Human Rights Sunday in Korea

The second Sunday of Advent is the 28th Human Rights Sunday in Korea. Since we are made in the image of God we should have respect for each other and show this in the way we live.

It is an absolute value and sadly to say the Catholic Times editorial says the Church in Korea has at times diluted its meaning.

The editorial mentions the many ways Korean society has trampled on these God given rights. The bishops' Justice and Peace Committee mentioned the indiscriminate plans for development, the Yongsan tragedy, discrimination in the work place, the 4 river development plans: few of the many ways of casting doubt on the dignity of the human person.

Not in an obvious manner, there is an individualism in our society that does not have concern for the weak and searches for its own good. The respect that we have for the weaker members of our society is a good yard stick of our maturity.

Catholics have an obligation to get involved when we see the human rights of the weak being trampled on.

Because human rights are relational, they can come into conflict. One person's right to work could interfere with another's right to a healthy environment. One person's right to private property could clash with another's right to food or shelter. Three (3) principles of Catholic social teaching should govern public decisions in such situations.

1. The needs of the poor take priority over the wants of the rich

2. The freedom of the dominated takes priority over the liberty of the powerful

3. The participation of marginalized groups takes priority over the preservation of a political order which excludes them

.

The above are taken from Catholic Social teaching. In Korea the ordinary layperson would not have the sensitivity to the plight of the weak and alienated. This is possibly the failure of those in pastoral work to teach but it is also in many cases not an area where the Catholics feel their Catholicism needs to be activated. We have many priests who are active but not all our parishioners look upon that activism with a benevolent eye. It may be a question of degree but the Catholics are not too upset with the problems of our society. After Vatican II, the theologians were discussing whether human rights were essential, constitutive, integral, or a fundamental part of our belief . A great deal of time and effort was expended but what ever name we give it, clearly it is an important part of Jesus' teaching.

Sister Hae-in Lee's December Letter

Yesterday a beloved Sister poet who is fighting cancer had an essay in the Chosun Ilbo dealing with her plans for the future. She is Sister Claudia Hae-in Lee, a member of the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters of Busan. She finished her chemotherapy and X-ray therapy and hopefully will return to health.

She is a best selling poet and admired by many in and outside the Catholic Church. Having gone through the difficulties of cancer treatment she sees life differently. It was not only her body that hurt but also her spirit. She meant to fight the cancer with a light heart but the spirit was not willing to follow; she was depressed and lonely. " She wants to live like the person who died yesterday, would have desired the next day." With this thought in her head although in pain , all seemed to change. She was beginning to live the first day of her new life. The following 4 paragraphs are the changes she hopes to make.

First, she will have more prayers of thanksgiving for what she has been given than prayers of petition. She will see more things to be thankful for in the time ahead. She will be more conscious of those sicker than she is and correspond and visit with them. Although she will not be of much help she will be able to read their hearts and share this for much personal happiness.

Second, she will see the ordinary things in life as miracles, she will train herself to be surprised, and wonder at all she sees. Every moment of every day is one to be celebrated. She will want to dance.

Third, she will work to have the presence of mind not to be embarrassed at her mistakes and faults and admit them freely. She will also be forgiving of those same mistakes in others and forgive.

Fourth, when angry and hurt she will try not to be agitated and remember that all will pass; accept all with a gentle and a calm mind. With difficult relationships she will remember she is a pilgrim made for eternity. What is it that I can't forgive, I can't understand? With this new outlook the darkness will disappear and her spirit will become bright, peace will embrace her.

This is a brief summary of the essay. I hope it is faithful to Sister's intention. It was a fruitful meditation for me and one I will return to many times in the future.

New Leader of the Korean Buddhists

The new head of Jogye Order, the biggest Buddhist group in Korea with 2,501 temples and 13,860 monks is Ven Jaseung. He has stated that he will work for a revival of Buddhism, the times need and the citizens will support: "make the order more open to the Buddhist community, make plans for providing care for aging monks and nuns, and to increase the scope and awareness of Korean Buddhism in Korea and internationally through education."

He mentioned the poll that was made in Korea under Protestant auspices placing Buddhism in third place in public confidence. "Buddhism to be born again with another face requires that the monks change," he said.

The day before he was installed as the head of the order he visited St. Joseph's Hospital to give financial assistance. The hospital is administered by the Catholic Church taking care of street people and sick travelers. He made the visit as a sign of willingness to dialogue with other religions and to see what he can learn from them. He envied the work that was being done and will be visiting some of the Buddhist facilities to serve in some capacity.

He mentioned the problems that the Buddhist had with the government last year. Buddhist- like, he said the government did not realize how detrimental their position was to Buddhism. He distinguished civil servants from the government saying the civil servants did not know what trouble they were causing by their favoritism.

He won the election with 91% of the votes. The largest in the history of the order.

A Dissertation on the Phenomena in Naju

A priest from the diocese of Kwangju has written a dissertation for a master's degree on the happenings in Naju: 'miracles' and 'private revelations' of Kim Julia, written up in this week's Catholic Times. The movement in Naju is still going strong even after the bishop has made it clear that Kim Julia is automatically excommunicated. The shrine is still getting visitors and strange happenings continue. This was the first time in Korean Catholic history that we had an excommunication promulgated by a bishop of a diocese. It is now being spread to non- believers by the proponents of Naju. There are also bishops and priests who continue to be attracted by Naju.

In his dissertation the priest makes clear it is not miracles and healings that constitute Christianity, but through the Cross we search for faith and love in our lives. The priest is the first to write a dissertation on Naju, academically searching for the truth. His keyword was to discern, giving attention to the Scriptures and Church teaching. Catholic Faith is not only a personal stance but public, when we stress our personal experiences and beliefs they have to be judged by the community that is Church.

The phenomena of Naju have never been approved by the Church. Even after the decision of the bishop they have decided to go their own way. They cling to the miracles and private revelations, attached to the sensible and external. He feels it is not only a problem with Naju but with the Korean Church and Catholics.

The efforts to make Catholicism part of the culture gives birth to these abnormalities, irritations that are experienced. The Church has to make an effort to get the followers to come back. He treats the subject of Naju with gentleness.

Naju should not be an incident that we forget or just pass over but a teaching moment for the Church. We should have a white paper on the incident and see it from many different angles with study and debate.

Scripture tells us you can tell the tree by the fruit- the external test of authenticity: is it in harmony with the Church's constant teaching? Are we dealing with maturity, sincerity, obedience and humility? Thirdly, whether the fruits of the Spirit follow- do we see love?

We the Church have to deepen our Faith by getting closer to Jesus and his word instead of looking for external phenomena to deepen faith. The bishops indicated that what we see externally as Catholicism today may not be a true sign of maturity. Externals are not easy to read, and not a good sign of where we are spiritually.

Sexual minorities in Korea

There are topics difficult to talk about and one of them is sexual orientation that is not heterosexual. This week's Catholic Times had a column on sexual minority groups that meet under Protestant auspices to talk about their sexuality. The article was very clear and delicately written, a difficult topic for a Catholic readership.



In Korea the topic was taboo, left for the underground and areas of society that we like to believe do not exist. This is changing with the media giving it attention in recent years and activists who are trying to change the thinking of society to an inclusive and non-discriminatory one. The Catholic Church in Korea does not know yet, how to deal with sexual minorities.



In the States we do have the Dignity Coalition, a group of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Catholics and their families, who seek the church's acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle. The Church says no, and proposes Courage International.



In Society today we have the break down of the traditional way of looking at sexuality. Courage International a Christian ministry, ministers to those with same-sex attractions. They are asked to abstain from acting on their sexual desires and to live chastely according to the the teachings of the Church on homosexuality. This is an area that the Church in Korea should take a lead, for the issues will not disappear and those with this orientation should be helped by the Church to live their lives joyfully and with knowledge that chastity is possible. The sexual part of our nature is not all that we are, but only a small part; joy and a full life may be had by living and loving chastely all our sisters and brothers.

Gyodong Home of Refugees from the War

Gyodong is an island with a potential for greatness. A bridge is being built that will connect the island with Gangwha and plans have been made to build the world’s largest tidal powered electric plant. When the plant becomes operational –planned for 2015, a 8.3 km long dam will connect four islands: Ganghwa, Gyodong, Seokmo and Seogeom.

Environment groups are opposed for not being useful, and in the process destroying the sand bars. Those in charge of the project agree, there will be some destruction of the environment, but in the long run greenhouse gases will be reduced, the level of the sea will be raised, helping to prevent further destruction of the tidal flats.

Gyodong is the home of many who fled North Korea for freedom during the Korean War. Gyodong their home is only swimming distance away from North Korea, when the tide is out.

This morning a photographer and reporter from the Catholic Peace Broadcasting Station and Newspaper were here to interview members of the congregation, refugees, who have made their home in Gyodong. Each gave an account of their history, with many tears; many pictures were taken. After the discussion, the group went out to a point overlooking North Korea, where a monument was erected with the names of many who left their homes, most from Hwanghaedo. More pictures were taken and more remembrances of their long lost homeland.

This influx of refugees from North Korea has developed the island, the 14th largest island in Korea. In the old days they said the rice produced in Gyodong could feed the whole of Incheon for 5 years. The islanders have suffered a great deal, forced to leave their homes and making Gyodong their second home. The future will be materially prosperous, there will no doubt be a change in the simple ways of the inhabitants and great development, hopefully not all detrimental to the old Gyodong life. Adversity has made them strong and independent, it has been a blessing to work with the Catholics as their pastor.

Korean Catholic Bishops' Messages

The Bishops of Korea published their pastoral letters for the new liturgical year. The editorial in the Peace Weekly mentioned the Church has much to be thankful. The Church reached the 5 million mark- from 1995 an increase of 75.4 %, while the other religions have stayed the same or have decreased. This is plenty of reason to take pride in what has been accomplished. A survey taken recently by a Protestant group mentioned that the confidence in the Catholic Church was the highest at 32%.


The editorial mentioned that this may be only our perception and not the actual condition of the Church. This concern is shown in many different areas of Catholic life. The numbers of those active in the Church has not increased, the number of baptisms is down, the religious education programs are not doing well, we are getting older and the participation in society has decreased. The increase of materialism is influencing the Church.


The Bishops see that being immersed in the Scriptures is the way to overcome the onslaughts and challenges coming from globalization. There are many movements in different parts of the Church encouraging and instructing us to live with the Scriptures but this has to be a movement within the whole Korean Church.


There is the possibility of being concerned more with efforts to grow exteriorly, with more and bigger buildings, more activities, better and more successful programs for evangelizing, but if this is not accomplished with a similar efforts at deepening our commitment to Jesus and the life of the Spirit then we will not grow as a community of disciples that will change the world.


The acknowledgment of the possibilities of a fault line in our very quick growth in numbers is a very healthy reminder for more introspection, and efforts to deepen our personal spirituality, parish and home life in the years ahead.