World Church's Faith

The Catholic Peace Weekly has an article by a Korean resident living in the States and his reflection on attending a Korean Mass. 

There is no Korean Catholic church in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA, where he lives. Koreans who continue their religious life here do so at their local American churches, but gather at the cathedral twice a month for a Korean-language Mass presided over by a Korean priest who comes from Nashville, two hours away.  Participating in a Korean Mass like this is a rare. He realizes once again the importance of a Korean Mass, which was so obvious when he lived in Korea ten years ago.

However, a sight slightly different from usual caught his eye on this day. Unfamiliar faces participated in the Mass. He couldn't tell if they were Americans or visitors from another country, but they were definitely foreigners and not Koreans, and they were attending our Korean Mass.

He was in charge of the commentary for Mass that day, and as he looked at them from the lectern he wondered who they were. In fact, this was especially true because there was no reason for people who did not understand Korean to participate in a Korean Mass.  Although they did not seem to understand Korean, they were very devout in participating in the Mass.

After Mass, he approached them and greeted them. They explained that they came to the cathedral to pray and participated after seeing a Korean Mass being offered. Although they did not understand the content, they could feel the presence of God and left the cathedral saying thanks for the welcome.

As he watched people offering Mass in an incomprehensible language but with devotion, he felt the power of the Holy Spirit in achieving unity. It is a great thing to say Mass in your native language, but he thought that sometimes there is something to be gained by participating in Mass in an unfamiliar language.

Even at Mass in Korean, which they did not understand, they would confess their faith together in their own language, say the Lord's Prayer, pray for peace, and participate together in the mystery of the Eucharist. How much is the power of the united faith of the church?  realized once again how universal it was.

He had the opportunity to participate in the multicultural, multilingual Rosary event hosted by the Diocese of Knoxville in 2021. On that day, he participated as a representative of the Korean speakers, and his role was to sing the 'Glory be' at the end of each decade in Korean. On that day, people of many different nationalities gathered together, and he later found out that they prayed the rosary together in as many as 14 languages.

It was a little special because each person offered it in their own language. For example, the Lord's Prayer was said in English, the Hail Mary was said in turns in several languages, and the 'Glory Be' said in Korean. Those who participated were able to have the rare experience of hearing the Lord's Prayer, Hail Mary, and 'Glory Be' offered in a language they did not understand, but praying in unison in their hearts in their own language. It was a day when the exclamation of the disciples at the time of the descent of the Holy Spirit, “What is happening, that each of us hears in the language of his native country?” (Acts 2:8), was truly a day.

The more thought he gives to the situation the more mysterious and surprising it becomes. At this moment, in Korea, the United States, and countless other places the Mass is being offered every day in all languages, people are reading the same Bible, receiving the Eucharist together, praying, and praising God all together!

Although his own faith is insignificant, the unified ‘faith of the church’ is truly beautiful, amazing, and great. He finds great comfort in that. This may be why we pray like this every time during Mass. Lord! Do not count our sins, but look at the church's faith and make it peaceful and united according to your will. Amen!

Listening to All—Synodalitas Church.

In the Catholic Site, News Here and Now, a priest with the Korean Institute of Christian Thought helps us understand the problems that arise and the efforts at solutions to make the gospel understandable to the changing environment. The following briefly summarizes the article published on the Web Site.

This goal of the Institute cannot be accomplished by anyone alone, consequently, the institute is run by volunteers, sponsors, and church scholars who support and accompany the academic, cultural mission, and pastoral work.

However, the research institute is where memories and norms are background. He faces difficulties due to misunderstandings and conflicts that arise— discord over words used, disagreements in opinions, and emotional issues whose reasons are unknown. As a director, meeting each person involved, listening to their stories, and making sense of the situation is not an easy task. 

In a parish, problems might resolve themselves or settle down over time, but here, the entire community suffers a significant blow. The reason for the issues among people is simple: "It's because they do not think or act according to my wishes."

Because he was feeling upset due to the hostility and conflict within the community, he went to a town near the research center on Sunday afternoon to get his hair cut. In the town were many factories where foreign workers lived; it was crowded with people from the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Southwest Asia, and China. A lot of interesting things for sale on the street. He bought sugar cane juice, a coconut drink made on the spot, and ate Turkish kebabs for dinner. Not only was it good to see different faces, but the food was delicious and reasonably priced. After escaping from the monotonous routine and worries at the research institute and encountering diverse cultures and people, he felt more relaxed. On the way back, he remembered Procrustes from Greek mythology.

Procrustes was a villain who lived in the hills outside Athens and engaged in robbery. He laid the people he kidnapped while robbing them on an iron bed he made, if taller than the bed, he cut their limbs to fit the bed and if shorter than the bed, he forcibly stretched them to death. The problem is that the size of this bed was not fixed, but increased and decreased through a device known only to Procrustes. Of course, there was no one whose height would fit into the bed. Eventually, Procrustes' misdeeds reached the ears of the Athenian hero Theseus, who captured Procrustes, laid him on a bed, and cut off his head and legs in the same manner. Procrustes' bed is used to attack others with an arbitrary standard to which others are made to agree if they speak differently from what one thinks and believes.

An important concept in Synodalitas ecclesiology is the “people of God” declared by the Second Vatican Council. God's people are all baptized Christians who are equally noble before the Lord, and all of them are members of the Lord and become a gathering of people who carry out the Lord's mission in their respective positions in the church. The  Synod Church, advocated by Pope Francis, is a reform movement aimed at embodying the meaning contained in this concept of the People of God within the culture of the Church. God's people recognize the value of the diversity of the world and human beings. 

People are different depending on where they were born, their experiences, education, and their lives have helped form them. Believers, priests and religious within the church are also diverse, each with their own unique characteristics. Synodalitas is about renewing the church by listening to all. In other words, “each person does his/her own part in his/her own position.”

The calling each member of the church receives from God is unique, and various callings come together to create the kingdom of God. Nevertheless, we set ourselves as the standard for church life and try to bring others into our own worldview. Insisting that our thoughts are objective and the correct tradition of the church. 

In other words, we prepare our own Procrustes bed, and we place others in it. We call this behavior ‘clericalism’. Clericalism does not only mean the authoritarianism and self-righteousness of priests but is a metaphor for all acts of oppressing others according to one's own standards. It is time to destroy the Procruste's bed within us to create a synodalitas church. 

Artificial Intellegence Era Issues

One of the reporters of the Catholic Peace Weekly reports on a Catholic forum seeing some of the problems of the media industry and a look at the ethical issues in the AI era.

AI experts and Catholic journalists spoke with one voice on the need for ethical regulations, saying: "The use of AI, which has already become mainstream, ultimately depends on the human users.

[Reporter] AI was not a trend When AlphaGo defeated 9-dan Lee Sedol in Go in 2016. (Google DeepMind’s AlphaGo program beat Korean Go {Asian Chess} grandmaster Lee Sedol to win the series 4-1. Evidence of the  achievements of artificial intelligence) 

However, since ChatGPT emerged in November 2022, global attention and enormous investment have been focused on AI.

Experts predict that AI will have a huge impact on human life.

The fact that the Catholic Communication Association chose the ‘AI era, media paradigm and ethics’ as the theme of this year’s Catholic Forum is also related to this trend.

Most of the forum presenters unanimously said: "We need to actively utilize artificial intelligence, which has become mainstream, and know it better." Prepare to prevent the risks and harmful effects of AI—fake news and false information which makes the role of the journalists to report the truth more important.

[Researcher] "There are many problems such as hallucinations created by generative AI, but in any case, there will be a lot of plausible fakes. We are entering an era where we must spend a lot of time and resources distinguishing between plausible fakes, and real ones, and so far, the leading profession for distinguishing between real and fake ones has been journalists. "Journalists have always done that."

A digital expert predicted that the current position of portal sites and media companies will undergo significant changes due to AI.

Just as mobile Internet intermediaries play a major role in human communication and the emergence of companies such as Google and Naver, it is predicted that new companies will be born in the era of AI communication.

A priest who was a discussant predicted that the role of religion will remain unchanged in the AI ​​era.

This is because AI's answers cannot provide true empathy and spiritual comfort to people who express serious concerns.

Another Priest mentioned asking AI: "I don't know if I should live any longer"—Do you know what the AI said?  "I will give you the phone  number of the Suicide Prevention Counseling Center."

The problems and benefits of artificial intelligence for good or evil will be the human user.

The Courage of Ven. Father Choe Yang-eop

In the recent Catholic Weekly Building Bridges Column we hear about Father Thomas Choe Yang-eop who was given the title "Servant of God", the first step on the path to sainthood in 2004, declared "venerable" in 2016, the final stage to sainthood remains.

He was the second Korean Priest who followed St. Kim Taegon, Andrew. Fr. Choe clearly saw the harm caused by Bishop Ferréol, the Bishop of Joseon, (Korea), using the nobility as assistants in the diocese. "Those clerks committed many condemnable acts, behaved arrogantly, using their noble status, and were despised by all the believers. However, the bishop particularly loved and trusted them, consulting with them on all matters." This is an excerpt from a letter sent by Father Choe to his priest mentor, after Bishop Ferreol's death (dated September 15, 1857). The letter reveals how negative the public opinion of the nobility was in Joseon at the time.

"All the people recognized and were weary of the nobility's arrogance, presumption, tyranny, and immorality as the root of all social evils and the cause of their misery."

Father Choe reports that the discord among the believers worsened due to the hierarchical system within the church, which further tilted an already skewed playing field. He advised Bishop Ferreol several times through letters and interviews to dismiss the nobles who were working with him, but he only received reprimands and earned the clerks' great animosity.

Father Choe Yang-eop had a clear consciousness that the nobility system was contrary to the Gospel and the spirit of Christ. "In a (class) system that recognizes the nobility, there can be no brotherly love or charity, and innate human rights are completely ignored.  If talent and character were evaluated without regard to birth the whole system would easily collapse." Father Choe also said that missionary priests should learn about the reality, customs, and thoughts of the common people of Joseon before coming to Korea.

More than a century and a half has passed since Father Choe Yang-eop was active. A recent survey revealed that over two-thirds of respondents agree with the claim that Korea has become a 'new class society.' The most cited cause for this new class system was 'parents' socioeconomic status,' followed by 'unequal political and social structures.' Kinship, regional connections, school ties, and an individual's education and competitiveness were found to be of minor significance. How does the church view the increasingly severe phenomenon of wealth inheritance? Can the church be free from this new class system?

As efforts and prayers continue for the beatification of Father Choe Yang-eop known as the 'martyr of sweat', it would be good to heed his words on the class system and the nobility. Are there any unequal structures or customs within the church today that contradict the life and teachings of Christ? Who are the people involved in the church's decision-making process? Are there any 'new nobility'? Is the Korean church, which prides itself on being established by laypeople, still or even more clergy-centric? One reflects on the faith and courage of Father Choe Yang-eop, who continued to speak out against the bishop despite reprimands.

Aging Role Models

 

A university professor in the humanities department gives the readers of the Catholic Times some ideas on growing old. 

Many are reluctant to imagine old age because it feels dark, associated with disease, disability, and care for the elderly. In the Japanese film ‘Plan 75’ (2024), which is set in an aging society where generational conflicts and hate crimes against the elderly have increased, the government receives applications for euthanasia from people aged 75 or older. They give seniors time to deal with their deaths and even provide compensation and counseling to help them enjoy their final days. 

Poor elderly people choose death because their health deteriorates, have few work opportunities, and life is difficult. The government, which recommended euthanasia citing the quality of life, abandons many of the elderly to save costs. Although it is based on imagination, it recreates a scary situation that may occur in an aging society.

Even in the real old age society, death, and old age are separated and marginalized from life. In Korean society, the elderly benefit from the system, but families, especially children, are not free from the primary responsibilities. Many elderly people are healthy for a long time, and others suffer from chronic illnesses or dementia. In societies where autonomy and independence are emphasized, active aging is more prevalent, but the lives of the elderly who erase the traces of aging don't go beyond the extension of youth.

Men offer the younger generation a more varied role model for the elderly, while women show a role model that is confined to the warm, fresh emotional aspects of their grandmothers, the model of maternity. Since these role models are less than men, it is more difficult for women to find their old-age role models.

Nevertheless, the role models of older women in older society can be found in a variety of ways. Some older women actors have been reproduced as bad mother-in-law or as good-natured mothers, but who are active in old age and have different appearances as grandmothers, as well as in public roles. 

Writing about women or looking at the lives of older women can also help to create role models for older women. The documentary "Writing on the ground" (2024) follows the life of South Korea's first female landscape artist, even at the age of 80 and over. She believes himself to be a mediator of nature and has dedicated himself to creating healing and places of reflection in the deserted urban environment and the ecological environment she wants to pass on to her descendants. In the documentary "The Legend of the Waterflower" (2023), an elderly sailor who teaches a young sailor his own material know-how appears.

Old age is a stage in which one reflects on one's life in a slow steady way, while also accepting illness and disability and preparing for elderly care, medical decisions, and death. As Catholics, it is time to think about role models for older people. If you plan your old age through various role models, old age will be an unknown path but also a fun challenge.

Climate and Human Rights

 

The Catholic Peace Weekly priest columnist visits the climate crisis that the whole world is working to understand and achieve some unity in the ways to deal with the situation.

As soon as June begins, you can feel the heat wave. The midday temperature exceeds 30 degrees, and the sun feels hot. The media is warning us of this summer's weather being hotter and more humid than usual. Most people accept all of this as a result of climate change caused by environmental destruction that has accumulated over a long period.

Climate change does not simply mean changes in the natural ecosystem due to environmental pollution.  The various problems caused by climate change ultimately lead to human rights issues. This is because many in the world today are affected in their dignity, with their basic rights: to health, and housing, due to climate change.

Human beings too are creatures of this world, enjoying a right to life and happiness, and endowed with unique dignity (Laudato Si ).

The first instance of linking the climate change crisis to substantive rights was the Stockholm Declaration adopted by the United Nations in 1972. This declaration laid the foundation for the interrelationship between the environment and human rights by adding environmental rights to the category of human rights, but it has yet to reach the stage of having a concrete impact.

Later, in 1992, at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to realize sustainable development Stockholm's position was once again stated: "Humans have the right to enjoy a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature."

The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development was signed and adopted by representatives of more than 150 countries as a specific code of conduct for people around the world to follow, 20 years after the Declaration on the Human Environment was announced in Stockholm. The content of this declaration already goes beyond human survival and focuses on quality of life and sustainable growth.

Unlike the Kyoto Protocol (1997), which uniformly set greenhouse gas emissions, the Paris Agreement (2015) takes a more flexible stance, with each country setting its own reduction amount. The developed countries maintain an absolute reduction target,  but developing countries emphasize more active and voluntary cooperation by taking into account the economic situation between countries by adopting goals that encompass the entire economy.

As more and more people are suffering from social inequality in Korea, the severity of the climate crisis and human rights issues are being raised as a result of the climate crisis. Heat waves that recur every year cause hardship not only to neighbors living in places with poor residential environments but also to workers in places with poor working environments.

When agricultural prices soar due to record-breaking rains and floods, the poor are bound to feel an even greater burden on their livelihoods. The lives of the homeless are threatened by the cold wave. According to the European ‘Environmental Health Inequality’ report published in 2019, among people whose lives are affected by phenomena caused by the climate crisis, the risk of death in the lower-income class is five times higher than in the upper-income class.

The hot summer has begun. He's worried about how to get through this heat. We may be concerned about ourselves, but he thinks it is also a time when we must worry about our neighbors, who are having a hard time protecting their right to live a dignified life. He hopes this will be a summer in which we listen more closely to “the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor”  so that the problems of the marginalized are not pushed out of sight.

Reclusive Loners In Society

In the View from the Ark column of the Catholic Weekly, a religious sister looks at the reclusive loner among Korean teenagers.

Not long ago, she met a teenager in the area who was a reclusive loner.  There is no official data on reclusive loners, but KBS reported that there are 100,000  in Korea and about 15% drop out of school. 40% of those with a history of seclusion began their seclusion in adolescence and the number of potential reclusive loners is considered to be much higher than what the figures indicate.

We see students around us who have lost motivation and even given up on social life. Even among teenagers, we learn through personal counseling that they are experiencing various difficulties (school violence, bullying, abnormalities lack of protection, etc.)  even though it does not seem like a real crisis. Adolescents who experience such difficulties show fear or avoidance of interpersonal relationships.

They spend their days helplessly for no clear reason. They are reluctant to talk to others, and their interpersonal relationships gradually decrease, if this continues, they eventually reach the stage of dropping out of school or choosing isolation. 

Considering that adolescence is a time for various relationship training required for adulthood, this can be considered a very serious problem. These are people who need great courage to face new people, a new world, and themselves.

That's why support is desperately needed for reclusive loners. What is significant among the survey conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare on 8,800 isolated and reclusive young people is that the majority of isolated and reclusive youth and adolescents clearly expressed their intention to join the human family and even made active attempts to do so.

However, the rate of isolation again after attempting 'de-isolation' is 45.6%. The most common reasons were ‘because of lack of money and time,’ ‘because it was difficult and exhausting,’ and ‘because the problem was not solved.’ Among the respondents who did not attempt to break away from isolation, the most common reason was ‘because of lack of information’.

Adolescence is a time when children break free from the dependent relationship with their parents and learn various ways of life through more equal and mutual relationships with friends and others. In particular, since we grow through many rapid changes in various aspects, we need appropriate help to solve the challenges we face in this process. Therefore, peer relationships, social relationships, and experiences during adolescence are important factors in determining whether a person can grow into a healthy adult and adapt well to society.

If we intervene early on in adolescents who show signs of being reclusive loners, wouldn't it be possible to prevent the prolongation of seclusion and enable a successful return to society? Fortunately, the government recently revised the Enforcement Decree of the Youth Welfare Support Act to include support for reclusive youth as targets of the at-risk youth support project.

Once they decide to go out into the world, their anxiety about the unknown world will be unimaginably great. What is most needed is a safe support system and enjoyable and meaningful experience programs that can transform such anxiety into a positive experience.

Reclusive loners often occur due to social and environmental causes that are difficult to attribute responsibility. Therefore, all of us need to detect those who live in seclusion or those who are in situations that could lead to seclusion at an early stage so that they can grow into healthy members of society. It is our role to look around us to see if there are any reclusive teenagers.