A Hypothetical Korean WYD

The recent World Youth Day in Spain, attended by well over a million young people without serious problems, prompted a journalist for the Peace Weekly to imagine what  a WYD  would look like in Korea in 2020. He imagined a new pope who would be taking his first trip to Korea for the event. Although Brazil will host the next WYD in 2013, the journalist wanted to take a look at the difficulties of  hosting a WYD in Korea.

For the Church to host an event of this size without  government help would be, he believes, impossible. Finding appropriate meeting places and sleeping facilities, and making the necessary travel arrangements would be obstacles difficult to surmount. The Church did host, in 1984, the 200th  anniversary of the beginning of Catholicism in Korea, and the 44th Eucharistic Congress in 1989, but these events were, for the most part, internal to the country, and foreign visitors, even for the Eucharistic Congress, numbered only about 7000. With an expected 300,000 visitors coming to Korea for WYD for a stay of about a week, the journalist wonders how the citizens of Seoul would  react to the noise, the regulating of the transportation, and the disruption of city life--all to accommodate one religion.

In a country like Spain, where 90 percent of the population acknowledges Catholicism as their religion, this inconvenience was accepted, but what would be the reaction in Korea where Catholicism numbers just over 10 percent? If we did  have a WYD in Korea it would  be hosted in a country that would  have, in comparison with other host countries of the event, the fewest Catholics.

It would be necessary, the journalist says, to get the permission of the citizens to accept the inconveniences, and also of the  other religions.  In Madrid, even late at night, there would be young people singing and playing the guitar, and causing a commotion in the subways. In Korea recently, a young foreigner who was making a loud noise while on the subway was told to keep quiet, which started a fight. This small incident would very likely  be multiplied thousands of times during WYD because of the large number of young people.

Even if the week were arranged as well as could be expected, there would still be the difficulty of having enough varied  programs to keep everyone interested.  In Madrid there were over 300 different programs available. WYD would also be an opportunity of introducing the Korean Church to the rest of the world: a Church that began without foreign missioners, nurtured with the lives of the martyrs,  and developing into a dynamic Catholicism, in which we take much pride.

The majority of the attendees in Madrid came from Europe, and many others came from Central and South America, attracted by the short distances and fewer expenses.To attract the young people to come to Korea will be an even bigger task.

To come to Korea from the West would mean a plane ride of over 10 hours and an expense three or four times that of going to Madrid from the West. The first time they had the WYD in the Orient was in the Philippines. And most of those who attended were from the Philippines, which made the image of a worldwide youth event  questionable.  Total expenses for the Madrid WYD was 72 million, 63 percent from registrations, 33 percent from sponsors, and 4 percent from donations.

The journalist seems to be rather pessimistic on the ability of the Catholic Church to host such an event, believing that the conditions necessary for a successful WYD would be outside the control of the Church. Although the organizational ability of Koreans is exceptional, organizing a WYD would be the least of the worries. 


  

Free Will And Dante's Divine Comedy

"Before me things created were none, save things
Eternal, and eternal I endure. 
Abandon all hope, you who enter here."

The Desk Columnist of the Catholic Times begins his column with the words written above the gate to Hell in Dante Alighieri's  Divine Comedy. He read the poem when he was in middle school, and it left a lasting impression on him. He reflects on the poem in his column.

Dante, at the age of 35, in the evening of the day before Good Friday, was wandering in a dark forest. The next day at dawn he came to a hill which he tried to ascend and  met three wild beasts and his guide, who was like a father to him, the Roman poet Virgil. The poet leads him through Hell and Purgatory, where he meets Beatrice, who will be his guide to Heaven, where his eyes will be opened to the love of God.

The poem begins with sadness but ends with joy. The columnist mentions that the part that bothered him the most in middle school was to see the large number of clerics Dante had placed in hell. He was able to come to an understanding of this later in life:  Dante was showing his disapproval of the corruption of the Church of his time.

The columnist wonders if Dante would see the problems we have in the world today as representative of the hell he described: divisive feelings among people and nations, wars, jealousy, greed, hatred, etc. Our free will choices have been harmful to ourselves and others, as Dante makes clear, especially in the first book of the Divine Comedy: The Inferno. Free will is a gift of God, a faculty that allows  us to accept or refuse what is good or bad according to our reason.

The cantos of Purgatory have a great deal to do with philosophy and free will. It is our choices that will determine the road we will be taking, leading either to happiness or to misery. Dante considers free will the greatest of the gifts we have received.  And when we use it to make the right choices we will meet our Beatrice, who will lead us to heaven.

It is easy to have doubts about our freedom. However, as Christians our freedom is beyond doubt. We can limit our freedom by the  way we live, acting from instinct and habit, influenced by others and losing the ability to love, which only can be an act of a free person. The columnist wonders if hell is the place where we lose all our freedom.             

What Will Happen at the 200th Anniversary?

When Korea became a Vicariate Apostolic 180 years ago, it entered officially into the Catholic world. In 20 more years we will be celebrating the 200th year of the the Vicariate that developed into a Church operating autonomously in 1962 with its own dioceses; no longer could Korea by considered a mission country.

Reflecting on the history of the Church in Korea, a retired history professor, interviewed by the Peace Weekly, expressed surprise that not much attention was given to celebrating the 180 years as a Church. We were different from many other countries in Asia, he said, because the French foreign missioners, unlike the Spanish and Portuguese missioners, felt it important to train the Koreans for the priesthood, which  stimulated the growth of the Church.

During the recent past the efforts of the Church in working for justice for everyone strengthened its relationship with society, contributing to its growth and helping the country to transition to a democratic society.

The professor says that the work of the Church in evangelizing the culture has enabled its numerical growth and  maturity. However, he sees a problem developing today: few young people are in the forefront in  efforts to evangelize the culture. Convincing the young to participate more in this endeavor continues to be an important concern of the Church.

Evangelization is best done when the  Christ  we see and have in  our hearts is the Christ with which we want to evangelize the culture. By inculturating the Church into the culture, we integrate justice  and love throughout society, as we devote ourselves to working for the common good, which requires, says the professor, that we work for the reconciliation of our country.

Thirty years ago, at the age of 37, the professor was involved with the preparation of the 150th  anniversary of the formal  beginning of the  Catholic Church of Korea. At that time, he said that the young, the middle-aged and the old people of the Church were involved. He looks forward to that being true on the 200th anniversary.

Importance of Volunteer Work In Society

The society we live in presents us with the many challenges that come with change.  We are members of society and are building the future. The correct understanding of society has to start with ourselves in love and harmony with our neighbors. A correct understanding of community will come when we have this love and harmony with others. There is no greater value in life than this.

A columnist in the Catholic Times starts her article with the above words and tells us that of the more developed countries in the world Korea ranks fourth as a country with internal discord and in the amount of money allocated to resolve the discord.

This discord is seen most clearly by the increasing disparity between the rich and the poor, a decreasing middle class and, not mentioned by the columnist, inter-religious discord, regional prejudice, and the injustices and indignities faced by non-Koreans living in our society. Removing the discord requires, she believes, a change in all facets of our society. She  wants to see more sharing and voluntary service to the community by all citizens, and more concern expressed and put into practice by the leaders of our society.

The columnist feels that the concept of noblesse oblige in our society is not practiced to the extent that it is in other developed countries. She mentions that in 2001 the UN proclaimed the International Year of Volunteers. Working without recompense has been a  part of all civilizations, contributing to the welfare of others locally and in the larger society.

Volunteer work can begin with mutual help, then taking on more difficult tasks such as coping with crises and relief assistance, and dealing with the myriad problems of poverty; this work has many faces and is not confined to the boundaries of any one country.  We know that it is not only a  sharing of God's word but also a sharing of the talents we have received. This will require educational programs to get people more involved with others, increasing the prosperity of society and the happiness of  all. The columnist feels that the sharing of talents will be the catalyst that will change and humanize society, fostering dialogue, building community, providing a sense of mission that  will  contribute to living fully human lives. The light of this effort will brighten the  dark places of our society with love, and she feels confident that when this effort is joined together with others doing the same, we will have lit the torch that will illuminate the whole world.

She concludes the article with the words of Pope Benedict in his encyclical God is Love. "Significantly, our time has also seen the growth and spread of different kinds of volunteer work, which assume responsibility for providing a variety of services. I wish here to offer a special word of gratitude and appreciation to all those who take part in these activities in whatever way. For young people, this widespread involvement constitutes a school of life which offers them a formation in solidarity and in readiness to offer others not simply material aid but their very selves" (#30b).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Interest in a Sane and Compassionate Society

Misunderstanding and hostility among people is grudgingly tolerated by many as inevitable, as we continually see this discord being played out in politics, in the economy, in ecology, and of course in religion. And  yet the dissension among Christians--perhaps most evident today in the rift between those who  are primarily concerned with having a personal relationship with God and those who extend this concern to all his creatures--is difficult to understand. The words left and right, conservative and liberal, traditionalist and modernist are used as words of insult or praise.

The divisions that exist among Christians concerning theology, discipline, and liturgy are  easier to understand than the  division between those who do not separate God from creation and those who do, as if  concern for society and its members, along with the social structures we have made, is an affront to God and should not be our concern.

The Korean Church has realized that the understanding of our Catholics on what the teachings of Jesus should mean in our daily lives was deficient. For many there was no understanding of the Social Gospel. The Catholic Times gives us a brief summary of the present situation and of the efforts being made to bring more understanding of the Christian life to more people.

In 1994, after the first  meeting of the  Asian Laity meeting  in Korea, the Seoul diocese began a school specifically for teaching the Social Gospel. Now in its 16th year, there have been 72 programs and 3110 graduates who have been sent out into society. Such organized programs that have been sponsored by a diocese and have lasted this long are not easily found in the world of Catholicism.

The success of the programs has influenced other dioceses to start their own Social Gospel Schools, and Social Gospel teachings have been incorporated in educational programs before Confirmation.

Since 2006, the programs for teaching the Social  Gospel have spread into many dioceses of the country. Though the leaders in the Church agree that much has been done, our Christians are far from seeing the crucial importance of Christ's teachings for achieving a humane society. It is hoped that the spread of the Social Gospel Schools will provide the needed impetus to give more of our Catholics a mature understanding of our present society and what a sane and compassionate society, in  comparison, would look like.

Understanding Religion as Praying for Blessings

Shamanism, the folk religion of Korea, and of many other countries throughout the world, has influenced the practice of both Buddhism and Christianity in Korea. Even in our technologically advanced society, many find the possibility of finding quick solutions to personal problems appealing. In one city alone, Seoul, we have hundreds of Shamanistic temples that bustle with clients. It is an influence that turns many people off when they see it in Christianity, since it is so different from the teaching of Jesus.

"Praying for blessings," as many Christians do, is in many ways similar, according to a columnist in the Catholic Times, to a Shaman's attempt to communicate with spirit beings to bring a  benefit to the supplicant, including healing, warding off evil influences, and predicting the future. The columnist wonders which is to be preferred: a Catholic, who goes to Mass every Sunday but doesn't pray for the rest of the week, or one who goes to Mass and prays for personal  blessings? He admits to not being sure of the answer.

In explaining our tendency to ask for personal help to fulfill our desires, he compares it to the natural reflexes we depend on to defend ourselves: the boxer raises his arm to block a punch he sees coming, or the pedestrian who steps back onto the curb when seeing a car coming in his direction. This is a natural response to what threatens us, and a sacred duty for survival built into our very being. Therefore, there is nothing wrong with entrusting  ourselves to God for our well-being, and yet the Church is asking us to rid ourselves of this praying-for-blessings kind of spirituality. Why? the columnist asks. 

Because prayer, he says, is a dialogue with God. But praying for blessings is using God as a means or a tool to gain prosperity or comfort. A person accustomed to this way of praying is prone to covetousness. Instead of instilling a thankful attitude for the things we have, asking for what we don't have nourishes the desire for having more than we need. It is using God to enjoy the  goods of this world instead of using the goods of this world to enjoy God.

When praying for blessings there is usually little thought of others but only of personal desires. When concern for others comes into play, there soon follows the breakdown  of the praying-for-blessing way of living. The columnist reminds us that breaking the habit of  praying for blessings, and replacing it  for a more mature prayer life, is far from easy, precisely because in many cases the habit has been with us for a lifetime. Praying for others, he feels, should help  break down the habit.

As an example of what prayer should be, the columnist refers to the prayer of Jesus as he hung on the cross: "Father, if it is your will, take this cup from me; yet not my will but yours be done." In this prayer, he says, we have the integration of personal desire and the will of God--there could not be a more perfect example.                                                    

Religious Freedom Understood Differently

Religion in North Korea is not an easy subject to talk about. There is a disconnect between appearance and reality that goes back to the time when North Korea based its policies on Marxism, considering religion superstition, the opium of the people, a tool of imperialism to exploit the masses. There have been significant changes since then, and an adviser to the Bishops Committee on Reconciliation with North Korea brings us up to date with her article in the Kyeongyang Magazine. 

From 1970, signs of change appeared with a thawing of the relations with the West. The religious federations began to come back to life and churches were restored. In the 1980s religious books and Christian religious services were allowed, including Catholic Masses; and churches were built.  Religion was grafted onto the Juche Ideology (independence and self-reliance).

In the country's constitution of 1972, it states: "Citizens are free to practice religion and  to speak against religion." It was amended later to: "Citizens have freedom to practice religion, build religious buildings and have religious services." The proviso that one has the freedom to speak against religion was dropped and replaced by "No one has the right to use religious influence to hurt the order of  society." Which the government is free to interpret in any way it wants. In the 1980s the  attitude toward religion again changed, as problems with the economy brought a desire for presenting to the world a better image of the country. The idea of bringing the South under their control was no longer pushed. Instead, the government decided to work with religious groups for a united Korea, with religion grafted onto their Juche ideology.

The way  people see the  religious issue in the North can be divided, says the writer, into two groups. One group sees churches being built, religious services being held, and religious groups being active, giving proof, they feel, that there is  religious freedom in the country. The other group says there is no real freedom of religion because of the divinization of the country's leader, and because the activities of the religious groups are more political than religious. Another viewpoint would agree with both groups, adding that though the practice of religion does exist in the North, if we look closely at the statues of the Labor Party of the North, they make no reference to religion, allow no freedom to evangelize and preach freely, and those who do are punished.

And also not to be forgotten, there has been persecution of many who have practiced their faith in the North. A house group in 2010 was dispersed, and the three leaders of the group executed, the others sent to prison. The writer suggests that the Church in the South, in its work of evangelization, set as one of its goal the task of helping the North  extend the current changes to a more meaningful appreciation of the value of religion.