally, but it is by no means a simple issue. He added: "It is a time that the wisdom of the religious world and humanitarian perspective needs to be added."

A Buddhist monk emphasized the need to actively help the North  to survive, while taking a strong stance that there is no sovereignty in a dictatorship. He said: "The idea and practice of wanting people to eat three meals a day in North Korea is the most realistic way to help."  He also stressed this was to be done without any evangelizing motivation.

A professor introduced the activities of Chondoism (a 20th-century Korean Pantheistic religion), that actively participated in the March 1st Movement and said that North Korea's human rights issue should be approached  by the the North independently rather than relying on external forces.

How to Overcome the Corona Pandemic

 

In the recent Catholic Peace Weekly, a human rights lawyer gives his ideas in the Diagnosis of the Times column on ways to overcome the pandemic crisis. 

Recently there was a second public discussion on the gradual recovery of daily life in the Corona era. All the presenters and debaters were health and medical experts, he was added to the panel to convey the position of human rights groups. The discussion time was short and there were so many things he wanted to say.

 

Consider the deaths related to COVID-19. We didn't even have the opportunity for condolences and memorial services nationwide. We can talk about overcoming the crisis because we all desperately want it. Overcoming the COVID-19 crisis should start from proper memorial and mourning in public space and time.

  

COVID-19 crisis requires proper respect for human rights. The public health system made it difficult to respond quickly to infectious disease, economic inequality became more serious in a disaster situation, labor sites were vulnerable to infection, the social safety net was lacking for the socially disadvantaged: disabled, elderly, migrant workers, and the homeless. The quarantine system centered on distancing, which hurt the small business owners and the self-employed. 

 

It is necessary to restore rights that have been suspended by COVID-19. Infringement of basic rights, such as invasion of individual privacy, excessive information collection, the introduction of electronic bracelets without legal basis, and prohibition of excessive assembly and demonstrations that even conservative courts found illegal, took place without any social discussion. 

 

Vaccination policies should not promote discrimination and inequality. Some are in stressed situations whose livelihood is threatened: unregistered migrant workers, and those who cannot easily access the vaccine due to status and institutional problems. Some people are concerned about safety that has not yet been sufficiently verified. Exclusion, stigma, hatred, and discrimination against them can never be the direction of overcoming the COVID-19 crisis. Overcoming the COVID-19 crisis should not be just for those who have been vaccinated.

 

Currently, most people in poor countries have to wait two years for the COVID-19 vaccine. The government should take an active role in overcoming international vaccine inequality through the temporary exemption of intellectual property rights under the World Trade Organization's trade-related intellectual property rights agreement. Our safety should not be at the cost of someone else's life. If everyone is not safe, no one is safe. 

 

Overcoming the COVID-19 crisis should be a process of restoring human dignity. Overcoming the COVID-19 crisis should be centered on human rights. It is absolutely necessary to listen to the voices of the socially disadvantaged, minority, and vulnerable in overcoming the COVID-19 crisis and restoring our human dignity. Restoration of daily life without human rights is fiction and can be a disaster. 

A few days ago, a high-ranking official of the quarantine authorities appeared in the lawyer's dream and shouted loudly that all he said above was seeing one side of the argument and it was not helpful at all. This may have been the case in reality for the government officials who had to listen to what he was saying in one meeting or another. He is sure that the gap can be narrowed to some extent by collecting specific details one by one along with seeing the whole picture. He hopes this crisis, surrounded by others, will be an opportunity as we move on to a better world.

Seeing Beyond Our Boundaries

Inter-religious dialogue is not a subject that has many interested fans. It's a very difficult area of discussion. Pope Francis has shown great interest and followed by action. In Fratelli Tutti, he has confirmed the teaching of Vatican II:  "The Church esteems the ways in which God works in other religions and rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions." He  also has repeated the words of Pope John Paul II:  "If there is no transcendent truth, in obedience to which man achieves his full identity, then there is no sure principle for guaranteeing just relations between people."

In the Eyes of the Believer of the Catholic Times a professor of Media Communication explains the need for dialogue between all of the human family if we are to continue to live on this 'little pale blue dot'  called earth.

The rich and the poor, powerful and common people,  Asians and Westerners, the sad and joyful, regardless of situation, everyone on Earth is now suffering the same three calamities: climate crisis, fake news, and COVID-19 Pandemic, experienced on a daily basis since the new millennium.

What can we do to save life and the earth? In the face of these questions, people first began to reflect on their own civilization and realized  that "everything in the world is connected to each other, all is one.
 

The writer brings to mind the words of Carl Sagan. Before Voyager 1 left the solar system in 1990, it had taken pictures of the Earth in outer space 6 billion kilometers away from Earth and transmitted them. Carl Sagan, who participated in the space planning at this time, said that the Earth in the picture was a 'pale blue dot'.
 

"Our posturings, our imagined self-importance, the delusion that we have some privileged position in the Universe, are challenged by this point of pale light. Our planet is a lonely speck in the great enveloping cosmic dark. In our obscurity, in all this vastness, there is no hint that help will come from elsewhere to save us from ourselves."

"This picture emphasizes that we should be kind to each other and that it is our duty to cherish our only home, the pale blue dot."
 

People have learned that once they overcome these disasters a great change in hope and a new normal will settle in human society.

Humanity is facing a great turning point of civilization in many ways. For example, science and technology are rapidly developing, and people have come to specifically plan for  the cultivation of crops on the moon.

In this great transition, people have to overcome the disasters they have caused themselves, and as Carl Sagan said, it is becoming clear that being kind to each other is the key. In other words, kindness comes from peacekeeping such as mutual understanding, respect, cooperation, and solidarity. This naturally requires efforts in many fields such as politics, economy, science, and technology, but especially in pursuit of the absoluteness of truth, it is important to awaken religion that is prone to being exclusive.
 

Hans Küng, a renowned theologian who passed away this year, emphasized this during his lifetime. "There is no world peace without inter-religious peace."

All religions in the world try to monopolize absolute and final truths, but now we have to learn and help each other through dialogue, he said. "Based on the common ethics of world religion to treat others as we want to be treated by others, let's now contribute to global peace by practicing global ethics." Each religion must cross the boundaries of 'me'.

However, it is not easy to cross the boundaries. This is because we have to reform and change ourselves first. For example, the Korean Catholic Church should correct its unique clergy-centeredness, male supremacy or bureaucracy, and materialism, which is leaning day by day toward neoliberalism.

He also thinks the laity have a lot to reflect on. The so-called "hard-working believers" are obsessed with exclusive supremacy over other religions or devote their efforts to maintaining their old customs by closing their eyes to the signs of the times. The 2nd Vatican Council, which revolutionized the horizon beyond the boundaries of the Catholic Church itself, was already 60 years ago, but many don't accept the changes that have come.

Pope Francis says we need to overcome the narrowness of the  boundaries we have made for ourselves. "Let us dream, as a single human family, as fellow travelers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all."

Synodalitas and the Laity

In a special feature of the recent Catholic Times Weekly a lay theologian and professor at Sogang university explains to the readers the meaning of 'Synodalitas' for the laity in the recent issue.

Synodalitas, means we need to walk together within the church. She wanted to walk together with others but it wasn't accepted. She is so grateful that the words of "Let's go together" came out. What the church really needs to worry about is when these words are not stated. At that time, no matter how much the church asks for lay participation the laity are not listening. Hopefully the laypeople will honestly express their feelings: whether it's resentment, apathy, or hope. She hopes that other members of the community will hear it, and other members of the community will also speak out, you'll get answers.   

"This Synodalitas is based on the Second Vatican Council." The period of the First Vatican Council was a time of struggle between the Church and the world. Because the church didn't want to go with the world. The church pushed, condemned, and excluded the world. As a result, the world goes its own way. The Second Vatican Council was not a time of fighting. There was a movement to go together with this consciousness, and Pope Francis' emphasis on synodalitas in his talk to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Synod of Bishops in 2015 has spread to the 16th World Synod.

In this Synod the participation of all the members, God's people, is important and repeatedly emphasized. According to the teaching of the second Vatican Council, already many voices in many places within the church are saying the community of faith must be moved by all the members—people of God: laity, religious, and priests, all are the subjects. It means that no one should remain fully passive, she then pointed out: "In order for this not to end only as nice words, Synodalitas must bloom in the lives of believers; in this way, the church can make a new leap forward." 

Laypersons should first know well what dignity they have in the Catholic Church, what mission they have received, and how respected they should be in the church. There is the identity and mission of the layman that the Catholic Church declared at the 2nd Vatican Council. She hopes the laity understand this well. 

In particular, she pointed out that believers should not fall into the error of seeing the church as another human society. "Synodalitas certainly has a democratic element in that it recognizes the dignity and subjectivity of all members. Nevertheless, the reason Synodalitas is not a democracy is that the church is not a community that moves according to public opinion. You hear a person's voice, but it's listening to the sound of the Holy Spirit. The church is both a human community and a divine community established by God. In addition, "Synodalitas should not be interpreted only as a decision-making structure." Synodalitas is about life. The church is a place where laypersons, religious, and priests must move in their own distinctive ways. Each contributing in their own way.       

The professor repeatedly emphasized the importance of faithfulness to the Word and the gifts received. Believers must seek to hear God’s Word for themselves. That includes prayer, of course. Decision-making in the absence of God and the Word is no more than an earthly parliament where each desires that their personal opinions be heard and realized.

Charism (gifts of the Spirit) is the basis for the synodalistic realization of  Church. The Holy Spirit wants to make the salvation of Christ a reality in the world through the People of God. The Holy Spirit has given the gifts of the spirit to lay people, religious and clergy alike. And there is no one who has not received the Holy Spirit, and I must see what gifts God has given me.

 

The professor emphasized that it is necessary to accurately understand the excessive clericalism and authoritarianism that is frequently heard in talking about synodalitas. Believers tend to think of authority as the world thinks. Authority in the world is to suppress, to use force, and to exclude people. However, in the Catholic Church, the hierarchy is a divine authority. Jesus Christ founded the Church, entrusted his proper office to the clergy, and gave them authority. If you get rid of it, it's not the Catholic Church.This does not mean, however, that these comments and criticisms are meaningless. "The problem of excessive authoritarianism and clericalism is because there is no communication and receptivity in the decision-making process. This needs to be improved. Authority needs  to be exercised in a just and healthy way.

 

Lastly, the professor said that lay people, unlike clergy and religious, have important roles to play in the world. "Reading the signs of the times can be done even by religious and clergy, but it may not be as real and specific as lay people because they do not do worldly work. The lay faithful should read the signs of the times for the church." 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Word Dignity: Misapplied and Misused

The following article in the Current Diagnosis of the Times column of the Catholic Peace Weekly by a scholar in life issues shows how the word dignity is misapplied and misused.
 
"Human beings have dignity." A statement in the Constitution of the Republic of Korea and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Every time she hears this statement, she feels elated. "Yes, I am a dignified being!" So, when did my dignity begin? The answer to this question is surprisingly simple. From the moment she became a human being, the moment she began her life journey,  none other than the moment of conception.
 
So when will my dignity end? The answer to this question is also simple. The moment that human life ends, it ends in death. So far there seems to be no problem. However, we humans are sometimes tempted to arbitrarily decide on what to do with this dignity. In particular, with the development of science and technology we can intervene at the beginning and at the end of life, the temptation continues to increase.
 
If you look into the discussion of bioethics, you can sometimes feel deep regret about what is discussed. "Why are you so anxious that you can’t kill them?" Whether it's the beginning stage of life or the end of life, there are certain standards which when not met we prevent life. At the center of this kind of talk is the disregard for the dignity that comes with life.
 
For example, the meaning of 'death with dignity, which is spreading through the media in our society, is being turned into an expression that glorifies 'euthanasia'. The word euthanasia is derived from the Greek words 'eu' (good) and 'thnatos' (death), meaning good death. Today, however, euthanasia has lost its traditional meaning. Rather, it refers to death intentionally caused by the administration of a toxic substance or the omission of essential treatment. However, 'death, being killed' is increasingly glorified as if it were a dignified death. Many people misunderstand that Korea's "Hospice, palliative care, and life-sustaining medical decisions laws" as partially legalizing euthanasia.

Life-sustaining treatment decisions when the patient has no hope with continued medical help can be suspended. The distinction between killing and allowing to die helps differentiate between deaths we are morally responsible for and those for which we are not.
 
However, it is regrettable that many people tend to focus only on the suspension of life-sustaining treatment. The Life-sustaining Treatment Decision Act aims to "protect dignity and value as a human being" by ensuring that dying patients can die in care for their last hours while minimizing pain and receiving basic medical practices, including nutrition and hydration, even if they stop life-sustaining treatment.
 
We can never call "being killed" a dignified death. Consequently, we can read our society as a culture that seeks to defend the "death of being killed". They say that neglect of the meaning of "concern" and "care" leads to neglect of life. Humans are beings who rely on each other to live "I can take care of someone or be cared for by someone." It is at the beginning and end of our lives that we need care the most. Therefore, requesting and guaranteeing care at a time when it is most necessary for us is to protect our dignity as humans, turning a blind eye to this care and defending killing is not respecting the dignity of life.

Desire for a Synodal Church

 

In November, face-to-face activities that for nearly two years were curtailed are now showing signs of recovery. Following the quarantine guidelines adjusted from the end of October, the number of people who can participate in Mass has increased, allowing them to go comfortably to Sunday Mass without worrying about restrictions. In the Eyes of the Believer column of the Catholic Times the director of a Theological Research Institute gives the readers her thoughts on Synodality.

Several times she arrived at church early on Sunday morning and was not able to attend Mass because the quota was filled so she began to attend the young people's Mass. Since few young people attended Mass the adults were helping liturgically and there were always vacant seats. In a church where thousands of believers belong, the 90 person limit at the youth Mass was filled with gray-haired believers, the young people were rapidly disappearing from the church in the pandemic.

Some young people are worried about participating in religious activities since they are not vaccinated and are concerned about infection. However, it is questionable whether all these young people have disappeared for that reason alone. Those she meets in the parish have expressed similar concerns. She is worried about the future of the church. Perhaps this is one of the urgent tasks for the church in the corona era.  

She thinks the 16th World Bishop's Synod, which opened not long ago, is an invitation to share these concerns. The two-year journey with the theme, "For a synodal Church: communion, participation, and mission" is the first phase of the synod process and has begun at the parish level.

However, it may be only her parish but the church is not providing any guidance or explanation to the believers other than handing out synod prayers and holding the closing prayer after Mass, so the opening or progress of the synod is not experienced by the parishioners. 

She didn't understand the meaning of the first words used for the synod 'walking along on the road to agreement' and when it was changed to the Latin word 'synodalitas' it seemed to her that it made the topic of synod more difficult for laypeople. 

The biggest characteristic of this synod is not delivering the results of discussions to the Holy See or the bishops, but on the contrary, to first fully listen to the voices of the faithful and the world and find the path of evangelization together by carefully identifying the tasks of the church. 

The goal is to restore the synod spirit of a 'going together church'. It is a 'church living the synod spirit' to accept that the operation and mission of the church is not only the responsibility of the clergy but the work of all of us who make up the church, to participate and practice it together. 

One of the important highlights of the Synod is the 'Sensus fidei' (a sense of the faith on the part of the faithful). This is explained by the Pontifical International Theological Commission, as the 'feel of faith', the instinct for the truth of the Gospel given to the faithful by the Holy Spirit at baptism, "a continuous discernment of how the members of the Church, as individuals and communities, live, act and speak in fidelity to the Lord." 

To this end, she thinks that the main task of this synod is to create a church structure that listens to the voices of the laypeople and to work together to develop a sense of faith for believers to discern and pursue the evangelical life. As Pope Francis said, he hopes that this synod will not end with being just an event but will be the beginning of a process of learning and experiencing the path of a church that walks together.