The GoodNews portal and UCC

The Seoul Diocese has lately joined the many others in the field of User Created Content. The Catholic Internet GoodNews service has entered a new era. The Diocese feels it is late in joining this new way of interacting with their viewers but with this new beginning they see great meaning.

The diocese with the help of the other Catholic Media will have about 700 videos available for use and will be open for anyone who has Catholic material and wants to upload it to the UCC GoodNews Portal which is the largest in the Catholic Church of Korea.

They are hoping that it will be a great help in fostering many to use their talents for music, sermons, teaching plans for doctrine, making liturgical aids, teaching liturgical flower arranging and enabling religious groups to reach out to the youth in their vocation work.

In time they hope to produce "stars" through this new medium: star teachers, liturgical flower arrangers , singers, lecturers and many more that can help improve the culture in which we live.

This program will allow the Church not only to evangelize but to to shine the light of the Gospel on the culture of the times. There will always be concern on what is upoaded and there will be care made that the material is of a Catholic nature and of help to the viewers.

Korean Catholic Church and Leadership

There are many different leadership styles; they are seen in all areas of society. We have those who lead from the front, the center, and the rear. Korea is familiar with all of them but the Confucian ideas are still very strong: relationships- young and old, father and son, king and the ruled.

Some years ago I heard a lecture by one of our diocesan priests mentioning how a pastor asked the pastoral council to look into a problem and see what they could do to solve it. Nothing was done, months later he brought the issue up again, telling them it will cost a great deal of money if we do not solve it quickly, still no interest. A year or so later, I have forgotten all the facts, he told the council that he received word that they had to proceed with the project and the cost was a substantial amount of money. The priest mentioned that it was an expensive lesson for the Church to learn but he thought it was worth it. Here was someone who was leading from the rear. His hope was to educate the council and it was expensive. Some would consider this foolishness. I was surprised to see at that time this kind of leadership.

We have been hearing in recent years a great deal of team ministry, collaborative ministry servant leadership. This is far from the reality in Korea but they are talking about it. Maryknoll went through a period where this was very much a topic of conversation but our history in that area is poor. It was attempted and failed.

The Catholic Church of Korea has all kinds of leadership styles: those who feel a strong leader is what is necessary and can be considered autocratic, those who are very democratic and listen and try to get participation, those who have a hands off policy and let the community go their way, those who spend a great deal of time educating and trying to inspire the community and in recent years we are hearing a great deal of the servant leadership style. What is strange is that this style is more prominent in secular society than in the Church.


Team ministry, servant leadership are beautiful concepts but we have no great examples of success in the church, there is little to imitate. This was a topic for discussion in the different areas of our diocese some years ago but nothing ever came of it. Probably Seoul has put the most time in trying to implement the idea and will probably be the leader in the years ahead. There are many studying the concept still dreaming of the possibilities. I am sure in time they will bear fruit.

What Is a Life Well Lived?

One of the columnists in this weeks Catholic Paper explains what she believes a classy life would be. After getting their children married most couples can sit back and enjoy a freer life. They are no longer troubled by the children, they can take care of the daily living expenses, and are not overly bothered by their surroundings.

Most of her friends are in this situation but they are lonely, They have their old husband and old wife to gaze at , it is tasteless and a life with no feeling. What is there to do now? Isn't there something that will put some zest into our lives they say laughing quietly.

Life is not basically one of thrills. It is humdrum and unsatisfactory Isn't too much to ask it to be interesting? However there are interesting times in our lives that we all have been given. We have just not been conscious of them . There's the sky, rays of the sun, flowers and birds they are there. Old age is the time to appreciate these many gifts.

She introduces us to a couple who she admires very much for their life style. They are retired and have drawn up a plan on how to live. One of the most important parts of this plan is not to spend much money and to enjoy life. They get up early and go mountain climbing to see the changes in nature. They return to their home taking turns in preparing something to eat and even if not tasty they are able to laugh and enjoy. In the afternoon they go to some exhibition that does not require money, go to the campus of some college to walk the sidewalks with the students, and at times take a train or a bus to some city that they have not seen.

What she finds most surprising pleasing is that each one reads a book once a week from a list they have made and write a book review of what they have read and exchange... what is more appealing still, rather than telephoning their children they spend time writing letters.

That is not all they spend time reading old poetry and exchanging their thought on what was read. This was awkward in the beginning but has turned into a very profitable activity.

The writer would like to see them someday holding hands and find their way to the Church. She has given them a Bible, a hymn book and a book on the rosary but there has been no response. We are all going to be faced with a time of emptiness and fear we want something to hold on to especially as we come to the end of our lives. She admires their style of living but feels that there is one thing missing that would give it a more flavor and that would be Faith. She concludes by saying that she believes that day will come.

Works of Catholics in Society Has Decreased.

The Nahnews has an interesting appraisal of the growth in the number of Catholics and the numbers belonging to the different religious groups. The numbers in these other religious groups have not kept up with the growth of the Catholics.

It is healthy to have free discussion on aspects of our life as Catholics and try to point out where the Spirit is leading us. The article looking over the statistics from 1994 does not see what is happening in a completely positive light. The number of Catholics is increasing but is the spirituality of the Catholic Community keeping pace with this external growth?

A professor who has made a study of this has commented that in the Catholic Church those who are zealous remain so but you have the other group who are very passive. You have the two extremes appearing, a contrast much more obvious than in the past.

There has been a threefold growth in the number of hospitals administered by the Church and a concern that this is not always healthy. The impression is often received that it is business orientated, imitating the commercial enterprises in our larger society.

The Church has not kept pace with the Protestants in getting involved with charitable works in society. The number of Protestants are decreasing but their participation in welfare and mass media is increasing notably. Catholics have increased only slightly in welfare programs but have decreased in their participation in the mass media. The Buddhist and Won Buddhist also show a marked increase in these two areas.


The article concludes that the Protestants and Won Buddhism are very strong in the mass media and welfare programs. Won Buddhism has grown to be the fourth largest Religious group in Korea. Although social activity in the Catholic Church has decreased the many different incongruities in the other religious groups has spurred them on to get more involved in society. We have heard that the other religious groups will in the years ahead continue to stagnate while the Catholic Church will continue to grow. Looking over the statistics both within and outside the Church this optimistic way of looking at what is happening is not justified.


Another perspective is the external activity is being deemphasized so that we will become more of a contemplative community and prepare ourselves for a more mature roll in society. Let us hope that this is what is happening.

1909-2009 Korea Missionary Benedictines

Fr. Robert M. Lilly sent a Newsletter of the Missionary Benedictines of St.Ottilien who have been in Korea since 1909. This year they are celebrating hundred years of work in Korea. The Newsletter gives us this brief history of the Missionary Benedictines:

The Korean monks who had fled from the Communists in North Korea started Benedictine monastic life in Waegwan. It was a new start after the flourishing abbeys of Tokwon in North Korea and of Yenki in Manchuria had been suppressed and confiscated by the Communists. Both of these abbeys had a predominant number of German monks. These German monks were at first thrown into prison and later, those who had been able to survive, were sent back to their homeland. The priest-monks of Korean nationality were killed during the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. However, the brothers and clerics were able to seek refuge in South Korea, where they came together, first in Pusan and then later in Taegu. From 1952 the monks resided at Waegwan under the leadership of Father Timotheus Bitterli. This community developed into a priory in 1956 and was elevated to the rank of an independent abbey in 1964. A German monk, Father Odo Haas was elected as the first abbot. He was succeeded in 1971 by a Korean monk, Abbot Placidus Ri. The abbey has ninety-four professed members, twenty-three of whom are Europeans. The monks have been entrusted with an area comprising fourteen parishes in the Archdiocese of Taegu. These pastoral duties include two leprosaria, a tuberculosis sanatorium, a house for the aged, a high school for boys and girls with 3400 pupils. The monks direct three retreat houses and a Theological Institute for the training of religious sisters. Moreover, the abbey runs a publishing house with a printing press as well as a large carpentry shop and is involved in a variety of agricultural activities.

An editorial in the Catholic Paper this week had an important point to make about vocations to the religious life. The Benedictines are one of many religious groups working in Korea and many have difficulties with vocations and finances. The Diocese and the Parishes have to work together to foster vocations to the Religious Life was the caption for the editorial. The leadership of the men and women religious and those of apostolic life have asked the bishops to have a course in all seminaries for an understanding of religious life. Without this understanding the Church will suffer. There is a hope that the bishops will do something to help the Korean Church appreciate another way of living the Christian life.

Catholic Church of Korea's Unfinished Work

The Catholic Church of Korea can be pleased with the growth in numbers and the health of the parish life. It is a vibrant young church.

Cardinal Cheong mentioned recently after returning from Rome that the Church of Korea numbered 8th in the monies that were sent to Rome for the Peter’s Pence Collection. This collection helps the Holy Father with his charitable works around the world. There are only 5 million Catholics but Korea was the only one in Asia that was within the 10 who gave the most for the collection.

The Catholic Church of Korea has the world's first parish management system that ties all the parishes together. It is called the Yangeop System and standardizes the administration of all the parishes in Korea and allows them to exchange pastoral information. There is no other country with anything like what has been done in Korea.

Korea has 7 seminaries and they are all doing very well. There are now 1413 seminarians studying at the last official count in 2008. The number of Catholics has topped 5 million and parishes continue to grow and others are being built. There are 1543 parishes and this number continues to grow.

There are many other areas of growth, programs and activities that give much satisfaction but at the same time the majority of the Catholics do not have a desire or find joy in joining other Catholics for Mass on Sunday. The numbers of Catholics going to Mass on Sunday is less than 25%. This is surprising and I am certain it will be an area in which the Church of Korea will start examining and begin to take steps to remedy. The external growth, as important as it is in giving witness to what we believe, is not as important as the spirituality and maturity of the Catholics. This will remain a work unfinished for many years to come.

Bishop Mutel's Diary

The diary of Bishop Gustave Charles Mutel (1854-1933) who lived in Korea from 1890 to 1933 has finally after 26 years of work, been published. It is composed of 8 volumes and is being sold for $160.00(?) .

The diary covers a long period, is very detailed and gives a picture of the tensions in Korean Society. Bishop Mutel was a Paris Foreign Missioner and administered the Catholic Church in Korea for 43 years. The diary deals with his personal affairs, the response of the Church to the times, the growth and changes, the politics of the Choson times and diplomacy. Many persons appear in the diary, some are very important to church history and Korean national history. We see the relationship Korea had with the Europeans, Americans, Japanese and the Chinese.

The diary will enable us to understand the society of the times in a way we would not without it. This diary was always considered an important historical document for those who were working in the field of history.

Mutel was the 8th ordinary of Seoul. It starts from the time he became the ordinary in 1890 August 4th to just before he died in Jan. 14 1933. When the Paris Foreign missioners moved to Daejeon City the diary went to Yongsan and finally to the headquarters of the Paris Foreign missionaries in Paris. The Church historian Monsignor Andrew S Choi who died recently was the one who began the work of translating knowing the value of the work. The work was not an easy. With the help of a Belgian Priest they finished the translating, giving us a very valuable look into the past.

Click here to see an interesting video on the history of the Catholic Church of Korea. It can be seen at The Western Confucian taken from Totus Tuus. It is the work produced by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Korea.