Korean Funerals and A Catholic Missioner

Many years ago during the first years of getting inculturated

( Inculturation is a term used in Christianity , especially in the Roman Catholic Church, referring to the adaptation of the way Church teachings are presented to non-Christian cultures, and to the influence of those cultures to the evolution of these teachings. Wiki)

in the ways of Korea there were times I had difficulties in accepting what I saw. Especially at funerals, I can recall having the Mass at Church and walking to the grave with the casket and the funeral party and being so annoyed with the shenanigans of the pallbearers that I returned home: the pallbearers refusing to move until someone gave some money or some cigarettes. This happened on other occasions, even after I said I would leave if they did it again, they persisted. This "no shenanigans" became a condition the family agreed to before I went to the grave.

Another difficulty was seeing the table with food that was prepared for the deceased. This was part of the old traditional way of Korea. I can sympathize with those on both sides of the polarized issue among the missioners, first in China and then Korea with the so called "worship of the ancestors". To simplify the whole thing in a few words does not do justice to what was involved but the missioners did see what they saw. The ones dealing with the educated in the cities would accept what was being done as cultural and civil respect for the deceased, considering the original intent of the rites; those in the country would see it as superstitious. It wasn't until 1939 that the rites were allowed with certain conditions.

In our own veneration of the saints and statues in certain areas of the world there are many who are very superstitions in what they believe and do but we do not do away with the veneration that Catholics have for the Saints. Abuse does not take away use. This made the whole issue very difficult for the Church to decide.

In my own period of growth in Korea there came a time when I could see the "fooling around" on the way to the grave as a beautiful tribute to the deceased. It would only be someone who was advanced in years and who lived a good life. It was cathartic and bringing a little humour into the very sad situation of death. There are many things that start out not being what we would like but over the years we begin to see what is being done with different eyes.

There are still many areas of Korean life that are unknown to me and many things that I have difficulty understanding but that is also true of my own culture. Having the ability to speak another language exposes one to another way of doing things, enabling one to see other possibilities: humbling one, for what he sees may not be all that there is to see.

Archbishop Working as a Hospice Worker

The hospice movement in Korea is going strong. It is the care of the sick and the dying by people who have been trained to do this service of love. The archbishop of Taegu in an interview with the Chosun Ilbo mentioned he entered a program to be a hospice worker. The Archbishop had his own encounter with death when he was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus; for 40 days he could not even drink water.

The archbishop was studying political science when he decided that he could do more good by becoming a priest. His father was a devout layman and a well known politician. He did his studies in France and returned to Korea where he became a bishop in 1972 and the Ordinary of Taegu in 1986. Shortly after retiring as archbishop he was diagnosed with cancer. This experience of death made him see life differently. After leaving the hospital he contemplated starting some big project but changed his mind to work as a hospice worker. He decided to work among priests and religious facing death that would welcome his services at that time in their lives.

He had the opportunity to be with a close friend who was a few years older and was dying . He visited him almost daily in the hospital but was not able to be with him at death, although the graph that was by his bedside did register with a surge as he stroked his body. "Was he waiting for me ...? " he thought. My desire is to help those who will be returning to God and to help them do it with peace.

For the Archbishop "death is a natural part of life. We must know death to live well." The archbishop mentioned his time is also limited and to live well is to love. To love a definite person with definite love.

Catholic Teaching on Superfluous Wealth

In recent months we have a number of influential people donating their assets to the public. The President has given a good example to the citizens in his donation to a scholarship fund for the needy. He once said: “My small fortune does not belong to me alone. The achievement was made possible thanks to the devotion of workers and their families as well as society. What I have so far achieved should be returned to society.”

One of our diocesan priests had an article on the Gyeonju Choi family that has been wealthy for over 300 years. He mentioned that it is usually difficult for a family to remain rich after 3 generations but they have remained wealthy for 12 generations. One of the reasons is their 6 family principles they have followed:

1) Do not be obessed with money

2. Never purchase land from a farmer during a year with a bad harvest.

3) Don't be greedy with government positions.

4) Treat guests as if they are members of your family.

5) Never let a neighbor starve.

6) Have your daughter in law stay away from fine silk clothes for 3 years after marriage so she learns the spirit of thrift.

The founder of the dynasty died in the war with the Japanese in 1592. His son blocked up a large stream and recovered much land which he divided among tenant farmers dividing the yield 50/50. The family never had an overseer but dealt with the farmers directly and listened to their grievances. At the end of the Choson dynasty, during the uprising against the upper classes, the Choi family had no problems since their way of living was well known to many.

In recent times the family used a great deal of their money to work for independence from the Japanese. The family helped to build two universities and helped many with their wealth.

The author of this article mentions there are not many rich respected in the Korea of today. The Choi family lived the "Noblesse Oblige" way of life of those blessed with this world's goods. Those who have attained many material goods can thank the society they live in, and should return a part of that to the society.

The Catholic teaching on social issues is not well known to our Catholics let alone those who are not. But the Church has taught that superfluous wealth is not ours to use as we want but belongs to society.

He who has the goods of this world and sees his brother in need and closes his heart to him, how does the love of God abide in him?" Everyone knows that the Fathers of the Church laid down the duty of the rich toward the poor in no uncertain terms. As St. Ambrose put it: "You are not making a gift of what is yours to the poor man, but you are giving him back what is his. You have been appropriating things that are meant to be for the common use of everyone. The earth belongs to everyone, not to the rich." These words indicate that the right to private property is not absolute and unconditional.
On the Development of Peoples, #23 Encyclical of Pope Paul VI.

The Korean Copyright Laws

One of the columnist in the Catholic Paper reviewed the copyright law that took effect July 23rd. It was necessary for persons have the right to protect their intellectual property: films, music, art works , pictures, poetry etc. and they are entitled to a proportionate remuneration for their work. Korea one of the finest Internet set ups in the world did have a problem with using materials without the copyright owner's permission. It was not only protection from distorting what was being copied but was demanding that the authors of these works give permission for their use and be entitled to remuneration for their efforts.

He than goes on to mention Jonas Salk the discover of the polio vaccine. Salk was hailed as a miracle worker. He endeared himself to the public by refusing to patent the vaccine. He had no desire to profit personally from the discovery, but merely wished to see the vaccine disseminated as widely as possible. Although he was tempted by many drug companies he refused.

The columnist who is also a professor mentioned how an older poet had planned to have a poetry exhibition accompanied by some pictures that he painted . After spending time and money to prepare the place for the exhibit he received a call one night from a poet , " why was he using one of his poems? Did he not know the copyright laws of the country?" After all was prepared he had to cancel everything.

The columnist does spend some time mentioning many who have even given their lives for others as a sign of love with no desire for pay back. He mentions again in conclusion the wonderful example of Jonas Salk who when asked to patent his discovery mentioned, "who has the patent on the Sun?"

There is a need for copyright laws but also there should be some leeway in their application. This new law in the eyes of many will hurt the Internet world of blogs and the vitality of what we have had. There was an example of a family that took a home video of their child singing a song that was copyrighted and was shown on one of Korea's most popular sites . The holder of the copyright asked the blog to block the 58 seconds of use .

This new law is causing a great deal of difficulty in what is allowed and and what is not. It will close down many websites on Korean cyberspace and many could move overseas. It will take away some of the freedom the bloggers have had and will cause a great deal of confusion and fear for many in the years ahead. There is hope that we will have some clarification in the months ahead on how the law will be implemented.

Why Korean Catholics Leave the Church

Nahnews visited again the issue of Korean Catholics increasing as are the numbers leaving the church. This is similar to what is happening in the States. Masan Diocese has the lowest percentage of Catholics going to Sunday Mass with 19.1% and Chun Chon Diocese with highest attending Mass at 29.9% .

In Korea we have the system started by the French Missioners of giving Catholics a card with their name and address which they are to place in a prepared basket during Lent and the Advent; this will be recorded in the parish books. If this card is missing for three years then the person is considered tepid ( to have left the church). A person may be going to Sunday Mass and receiving the sacraments but not having submitted the card for three years, these will be considered tepid. Those who have left the Church are not necessarily the same as those who are registered as tepid.

A Gallup poll taken in 2004 mentioned that 42.8% who consider themselves without a religion did have a religion at one time. 13.3% of these at one time were Catholic. Of those with a religion 14.9% were at one time Catholic.

The reason for leaving is not easy to determine. However, those who were not faithful in their Sunday observance, those from 30 to 4o years of age, a high educational background and with a pay scale that is lower or higher than average, have a higher rate of dropout.

The report ended with the mention that those who are now presently going to Sunday Mass 16.8% consider themselves tepid. 15.4% have considered changing their religion,
and many who continue to go to Mass consider leaving. 30% of those that are baptized leave within 3 years.

In conclusion the report stated that it is important that those who enter the Church remember that the important part of the preparation is not the teaching, the preparation for the sacrament and what has to be done but the internal change of the person attained before being baptized.

The Catholic paper had an article on a parish in the Suwon diocese that has over 61 percent of those on the registers going to Sunday Mass. It is an example of what can happen when the community and the pastor take an interest. Originally the parish had a percentage that was higher than other parishes in the diocese but this was increased sizably by the work of the community.

Korean Catholic Community in Moscow

The Catholic Church of Korean has priests stationed in communities all over the world and one of these communities is in Moscow, Russia. This week's Catholic Peace Paper had an interesting article on the difficulties and satisfactions of working in Russian with the Orthodox Church the other lung of the Catholic Church.

A priest from the Seoul Diocese is visiting the parish and will have a three piece report on the visit. The community is using a borrowed building so they have to vacate the Church to allow the other community to have their Mass on Sunday mornings.

The Korean community began in 1994 the services were conducted in English in the apartment of an English Marist Priest. At that time about 20 met together for Mass. When the Marist Priest heard that a Korean priest would arrive it gave him great happiness. From 1994 they have had 3 to 4 priests and finally in 2002 they registered formally as Catholic Church with the government.

The present pastor who arrived in 2000 but returned to Korea after 4 years in Russia returned to the Korean Community last summer. Fr. Kim in 2000 had to go to through the IMF difficulties. Many of the students and other residents, because of finances, returned to Korea leaving only 20 Catholics. He had no telephone and had to live in an unheated rectory. When the recovery came the Catholics started returning to the Church. They have now about 200 Catholics coming to Mass on Sunday and a mission station in Saint Petersburg which takes 7 hours by train to administer every third week .

Father prays that the students studying in Russia do not get sick and those in business do well. He feels that being in Russian is a way we can show the oneness of Catholicism and to work for unity with the Russian Orthodox Church.

Korean Priests have been working in Russian from 1991. One of our Maryknollers who worked in Korea Fr. Benedict Zweber followed them and built the Church in Sakhalin Island. The Korean priests had some visa problems and had to discontinue the work in that part of Russian and the Maryknoll Fathers with the lack of personnel had to leave Russia.

From the recent news reports it seems that a meeting of the pope and the patriarch of the Orthodox Church in Russia may be close. Whether this will overcome the centuries of hatred surrounding the two churches will be answered in the future. Fr. Kim's desire to see the two churches come closer is a desire that all Catholics have.

Korean Women and Christianity

Korean Women and God by Choi Hee An is a book published by Orbis: the publishing arm of the Maryknoll Society. A disclaimer makes clear the views expressed are not the official position of the Society but it is an attempt to invite dialogue. As a Maryknoller I do have some thoughts which I will express in this blog.

The author is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and on the faculty at the School of Theology at Boston University. In the introduction knowing God as a Korean Woman she mentions how as a child she had an experience in which she could not remember her own face. Her mother reassured her that this was a natural phenomenon. While studying in the States she realized that this was not universal and began to wonder why Korean woman were not able to remember their faces.

The author introduces her understanding of woman's health by proposing three significant elements which she considers important:

The first is healthy women love themselves and remembering their own faces can be an aspect of this love. They should love their bodies no matter how they look. They should love their psychological strengths and warm hearts.

Secondly they should live their lives with joy and happiness for themselves. They should celebrate their own happiness. She would say that much of the joy of a woman comes from their children , husband and others. They should find joy in themselves without feeling guilty,

Thirdly healthy women can express themselves. She would say that many Korean woman are socialized to listen to others not to themselves. Their feelings remain deep inside and they do not know how to express them.

She concludes the section saying she has difficulty finding these three characteristics in the lives of Korean Christian women. "Korean Christian Woman are taught to sacrifice themselves for others and to deny their own needs as a noble cause. Loving themselves and enjoying their lives for their own happiness have been defined as selfish acts. Others' needs and wills always come before their own needs and wills, even in the family."

Sacrifice is an important part of Christianity. Many women both in Korea and the States have an extreme dislike for patriarchy; in many cases there is a justification for this feeling. The author also mentions the influence of colonialism on women. These have not been helpful to either women or men but neither do I see them as negatively as the author. In her writing she does generalize but leaves open the possibility that not all Korean women have been scarred. Adversity makes the person and Korean Women have grown strong in this environment.

Korean women sacrifice for the family and deny themselves for the good of others a trait that all of us Christians should not be ashamed to hear. I have no doubt internalized aspects of patriarchy and also have been scarred but this attribute of being for the other was my understanding of why we are baptized. This life of sacrifice for family was part of women's life even before the introduction of Christianity. It would be good for all men and women to sacrifice for others but I hope they love themselves, and live their lives with joy and happiness and are able to express themselves. I do not find a contradiction in a person living for others and at the same time experiencing true joy and love of themselves. It is both/and and not the either/or fallacy that we so often fall into when we are dealing with something that is not obviously evil. It is when we die to ourselves that we become truly happy. It is a central paradox of Christianity that works for men and women. The Korean Christian woman I have met have no reason to be embarrassed in any way being compared to those in the west.