Search For Meaning

The Catholic Peace Weekly Philosophical Chat Column by a Jesuit Philosophy professor gives readers some understanding of the search for meaning as seen from the philosopher's chair.

Humans are beings who pursue meaning. Frankl (1905-1997), famous for ‘logotherapy’ influenced by the existential philosophy of Jaspers (1883-1969), argues that people easily fall into ‘existential emptiness’ when they fail to find meaning in life.

So what is meaning?  According to Emerich Coreth SJ (1919-2006), meaning comprises two fundamental elements: ‘meaning’ that enables theoretical and semantic understanding, and ‘direction’ that is worth pursuing as a goal or purpose. All actions gain meaning from a specific direction in which they move. The meaning of life is expressed when we live a goal-oriented life with a purpose and without losing direction. Therefore, setting a purpose and direction in life is essential for a meaningful life.

The meaning in the world is never grasped in isolation, but in the context of the “whole”. Here, meaning proceeds not only to the “horizon of meaning” of the whole of meaning, but also to the “final ground” of meaning, the absolute being or God. The meaning of any individual event is concealed in relation to the whole of meaning. This is connected to the fact that we are fundamentally living in a transitional situation: suffering, death, coincidences, etc., that come to us hidden, with their meaning unrevealed.

Since life and existence are inextricably linked to meaning, it is virtually impossible to separate them. “Every situation has meaning in a super-meaning way that is beyond meaning,” Jasper says,”but this meaning is often hidden and not easily recognized. However, it is interesting that humans are 'committed to meaning' despite absolute limitations. Human beings only reveal the meaning of their existence at each moment through their existential decision to relate to the transcendent.

Philosophical counseling is particularly interested in understanding and interpreting the 'tests' experienced in life that reveal one's self-existence and the meaning of existence. This is because true healing occurs when a person's unique life experience is translated into a meaningful text and when new meaning is discovered and given to it.                                                                                                                                          Finding meaning presupposes that the world is already filled with meaning. According to Husserl (1859-1938), the discovery of meaning is an act that occurs between the object of meaning and the intentional subject of consciousness. However, Heidegger (1889-1976) argues that this act of giving meaning by the intentional subject of consciousness is fundamentally connected to the meaning of ‘existence’.

However, the world is already filled with meaning because it has been ‘previously’ understood through projection in relation to the possibility of existence. We perform meaningful acts in relation to the possibility of our own existence within the meaningful world we understand.

Therefore, the meaning we find in the world is never understood in isolation and individually but is understood in the context of the meaning of the ‘whole of meaning.’ Here, meaning advances not only to the ‘horizon of meaning’ of the whole of meaning, but also to the ‘final basis’ of meaning, such as absolute existence or God. The meaning of an individual situation is hidden in relation to the whole of meaning. This is connected to the fact that we are fundamentally living within a limited situation, and the meaning of suffering, death, and coincidence that come to us is hidden without being revealed.

Since life and existence, which are inseparably related to meaning, are mysterious in themselves, it is virtually impossible to fully understand their meaning. Jaspers says, “Every situation has meaning in a supermeaning way that goes beyond meaning, but that meaning is often hidden and not well revealed.” Nevertheless, the interesting fact is that humans are ‘devoted to meaning’ who ask about the meaning of their existence even in an absolutely limiting situation. Humans only reveal the meaning of their existence each time through an existential decision related to the transcendent.

Humans reveal the meaning of their existence each time through existential decisions that relate them to the transcendent. Philosophical counseling is particularly interested in understanding and interpreting 'tests' of life that illuminate the person's existence and meaning. True healing occurs when the person's unique life experiences are transformed into meaningful texts, leading to the discovery and attribution of new meanings.

Constant Prayer

 

A monk from the Benedictine Waegwan Abbey in Korea gives the readers of the Catholic Times some ideas about what the Desert Fathers said about constant prayer: trying to live in God's mind and dwelling in it.

The Desert Fathers do not speak much about prayer. However, prayer was their very life, oriented toward God. One monk said, “When I was young and living alone, I did not limit myself to prayer. For me, the night was as much a time for prayer as the day”. Epiphanius, bishop of Cyprus, says, “A true monk must have prayer and the recitation of the psalms in his heart.” 

Evagrius also says, “We are not commanded to work, to pray all night, and to fast constantly. Instead, we have the law: ‘Pray without ceasing’”. The Desert Fathers tried to live in unity with God through constant prayer. Nothing else mattered to them. We will examine their intense efforts to practice constant prayer and their teachings. 

Jesus commanded his disciples to “be always awake and pray” (Luke 21:36). The Apostles, especially the Apostle Paul, followed this command and exhorted the faithful to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). This exhortation of Jesus and the Apostles to “pray always” has remained the constant ideal for all Christians from the early centuries to our own day. The ancient Christians made their own efforts to realize this exhortation.

Some even went to extremes. Representative examples are the two groups of ascetic groups in Mesopotamia in the 4th century, the “euchites” (those who pray) and the “acemiti” (those who do not sleep). The former refused worldly work, especially manual labor, in order to pray without ceasing. The latter believed that the community could achieve ‘perpetual prayer’ (Laus perennis) by taking turns in prayer and by the liturgy of the hours, which was celebrated by different groups of monks, so that prayer would never be interrupted. This principle spread in the West under the names of ‘perpetual adoration of the Eucharist’ and ‘perpetual Rosary.’

The exhortation of Jesus and the Apostles to ‘pray always’ has remained a constant ideal for all Christians from the early centuries to the present. 

Taking St. Paul’s exhortation to heart, the early desert monks devoted themselves to realizing the ideal of perpetual prayer. They tried to maintain the memory of God not only through the constant recitation of the psalms, meditation, and prayer, but also during manual labor, meals, conversation with others, and rest. They considered this ‘remembrance of God’ to be the core of their spiritual life. The Desert Fathers always tried to increase the time devoted to prayer in order to live in the state of prayer (status orationis) according to Cassianus’ expression. Neither fatigue nor distraction could hinder their external act of prayer (actio orationis). They tried to maintain the memory of God and live conscious of His presence through continuous ‘acts of prayer’, and finally reached the ‘state of prayer’. Thus, their very existence and life became prayer.

The ‘memory of God’, which the Desert Fathers considered the core of their spiritual life, is a key concept, especially that of St. Basil. According to Basil, the primary method for remembering God is ‘recalling the Scriptures’. This is to keep the thoughts of God in the soul, in other words, to possess God within us. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain the memory of God. To do this, we must pay attention to ourselves. This attention is the medicine of the soul, and the true medicine of the soul is God.  Concupiscence hinders the constant remembrance of God, and therefore, it is necessary to fight against it. 

“There is a wonderful prayer which clearly impresses the mind of God in the soul. It is the possession of God’s indwelling, God’s remembrance, which dwells in us. When the constant remembrance of God is not interrupted by worldly cares and the mind is not disturbed by passions, we become a temple of God. The friend of God avoids all these things, rejects the passions that tempt him to indulgence, and takes refuge in God, persevering in the way of conduct that leads to virtue.” 

The Desert Fathers invented a unique method to maintain the remembrance of God. They used short prayers that were repeated to avoid distraction. This short prayer was used not only in Egypt, but also in Sinai, Palestine, Syria, and throughout Christendom. The general characteristic of this prayer was its brevity and simplicity. This was the repetition of a passage from the Bible, especially from the Psalms, either aloud or in the mind. This practice helped to maintain a constant awareness of God's presence. The forms of 'remembrance' they used varied, but over time, some forms became preferred. 

In particular, they preferred the prayer of the publican in the Gospel:  “O God, have mercy on me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13). Abba Lucius used “God, have mercy on me; save me from my sin, according to your great goodness and according to the abundance of your mercy” (Psalm 51:3). According to Cassianus, Abba Isaac recommended the constant recitation of “God, come to my rescue; Lord, come to my aid!” (Psalm 71:2). “Any monk who wishes to be constantly conscious of God should cultivate the habit of constantly repeating this formula in his mind, banishing all other thoughts” The prayers they preferred to use for the practice of reflection were ultimately the “prayer for mercy” and the “prayer for help” of God. The Desert Fathers tried to maintain God's memory and always live in God's presence by reflecting on God's Word. In this way, they tried to realize the ideal of constant prayer.

Aristotles's Influence on the West

Aristotle, one of the founders of Western philosophy, was exported to the West by Islam. This article is in 'Catholic News Now/Here' by a professor who founded the Asian Religious Peace Association and served as vice president, and is currently teaching peace studies at a Catholic University.

Alfred North Whitehead summarized the European philosophical tradition as a series of footnotes on Plato. This means that today's Western philosophy and theology cannot be explained without Plato. This is an exaggeration. However, philosophers are receiving more attention as we enter an era where Eastern and Western thought communicate and human experience is given more importance. 

Aristotle (384-322 BC) was born in Macedonia, grew up there, and came to Athens, Greece, to study. He studied under Plato, but he considered certain concepts or phenomena and sought philosophical completeness from a different perspective than Plato.

Plato tried to establish a theory about an ideal state that transcended reality. He wanted to make political reality closer to ideas, and he thought that was the role of philosophical reason. However, rather than pursuing a purely ideal state theory, Aristotle tried to find the best state among current states. This is because he believed that the ideal exists within the present.

Aristotle explained the relationship between the ideal and the real, the universal and the particular, as ‘substance’ and ‘attribute.’ For example, pencils, desks, and books are ‘substances’ that exist independently. However, yellow, big, and thick, such as a yellow pencil, a big desk, and a thick book, correspond to ‘attributes.’ Attributes do not exist beyond substance. The attribute of ‘yellow’ is in the yellow object, not in yellow itself. It always exists as a ‘attribute of substance’. In this way, all substances have attributes.

All beings have the attributes of quantity, quality, relation, where, when, position, having, acting, and being acted upon, combined with the independent basis of ‘substance’ (ousia). Anything that exists exists in a way that quality, quantity, position, and relation depend on substance.

There are also ‘essential attributes’ and ‘non-essential attributes’.  Whether a horse is white or brown, big or small, is an attribute of a horse, but it is a ‘non-essential attribute’. However, the fact that a horse is a mammal with hooves corresponds to an ‘essential attribute’ of a horse. A horse can be anything, even if it is not big, small, or brown, but it cannot be a horse if it is not a mammal and does not have hooves. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle all have the essential attribute of being human.

Aristotle clarifies the ‘essential attribute’ through the broader concept of ‘form’ (eidos) inherent in any being or phenomenon. ‘Form’ does not simply mean the external appearance of a being. Form is also the essence that makes an object into that object. For example, the ‘form’ of a person includes not only the ‘appearance of walking on two feet’ but also the essential definition of being a ‘rational animal.’

The combination of this form and matter is substance. ‘Form’ is given to the ‘material’ called ‘stone’ to become a specific ‘statue,’ a substance. ‘Form’ is something like, “What is that statue?” When we ask, “What is?”, it is the same as the fundamental principle that defines the “what it is.” The shape of a statue is composed of specific features such as the size, color, and location of the statue, and those features are the attributes.

The shape combines with matter to become a substance. The shape is not separated from the matter. The substance is also not separated from the attributes. It always exists as the “shape of matter” and as the “attribute of substance.” This perspective was later usefully utilized in Christian theology when connecting God and humans, God and creatures, etc., when explaining the Bible, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.” (Genesis 1:26)

In this context, Aristotle believed that universals also exist within human senses. This contrasts to Plato, who viewed universals (ideas) as existing independently of human perception. He also viewed the value of justice as not existing independently but as existing within society and humans. He believed that humans can distinguish and recognize universal forms among things with the help of reason. In this way, Aristotle brought down ideas to the level of things. This led to the logic that universals are universals within particulars. 

Later, the logic that the universal God is also confirmed within the particular human being was accepted, greatly influencing the relationship between God and humans in theology. For example, unlike dualism, which states that “the finite cannot fill the infinite” (Augustine) or “the finite cannot contain the infinite” (John Calvin), Aristotle’s philosophy was inherited as a monistic worldview, which states that “the finite can contain the infinite”  God has never been separated from creation. The interpretation that infinite God and finite humans cannot but be mutually related is gaining more persuasiveness in theological circles.

Aristotle also presented the concept of the ‘first cause.’ He believed that whatever moves is moved by something else that moves it, and that if we trace this causal relationship, we will reach the first cause that moves something else without moving itself. The first cause is the fundamental cause of all actions, the unmoving prime mover, and ‘pure thought’ or ‘thought of thought’ with no object of thought other than itself.

Aristotle continued the first cause that underlies all beings with the grammatical concept of hypokeimenon. Translated into Latin as ‘subjectum, subject’, it was interpreted as the subject of all judgments or grammatical subjects indicated by a predicate, but cannot be a predicate itself.

Later, Thomas Aquinas interpreted Aristotle’s main concepts, especially the ‘first cause’, as the creator of all things, that is, God. He reinterpreted hypokeimenon as ‘substantia’, meaning a self-existent being that does not need anything else to define itself. Although it became a different concept from Aristotle’s ‘substance’ because the times were different, Aristotle’s philosophy became the key words that developed philosophy and theology from the Middle Ages to today. 

Aristotle was revived by Islam

Aristotle laid the foundation for Western philosophy, but he was not publicly recognized as a leading philosopher in Greece at the time. The main reason was that he was from Macedonia and was the teacher of Alexander, the king of Macedonia, who ruled Greece. 

When the entire Mediterranean coast, including Greece, came under Macedonian rule, Greek philosophers were wary of Aristotle, who was from Macedonia. However, since Aristotle was also the teacher of Alexander, who ruled Greece at the time, they could not bring themselves to touch him. Then, after Alexander died, he was accused by the priests of Athens, Greece. The justification they gave was that Aristotle's writings commemorating the death of Hermias, his friend and wife's brother, were blasphemous. In this way, he was pushed out by the mainstream Greek thinkers of his time due to political and nationalistic sentiments.

It was Islamic thinkers who recognized Aristotle as an outstanding philosopher. From the 8th to the 10th century AD, Arabs, Persians, and other Islamic countries actively translated and studied Greek philosophical texts in Arabic, including Aristotle’s works. They sought to complete Islamic theology by annotating Aristotle’s significant works. In particular, the Spanish Islamic philosopher Ibn Rushd (1126-98) studied Aristotle’s works in depth and left in-depth annotations on them. These were then introduced to Western Europe. Thomas Aquinas was shocked by the Aristotelian philosophy transmitted through Spain and used it to refine theology, such as establishing the relationship between God and humans. In this way, Aristotle’s philosophy entered the center of Western philosophy and theology.

In the history of Western philosophy, the relationship between Aristotle and Islam is often omitted or passed over. This is similar to how ancient Japan initially learned Buddhism from Baekje. Still, Japanese textbooks and Buddhist history literature simply deal with that part and describe much more about Indian and Chinese Buddhism. However, just as today’s Japanese Buddhism would not have existed without Baekje’s Buddhism, which was introduced to Japan via Korea in the 6th century CE, with various sects following in subsequent centuries via China.

We should not overlook the fact that Aristotle’s philosophy was revived in Europe through Islam. Through Aristotle's philosophy, we can dramatically see that Islam has preserved and passed down the academic discipline that can become the intellectual heritage of all mankind through translation and exchange rather than remaining in a specific civilization.

Hope For the Future

From the Eyes of a Priest column of the Catholic Peace Weekly, we hear the desires of one of the priest-citizens for the new government.

In the 21st presidential election, the people chose Lee Jae-myung as the president. This election was triggered by the martial law and impeachment that the former President initiated. Through this election, the people requested President Lee Jae-myung restore the damaged democracy and achieve major social reforms, including stabilizing the people’s livelihoods. The responsibility to weed out the rotten old practices of the past in every corner of society and to walk a new path for the Republic of Korea has been given to this president.

The most important thing this president must do is promote national unity. As the results of this election show, our community is divided as much as it can be by region, gender, and generation. The election landscape, which is divided exactly in half, symbolizes the deep division of our society. You can only see stories about choosing good policies or my representative in textbooks, but this time, blind voting continued regardless of who runs or what policies they talk about. In addition, conflicts between men and women, especially among those in their 20s and 30s, have further divided the Republic of Korea. This is a country with fierce competition even on a global scale, and now everyone but me has become an enemy.

Therefore, I hope that this president will become the center of unity. We should not become the president of one side, surrounded by strong supporters and close associates like the past administration. We should not control the media and only listen to what we want to hear and only say what we want to say. We should respect the National Assembly and listen to diverse opinions. At his inauguration, President Lee said that he would be a “president of all.” I pray that he will keep this promise.

During the election period, President Lee said, “The Democratic Party is a moderate conservative party.” He called his economic policies “good-lifeism” and “food-lifeism.” In his inauguration speech, he said, “I will become a pragmatic, market-oriented government.” He met with heads of large corporations, including Samsung Group Chairman, and showed a pro-business attitude. However, at the same time, I am concerned that President Lee does not care much about the weak in our community. Some people are also concerned that this is not much different from the “business-friendly” Lee Myung-bak administration. Socially vulnerable people, such as workers, ordinary citizens, immigrants, and the disabled, were also at the center of the impeachment. I hope he will reflect on the values ​​of distribution and equality. 

President Lee must also revive the spirit of peace on the Korean Peninsula. The frozen dialogue between the South and the North must be restarted. Humanitarian aid to North Korea from religious circles and civil society can be a good opportunity to open the door to dialogue. Just as the seeds of peace on the Korean Peninsula were sown through the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, North Korean youth can participate in the World Youth Day in Seoul in 2027 to start the dialogue with North Korea that has been cut off. The government must also make efforts so that Pope Leo XIV can continue Pope Francis’ dream of visiting Pyongyang.

The World Youth Day will be held in 2027 during this president’s term. Up to 1 million youths from around the world will gather in South Korea to create a space of hope and unity. During the event, Pope Leo XIV, the head of the Catholic Church, will also visit South Korea. The new government’s help and cooperation are most important for the event to proceed stably. People worldwide will look to South Korea, where the event is being held. An incident like the last Jamboree must never happen again. I hope the government will successfully lead an international event regardless of religion.

Above all, the president himself must be humble. This president has become an absolute power with legislative and executive powers, except for the judiciary. President Lee has said in many places that he will “run the government humbly.” That is how it should be. Humility is not difficult. The enemy that President Lee should fear most is not external but internal. I pray that God will grant him grace.

Never Give up on Hope!

The seminary professor offers another perspective on hope in the Preciousness of Faith column of the Catholic Peace Weekly.

One way to find hope is to learn from those who walk in faith and have experienced trials, illnesses, or death. Just as all people are noble and sacred, everyone’s death experience is precious. We all have to pass through the arduous and challenging gate of death, experience extreme pain, suffering, loneliness, and bitterness before we die, and wrestle with the question of hope in the face of death.

Finding a thread of hope is listening to the stories of such ‘witnesses of hope.’ The character Job in the Bible symbolizes a righteous person who suffers unjustly. He prayed to God in a critical situation, argued with God, and wrestled with Him. He stood before God and tried to solve his problems with Him, and eventually, he could meet God and reach a high level of wisdom.

Many poems of lamentation or petition to God are found in the Psalms of the Old Testament. In his book “Mercy”, Cardinal Walter Kasper of Germany says the following:

“The psalms of petition in the Old Testament ( 6, 13, 22, 31, 44, 57, etc.) all come from great hardships of being abandoned by God, and they speak of great existential shocks. Nevertheless, these psalms never end in despair, but rather with the conviction that God is by one’s side in times of trouble. Each psalm of petition has a dramatic reversal from complaint to praise. The psalms of petition do not end with complaints, condemnation, or despair, but always end with praise and thanksgiving.”

The cries of a believer in the midst of suffering make his prayers not a ‘transaction’ with God, but a place of internal ‘purification’ and a ‘school’ where he learns hope. It is to realize that God is the only object of our hope and reliance. Father Chastan, a French missionary who was martyred on September 21, 1839, while working as a missionary in Korea, left the following letter:

“Just as I was entering the Diocese of Joseon, five believers were being tortured in the prison of Seoul. When I heard about the tortures they were subjected to, I was so weak-hearted that I trembled with fear. After that, the Lord, who had given me grace, made me no longer fear. Among the believers who were enduring the tortures in the prison, there were many old believers and new believers who received the sacraments from me, and children as young as 15 or 10 years old. These people, who endured the tortures so steadfastly, aroused the admiration of believers and non-believers outside the prison and strengthened our hearts to a surprising degree.” (Letter of September 1, 1839)

Pope St. John Paul II's powerful testimony also inspires a passion for hope in our hearts.

“You are young, and the Pope is old. Life at the age of eighty-two is not the same as life at twenty-two. But the Pope still shares your hopes and aspirations completely. Although I have lived through many darknesses under harsh totalitarian regimes, witnessing various ordeals has given me the strong conviction that no difficulty or fear is so great as to completely suppress the hope that rises eternally in the hearts of young people. You are our hope. Young people are our hope. Do not give up hope! Entrust your life to hope!” (From a sermon at the 2002 Toronto World Youth Day)

The witnesses of hope urge us not to lose hope in the midst of our lives threatened by despair, and to continue to fight for hope.

Korean Catholic Survey on TV Mass

The Korean Catholic Times and the Seoul Archdiocese Joint Survey Results were published in the paper's recent issue: What do you think about attending TV Mass?

Most of the responses were positive. According to the survey conducted during May, 16% of the 866 respondents watched daily through broadcasts or YouTube. Opinions were sharply divided on using digital devices during Mass.

According to the survey, most respondents thought that watching Mass on TV was ‘a pastoral consideration for the sick, elderly, and those who cannot go to church’ (645 people, 42%). There were many positive responses to TV Mass, such as ‘It is not attending the sacrament, but it is helpful for religious life’ (378 people, 25%) and ‘It is good to watch when attending Sunday Mass is difficult’ (233 people, 15%).

On the other hand, negative responses such as ‘TV Mass should be avoided and Mass should be held in the church’ (137 people, 9%) and ‘It is not a real sacrament, so it is not very meaningful’ (68 people, 4%). There was also an opinion that ‘TV Mass attendance should be gradually strengthened in line with the trend of modern society’ (60 people, 4%).

When asked about the frequency of watching TV Mass, the majority of respondents answered ‘I do not watch it regularly, but I have watched it’ (327 people, 38%) and ‘I watched it regularly during the COVID-19 period, but I do not watch it now’ (218 people, 25%). However, quite a few also watched TV Mass regularly, such as ‘I watch it every day’ (136 people, 16%) and ‘I watch it about once a week’ (114 people, 13%).

The responses were divided when asked about digital device use during Mass. The most common response was, “There are advantages to paper books, but digital devices are more useful” (247 people, 29%), but the opinion that “Digital devices are convenient, but it is better to use paper books” (236 people, 27%) followed with only a slight difference. In addition, 82 people (9%) said, “Using digital devices is distracting, so we should use paper books,” and 74 people (9%) said, “We should avoid paper books and use digital devices in the future.” When adding up the pros and cons, 321 responded in favor and 318 responded against; the number of respondents in favor and against was almost the same.

In response to the question about online media for obtaining information on faith and doctrine, more than half of the respondents (58%, 500 people) answered that they obtain information from websites operated by churches, such as Good News and parish/church websites. 20% (176 people) said that they obtain information on faith and doctrine from YouTube, and 10% said that they obtain information through general portal searches. 51 people (6%) were using SNS such as Facebook and Instagram, 18 people (2%) were using blogs or cafes, and 8 people (1%) were using generative AI such as ChatGPT.

Communication Forms Culture

The Catholic Times 'View from the Ark' column, written by a professor at the Graduate School of Life Science, Catholic University of Korea, gives her thoughts on recent developments in Korean society.

Since December of last year, our society has revealed some ugly facts. Things are so difficult to understand that you wonder, “Could common sense really have collapsed to this extent?” We experience things that would only happen in novels or movies. Our society has seen how ‘justice’ and ‘truth’ are being diluted and relativized in the ‘pursuit of profit’. With the election of the  New President there is hope for a new future.

About 2,500 years ago, the ancient philosopher Thrasymachus said, “Justice is the interest of the strong”. In some ways, this cynical saying still seems pervasive in our society. When each person cries out for ‘justice and truth’ for their own interests, and when these individuals become the majority, justice seems to be the ‘interest of the strong’.

Therefore, we reflect on whether justice that is not based on truth is still dividing society and heightening conflict and tension. Perhaps ‘truth’ itself is distorted.  In such a society, the direction of truth and justice can easily be swayed by the power of the majority, by the strong.

However, our collective intelligence strives to pursue truth and realize justice. To achieve this, we must grasp the reality we live in. When discussing understanding reality, people often first think of economic aspects. However, we need to pay attention not only to the economy but also to our communication methods and our understanding of truth and justice.

Pope Leo XIV, points out that we are caught in a confusing linguistic structure resembling the Tower of Babel. He emphasizes we are communicating through language that is ideological, biased, and lacking in love He says, "Communication is not just about conveying information, but also about shaping culture."

This prompts reflection on the languages used by the media in our society and by each of us, and what kind of culture we are forming through that language. This is also a very important task in communication that respects and protects the dignity of human life. The Pope also emphasizes the importance of the family, asserting that in efforts to guarantee the dignity of the vulnerable and fragile in our society, from unborn lives (embryos and fetuses) to the elderly, the sick, the unemployed, citizens, and the disabled, no one should be excluded.

However, our society is increasingly defining the weak and vulnerable with ideological and biased language. When those who use such language are in the majority, society will ultimately strengthen human rights only for those with a voice. Unfortunately, this is already happening, and we are now facing a reality where even the voices calling for justice are increasingly being relativized.

To achieve this, we need to grasp our reality correctly. People often first think of economic aspects. However, we need to pay attention to the economy, our modes of communication, and our understanding of truth and justice. Pope Leo points out that we are caught in a confusing linguistic structure akin to the Tower of Babel. In other words, he emphasizes that we communicate within a language that is ideological, biased, and lacking in love.

According to him, "communication is not merely the transmission of information, but it also forms culture". This prompts reflection not only on the language used by the media in our society but also on the language each of us uses and the culture we are forming through that language. This is a very important task in communication that respects and protects the dignity of human life.

The Pope also emphasizes the importance of family. He insists that no one should be excluded from the efforts to guarantee the dignity of the weak and vulnerable in our society, ranging from unborn lives (embryos and fetuses) to the elderly, the sick, the unemployed, citizens, and the disabled. Yet, our society increasingly defines the weak and vulnerable in ideological and biased language. When those who use such language become the majority, society will ultimately strengthen human rights only for those with a voice. Unfortunately, this is already happening, and we are now facing a reality where even voices calling for justice are increasingly being relativized.

The Pope also emphasizes that without truth, true peace cannot be achieved, whether personally or communally, especially when words' meanings are ambiguous or used hypocritically, making it difficult to establish genuine relationships. Above all, he states that truth must not be separated from love. What should we do for our society to move in the right direction today? As the Pope quoted Saint Augustine, we should reflect on whether we have lacked the attitude of looking at every human being, from the most vulnerable to all humans, with a gaze of love.