Dreaming of Reconciliation on the Peninsula

  The Reconciliation Column in the Catholic times by the priest secretary of the Reconciliation Committee of the Bishops gives the readers some thoughts on the present situation in Korea.

In 1919, Shim Hoon (1901-1936), a sophomore in High School at the time, was arrested for participating in a demonstration for national independence on March 1st. The novel ‘The Evergreen Tree’ published by Shim Hoon in 1935 is remembered as a representative work of Korean peasant literature in the 1930s. The following are the questions and answers recorded in Shim Hoon's preliminary interrogation report of the District Court in June 1919.
 
Q: What is the independence movement? A: We are now annexed by Japan, but we are fighting to regain the rights we have lost to Japan and become an independent country again.
 
Q: Why does the defendant want independence? A: This is because a nation should have independent politics without being sanctioned by other people. Unauthorized politics in Korea by Japan is to hold a sword even to civil servants and be hostile to Koreans. In addition, education and other unequal domination are ultimately making Koreans slaves to Japan, so we hope for independence.
 
 Q: Did you think independence would be achieved if you declared independence and sang (만세)hurrah? A: Of course, just calling for hurray does not mean independence. However, if you inspire the idea of ​​independence in this way, you will become independent someday, so you are doing the independence movement.
 
 Q: Will you continue the independence movement in the future? A: If there is an opportunity, I will do it again.
 
 More than 100 years ago, there were countless people who rejected violence and peacefully shouted hurrah for our nation's independence. The Japanese Empire was too strong for those who believed in ‘power’ to rule the world, and ‘long live independence’ was unrealistic. But those who could not give up on justice and peace cried out for hope in spite of the ridicule of the world.
 
Pope Francis recently said in an interview with South Korean media that he would go to North Korea as soon as he receives an invitation from North Korea. The Pope has already expressed his will to visit North Korea several times, but this time he expressed his will to the North Korean authorities more directly, saying, "I am asking you to invite me." The Pope and the Holy See's efforts to visit North Korea may seem unrealistic in view of the international situation heading for confrontation and the frozen inter-Korean relations. But Christians who believe in the Kingdom of God are not deprived of hope under any circumstances. Let the Korean church wishing for reconciliation and unity of the nation pray more earnestly for peace on the Korean Peninsula together with the Pope.

What the Good Samaritan Could Not Do

 

In  the Uncomfortable Story Column of the  Catholic Peace Weekly the writer gives his understanding of what the Good Samaritan was not able to do in Luke's account of the parable. Few are those not familiar with the Good Samaritan, believers or not. Jesus gave this parable in response to the doctor of the law in an example of what it means to love your neighbors as yourself, many  similar stories in other traditions besides the Christian Bible.

Mencius mentions the child who falls into a well, once known, all will quickly run to save the child. This is the human natural compassion expressed with the Chinese character (仁) benevolent, kind hearted. You have the character for a person  and the number two.Everything begins from here—source and the bases of conduct. Peter Singer is a utilitarian, a well known present day philosopher. In utilitarianism, an action is judged not by its intrinsic nature, but by its consequences.He gives a very natural utilitarian morality to rid the world of poverty and the dilemma present.

The writer wonders whether his acts of charity are from the selfish motive of self-satisfaction. Maybe his personal acts are like pouring water into a bottomless earthenware pot. And wonders if his philanthropy and giving may serve to sustain this unequal world rather than change it. Philanthropists Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, who say they donate huge sums to help  "capitalism from collapsing," may be more honest. 

This was the dilemma that he has not been able to solve since he was in his 20s. Should we do the philanthropy that will perpetuate what is wrong with the  world, or should we focus our energy on more fundamental reforms? It is funny that people who are neither social activists nor politicians have such concerns, but it is a topic that a good Samaritan with a literal sense of pity would have thought about it at least once. The answer is easy. You don't have to choose one of the two. A child who has fallen into a well must be rescued immediately, while at the same time to remove the well from the children's play area. 

However, the reality is not that simple. Even people who usually feel sympathy and compassion for people with disabilities criticize them once they take part in subway protests. Could our compassion and charity work only as long as it doesn't harm me? The poor and needy are the object of compassion and care, but the moment they ask us to act responsibly and claim their rights, they become legal objects.

I don't believe there was any lack of compassion in the president's heart as he looked into the homes of the semi-subterranean flood victims. But the moment they stand up like disabled people, they will be subject to legal punishment. In this way, our compassion can always turn into anger, and a merciful ruler can always turn into a public security officer. Such is the nature of caring and charity. 

The main function of the medieval church was to provide relief to the poor and the disabled through a charitable system. The image of the  compassionate Blessed Virgin was transferred to the church as a nourishing mother church called 'Alma Mater', and the thinking that the rich and the church obtain salvation by helping the poor, and the poor continue to survive when this is established. This changed to the logic of rehabilitating beggars and criminals and turning them back into laborers with  educational centers and mental hospitals in the early days of capitalism. As Michel Foucault said, 'monitoring and punishing' only changed its face to 'management and care'. 

He wonders if our church is still in the Middle Ages. We try to fulfill the social responsibility of the church through numerous care facilities and charities. However, welfare, no matter how wide spread it may be, it's not the same as solving inequality. This can be directly applied to the climate problem. Aren't we the ones who sort out recyclables to separate and dispose of every day, leaving the companies that mass-produce products that will become garbage and the capital that uses huge fossil fuels as they are? 

It is not enough to be a good Samaritan.You have to catch the robber.

Organic Farmers—Lovers of the Earth

The Catholic Web Site Now/Here had a report on the 43rd Catholic Eco Forum held on the 13th at the Catholic Center in Seoul under the theme is food life or an industry? In this forum, farmers directly participated as presenters, it was emphasized that organic agriculture is a major response to the climate crisis and that for life-saving agriculture to be sustainable, not only farmers but also consumers should recognize the value and work together.

One presenter talked about the importance of organic farming and said that if sustainable agriculture and rural areas are to remain, consumers must choose fair and honest producers so that organic farming can continue.

According to one scientific journal, 64 percent of the world's arable land is contaminated with pesticides,. Eco-friendly agriculture is good for consumers, but not using pesticides or herbicides is best for farmers above all else. Although DDT and defoliant have been discontinued, the proportion of organic farming that does not use synthetic chemicals such as chemical fertilizers, organic synthetic pesticides, growth regulators, herbicides, and livestock feed additives in Korea is only 2.3 percent. On the other hand, the use of pesticides is higher than that of other developed countries.

Organic farming can increase the carbon stock in the soil, which can help combat climate change. He mentioned that the EU (European Union) has decided to convert 25 percent of all farmland to organic farming by 2030 and that the US and Japan are also increasing organic farming. He emphasized that the keywords for carbon neutrality are “honesty and fairness,” and that it is for sustainable agriculture and rural areas to reject the corporate-oriented food industry and allow fair and honest producers to continue to work.

The Catholic Eco-Forum emphasized the importance of paddy wetlands and organic agriculture that can act as carbon storage. Ecological agriculture is also forced to give up due to consumer dissatisfaction looking for insect-free, good-looking, and cheap agricultural products.
 

"If small farmers give up farming and leave, eventually large farmers will absorb the farmland and use chemical fertilizers and herbicides again to destroy the life of the rice paddies." He continued, saying that rice is the start of life in agriculture and protects the ecosystem. However, he emphasized that eco-friendly agriculture cannot be maintained if the government and the media remain indifferent and consumers do not recognize the value of organic products.
 
Regarding the question of whether food is life or industry, he said: "Food is a life industry." Another presenter a member of the Catholic Farmers' Association explained the church's teachings on agriculture and food. "The church's teaching is that life cannot be compromised, it is not subject to bargaining, and a Christian must preserve life."
However, despite the firm teachings of the universal church, it is not well transmitted and practiced in the local churches.

Art Therapy for the Elderly

In the magazine of the Society of the Most Holy Trinity of Mirinae a religious brother of the Society, Brother Lee Michael introduces the readers to his pastoral work with the elderly.

In his experience, there are many elders hospitalized without being diagnosed with any particular disease but suffer. They are often not conscious of what is happening to them, are not given any special medicines, and when walking along the street are often made fun of by children, families often keep them locked up at home.

Nowadays we call this disease dementia and the only medicine given is to prevent the disease from getting worse. Korean society is quickly developing into an aging society and among this group, we have an increase of depression and suicides. At present those over the age of  65, 33%  have symptoms of depression that require that something be done. 

There are many programs that are now available to slow down the development of dementia or prevent its development.  Some examples: music, gym work, walking, sand play, art therapy, etc. have been developed by psychological counselors. He mentions the work of Carl Rogers (1902-1987) and his Person-Centered Therapy and his work with art therapy for the elderly. The writer has become qualified in this field of art therapy for the elderly.

This refers to the entire process in which art therapists professionally trained in psychological, mental, and difficulties of the elderly obtain desirable results through understanding interaction with the elderly.

Art psychology classes for the elderly help them to express emotions and experiences through activities that would be difficult to express in language. They are helped to express themselves positively and creatively. Through the process, they are able to accept social and psychological changes in a healthy manner. In the remaining years of life, they are helped to overcome anxiety, depression, and fear that comes into a person's life.

He lists some of the benefits that can come to a person taking the program.

1) Using different art materials strengthens the five senses.

2) It has a rehabilitative capability to heal problems caused by left and right brain damage.

3) Movements help the development of large and small muscles.

4) Improves language skills.

5) Develops the muscle tissue of the hand.

6)  Develops the ability to express oneself in a group.

7) Helps to relax psychological tensions, gain stability, and live with more joy.

8) Relaxation and the rhythm of regular breathing during the time spent together is maintained or improved.

Elderly Art Psychology helps a person to change their whole way of living.

There is no concrete goal expected. The elders by their art allow them to paint freely and reminisce about their own hidden old memories. Everything that they paint or draw is alright. Everything that they draw or paint is explained to their instructor and helps in deepening the communication between them.`

He mentions an example where one of the elders painted the sky red. He asked why was it not blue and the answer was as a child the house was on fire and the whole sky was red. Hearing these words all began to nod their heads in understanding.

There are many memories from time past that have disappeared. In this therapy program recalling the past and reflecting on personal experiences provides an opportunity to integrate the past with the present. Reminiscence therapy is introduced as a way for patients to have better mental health by remembering their experiences.  One can participate comfortably in this therapy because it allows the elderly to keep and retrieve latent memories for a longer time by having others listen to and recall the experiences of the elderly during the conversation. This process helps cognitive enhancement.

He goes on to explain what is done in the program step by step and ends with the hope that these programs continue to grow among the elderly.

Is Science a Challenge to Faith?

In the Catholic Times Theological  Lecture-hall  column  the  director of Catholic Culture and Theology Institute gives the readers his thoughts on Science and Religion.

 

While lecturing on the eschatology of creation in the  seminary, he became  interested in the relationship between science and religion.  He read the books of  scholars who insist on the dialogue and resonance between science and theology, and try to introduce scientific descriptions and explanations into theological issues. We commend their efforts to reconcile theology and science. But for the columnist, a typical liberal arts student, their theological narratives were difficult to understand and  were not presented convincingly. 

 

The narrative method of natural science, which is based on theories and experiments about nature, and the humanistic description based on theories and experiences about humans and life are different in color. Although humans today tend to be seen as part of nature, there is a difference between exploring and explaining natural phenomena and understanding and interpreting human patterns. He sympathizes more with scholars who advocate two language theories than those who advocate fusion and consilience. Although science and theology can and should communicate with each other, In his opinion the language of science and the language of theology (humanities) have different goals and directions.

 

From a theological point of view, the positions and views of natural scientists are sometimes difficult to accept, but their honest statements are quite attractive. The books of social biologist Edward Wilson were more philosophical than many books in the humanities.  The books of psychologist and neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, computer engineer and neuroscientist Jeff Hawkins, physicist Brian Green, and neuroscientist Anil Seth have more interesting storytelling than any literary book, and more honest and profound thought than any philosophical book. It contains the ultimate question about humanity and life more than any theological book. The irony that natural scientists' explanations contain more literary sentiment, philosophical reflections, and theological questions, and are more persuasive, is often experienced these days. 

 

Life on Earth is estimated to have started 4 billion years ago. Homo sapiens started about 300,000 years ago. It is said that the history of life consists of successive stages of being, feeling, and knowing. They change from living beings to beings that feel and sense, learn and know. Roughly speaking, it seems to have evolved from simple life into feelings and emotions, mind and spirit and consciousness, intelligence and knowledge, and culture and history.

 

Where do feelings come from? What is consciousness? what is the mind, the feeling, the conscious mind? Scientists in the position of physicalism (materialism) find the origin and composition of feelings and consciousness in the body. We are trying to find the answer through research on the brain and nervous system in the body. Brain science and neuroscience are at the forefront of human understanding today.

 

Humans are also living beings in nature. Are humans exceptional in nature? While there is no need to exaggerate the differences between humans and non-humans, scientists acknowledge that there is a clear gap. Antonio Damasio argues that feeling, consciousness, and the cultural mind place man in the most unique position among all living beings. The human conscious mind, the cultural mind, through memory, language, imagination, reasoning, etc., made humans more creative than other living beings. Humans are clearly different from animals that are honest only with feelings and emotions, and artificial machines (intelligence) that specialize only in the realms of intelligence and knowledge. 

 

Animals also have consciousness, but only humans are said to be self-conscious. I live as 'me'. I am neither 'you' nor 'he'.  Anil Seth says that ‘being who I am’ is ultimately about the body. "The totality of perception and cognition, the overall panorama of human experience and mental life, consists of a deeply embedded biological power of survival. We perceive the world around us and ourselves in it as a living body, through and because of it." Then, when the life of the body ends, does consciousness disappear and I also disappear? Because our inner universe of mind and consciousness is also a part of nature, physicalists think that with the disappearance of the body, consciousness of self and 'I' also disappear. Am I  only 'me' while I'm alive? 

 

If human feelings, consciousness, and knowledge are based on the body (body, matter), does the feeling, consciousness and knowledge of ‘I’ disappear after death? Feeling, consciousness, and knowledge disappear, but does the individual ‘I’ exist after death? The Church attempts to explain this dilemma through the concept of the soul. The soul is the principle and foundation of human existence. "The Church teaches that the soul of each person – not 'made' by his parents – is created by God himself and is immortal. Even if separated from the body by death, the soul does not disappear and will be reunited with the body at the resurrection" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 366). The earthly body and the resurrected body are different. 

 

In fact, doctrinal propositions are often declarative rather than explanatory. Sometimes there is a gap between professing and accepting doctrine and understanding and explaining it. The existence of this immaterial soul is not the realm of scientific proof, but the realm of faith. But really, like the theologians who insist on the resonance between science and theology, does the development of science today make the content of faith more clearly visible than in the past rather than a challenge to faith? 

 

The time engraved on the earthly body is always toward extinction. Human time, Earth time, cosmic time will last longer, but the feeling that one day my time of existence will end often saddens me. "My soul is old"  but I believe and hope that my soul will be with the Lord forever.

 

 "From a historical and evolutionary point of view, consciousness can be thought of as a kind of forbidden fruit. Because once you eat its fruit, you know pain and suffering, and eventually face death tragically" (Antonio Damasio). Despite the tragic nature of consciousness, isn't it grace and dazzling beauty to live as something you can feel and think about?

 

For All Mankind

 

The Catholic Times in its Reconciliation Column has a    article by a  Research Fellow at the  Catholic Institute for Northeast Asia Peace.

These days, the columnist is watching IPTV dramas. The title is 'For All Mankind'. The title was so grandiose that at first he thought it was a sci-fiction drama in which all people on Earth unite and fight against an alien invasion, but the content was far from that. 

 

Set against the backdrop of NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) of the United States, it contains the precarious lives of astronauts and their families, the process of space development that was conducted competitively with the Soviet Union.

 

The drama shows the process from 1969, when space development began, with various videos, audio, and various props, which the  Americans might find very impressive. A large part of the content also contains competition for space development with the Soviet Union, which will  stimulate one's patriotism. Among the Apollo astronauts in the United States, there were many who actually participated in the Korean War as air force pilots. 

 

The drama begins with the successful landing of a Soviet manned spacecraft on the moon disappointing the Americans. After the Soviet Union's Alexei Leonov succeeded first, American newspapers began to call for a response from the US government calling the moon the 'Red Moon'. After that, NASA, a latecomer, prepares for a second manned landing with Apollo 11 and begins to follow the Soviet Union. 

 

In the process, politics constantly intervenes, and scientific innocence mixes with the military aspect and conflicts. When a lithium ore was discovered on the moon, a military clash between the US and the Soviet Union over it also occurred. Afterwards, scenes of the United States and the Soviet Union competing even to explore Mars appear in succession. 

 

He has been thinking a lot while watching this drama. The title of the drama is said to be taken from the commemorative phrase of Apollo 11: "We came for the purpose of peace for all mankind." However, in the drama, they are fighting over the lithium ore. All things start with the grandeur of 'for the sake of mankind', but in the process of progress, the conflict for the interests of one’s own country continues. 

 

We wonder when the time will come when the prophet Isaiah spoke of "The wolf lives with the lamb, the panther lies down with the goat, and the calf and lion eat together with a little boy to lead them (Isa 11:6). In the drama, we went to the moon and fought, but what will happen in reality? If we leave Earth and go to another planet, won't we fight? 

 

Fighting Against the Culture of Death

 

A parish priest in the Catholic Times Eyes of the Believer column has some words he wants the readers to ponder for the four-day holiday of Chuseok, September 10th, Korean Thanksgiving Day. It is celebrated on the 15th of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, the day of the harvest moon. He mentions the Culture of Death as a great hindrance to our enjoyment of life in its fullness.

A new culture of death is rampant in our society these days. The existing culture of death, such as abortion, suicide, euthanasia, the death penalty, and embryonic stem cells, has long weakened our meaning and joy for life. There is a risk of damaging the dignity of life as people are divided in favor of the enactment of the Doctor-Assisted Dignity Act, which will lead to an increase in the suicide rate. In addition to this culture of death, as the times change, a new culture of death such as child abuse, digital sexual violence, hate, power abuse, racism, sexism, and ecological destruction is driving our society. 

 

Child abuse and digital sex crimes are not only anti-life and anti-human but getting worse every year. In addition, these two problems have in common economic inequality and result in extremes in child-rearing. 

 

The majority of child abuse is handed down by parents who were often abused by their parents. Abused children tend to replace their parents' love and joy by relying too much on online games and smartphones for experiences of love they do not receive from their parents. Digital addiction impairs brain development from childhood.

 

The culture of death is closely intertwined with each other. Punishment and education to prevent child abuse or digital sex crimes are also necessary, but without fundamental healing to break the vicious cycle, such criminal acts will continue to evolve into new forms. 

 

The word 'hate' is now common in our society. Aversion, dislike, and loathing are seen often.

 

The object of hate is vast: sexism, racism, discrimination against minorities, and the weak. In 2016 a man brutally murdered a woman he didn't know or ever met before near Gangnam Station. This incident was expanded and reproduced into an active feminist debate. An active and effective alternative to this culture of death is unconditional hospitality to others.

 

French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas, who established the ethics of the other, believes that a culture of love and life is possible by responding to the 'face of the other' and meeting without conditions. Pope Francis is also accepting of migrants, refugees, and the socially disadvantaged as a 'culture of encounter and dialogue rather than a 'culture of walls' from the position of unconditionally welcoming others in the spirit of universal brotherhood and social fraternity. In the encyclical All Brothers the pope stressed this openness to the other. 

 

There is a personal brotherhood, but when social camaraderie through solidarity is practiced, the possibility of transforming the culture of death into a culture of love and life will open up. On this Chuseok holiday, the writer hopes that no one is excluded and marginalized, and in solidarity with neighbors in need expressed in sharing and caring. Happy Harvest Festival!