A Catholic University professor writes in the Catholic Times' View
from the Ark column, about something he saw on the Internet which moved
him greatly. An elementary school teacher presented to his class a
picture of a child bent over scavenging for food with the caption: Let us think. Followed again with the question:What is the child doing? After 5
minutes of thought--How happy is the life that I am now living?
According
to the professor, the school teacher was expecting to have the children
reflect on their own life and respond with gratitude. One student,however, after seeing the picture wrote: "Seeing the
picture of another's misfortune and being thankful for my blessings is
not what it should be. We should work together to find a solution to the
problem so we all can eat and live well."
The voice
of the elementary school child moved the professor and he uses the words
of the child to express his opinion on happiness. What do we see that
makes our living worthwhile? What makes us happy? The child mentioned
'together' and was not interested in a happiness that comes from a
comparison with another. The professor wonders if the individual
happiness is really possible without the other. What really is happiness that is not in someway related to others?
Is
there a happiness that separates us from others? When we have plenty of
material goods,and receive praise and are envied by others can that be a
reason for true happiness in life?
In society we have many
who work in jobs that are subcontracted and at a lower salary, this is
besides the irregular workers. The column mentions a young person who
was working in a subcontracting job who was making much less than would
be the case for a regular worker and saving over three quarters of what he
was making to go to college. Money comes with education, and gives us dignity.
Isn't
this our culture? We accept that discrimination comes with a lack of education and money. A person who is making
about a thousand dollars a month is distressed and society
forces him to learn if he wants to be accepted. Dignity of a
person comes from what he has achieved in life.
Our columnist wonders if some of the joy many have comes from this
comparison with others, who do not have what they possess.
Those
who have spent their lives looking for wisdom will advise us to look
beyond what we possess for an answer. We need to look inside of ourselves to see who
we are as persons. What makes us tick, our inner being should be the
object of our examination. Our elementary school child could do this
and gave our columnist his topic.
The Catholic Times featured on the front page of the recent issue an article under the caption: Leave class-consciousness and expand social consensus. Often heard are the phrases: 'Hell Jeoson' and 'gold and earth spoons'. A reference by the young people that what they received from their parents at birth, no matter what, will be what they will have at the end of life, which makes life similar to the feudal days of the Jeoson dynasty. (1392-1910)
Two forums were conducted; one had as a topic: How do we overcome the golden and earth spoon thinking? (Born with a silver spoon in mouth) And the other forum considered: How do we see the culture of the young people with this 'Hell Jeoson' phenomenon? Expectations for the forum were to seek solutions in facing the issue, for it also makes its appearance within the community of faith.
Addiction to study makes Korea hell for many. At one time the prevalent thinking was education at the best of schools will guarantee a good job and life. This is the thinking of the 486 generation the parents of the young ( refers to those in the 40s who entered the university in the 80s and were born in the 60s).
Young people no longer see study as the way to success but rather frustration, failure and scorn.
One of the participants in the forum, mentioned how the sensibilities of the young are different from other generations, because of the digital culture. They are immature in their social relations; problems of life are missing in their education. However, he does thank the parents for raising children who are steady and reliable.
They agree that education should not be to raise one's position in society or make money but to solve problems of life. Church should emphasize non-market values and work for the common good where we give without desire of a return.
Another participant stressed: the gap between the rich and poor is not only a question of economics but affects our democracy and the whole of society. Problems are many and will not disappear as they get older. The job market is not good, finding a decent place to live, retirement and the like remain social problems, and require interest among the young in finding solutions.
Church needs to show there is another way of conducting our affairs in
society. We want to bring God's kingdom on this earth with our common concerns; with our belief and with our mutual giving and receiving in a
non-market way of living. This is the beginning in solving the problems we
face.
The Catholic Korean Catholic Pastoral Information Magazine had an
interview with the local Maryknoll Superior, Fr. Gerard E. Hammond,
which was carried by both the English and Korean editions of the
magazine. We have summarized briefly from the English edition.
Fr.
Hammond visits North Korea usually twice a year with the Eugene Bell
Foundation to help MDR TB patients in the North. This form of TB
infection is caused by bacteria which are resistant to common drug
treatments, highly infectious and fatal if untreated. Only about 10% of
the sick can be treated because of the amount of financial support required.
TB
is the biggest killer in North Korea. Over the past 20 years they have
treated about 250,000 patients. Fr. Hammond considers his visits to
Korea as a pilgrimage, because of the number of martyrs, including
Maryknoll Bishop Byrne, Bishop Hong Yong-ho and many Christians who died for
their faith.
Maryknoll began work in Pyongyang in 1927. Bishop Patrick Byrne, who was
Prefect Apostolic of Pyongyang, along with Bishop Hong both died in North
Korea and are now candidates for beatification. North Korea still suffers from a lack of religious freedom.
In
his own life he feels the work of a missioner is to build a loving relationship with a mission field. More important than speaking, for a
missioner is acting, doing, because of the language barrier. He has
always tried to delegate financial and administrative duties to
others, and dedicated himself to spiritual activities. Eating together
was always an important spiritual activity. Setting time aside for
others is a important work for the older members of the Korean region.
Fr.
Hammond asked about his views on the North South situation, responded
that North and South need to keep talking to each other. The United
States, Japan, China and Russia put their own needs first so they should be excluded from the discussion table. Before reunification comes we
have to work hard to achieve the following: conversation,
reconciliation, and peace. North Korean Catholics were invited to the
Mass for Peace and Reconciliation but they didn't come.
He
mentioned how he experienced the presence of God in one of his meetings
with a North Korean. He was traveling in a Jeep on a four-hour trip to
Sinuiju to collect sputum samples. He was sitting in the passenger
seat saying the rosary when his rosary broke. He asked the driver for a
pincer. The driver wanted to know why. Seeing the rosary he replied, "Oh, I can fix it." While repairing he added: "My grandmother
used to have this kind of thing." Father Hammond asked again, "She was a
nice person wasn't she?" He said yes but the conversation was interrupted by another person but he remembers it vividly.
At the conclusion of the
interview he was asked what does he want as an epitaph, since he made
known his desire to die in Korea. Fr. Hammond wants to say just before he
dies: "Yeongwoni Hamkke" ( Together forever).
A professor at a research center for women in her column in the Peace Weekly wants her readers to reflect on sexual harassment issues that continue to appear in the news. A few years ago, a staff member with the President on a trip to the States was accused of sexual indiscretion with an Embassy intern.
He was removed from his job and returned to Korea. In his interview with the press, his explanation was: he patted the back of the Korean guide. From that time on he has been secluded in his home. Seeing how public opinion was not happy with what was happening the President apologized for the incident.
Since the intern was assigned by the Korean Embassy to help the staff member, the relationship was one of superior and subordinate. The writer sees this as sexual violence. Staff members considered the person a guide and tried to minimize the seriousness of the incident as did others who were dealing with issues involved in the incident.
The government has decreed that in the future public officials on overseas duty will not be dealing with interns. The writer does not believe the authorities realize the problem is a structural one and tries to remedy it with makeshift solutions.
Many, overcome with anger, sent an open letter to the President in which they want what happened seen through the eyes of the young woman; the staff member undergo investigation in the States; and provide provisions that will prevent this from happening again.
1,000 women from Korea have voiced their disapproval of the handling of the case. It is a criminal case. They want the case to be tried before the district public prosecutor's office. Since the staff member has denied any wrong doing this has resulted in harm to the victim's reputation. If we ignore what happened, we are facing a future where politicians will continue this kind of behavior. They want to make clear these actions are violence against women.
Since the statute of limitation ends this year, the staff member is free to express the unfairness(?) of what he experienced. Both the States and Korea are in a fog on how to look upon what happened.
The need to bring up the subject after three years is to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents: inaction and using a cotton bat are no help. Often they blame it on too much drinking or the victim's behavior which takes the concern for the violence off the perpetrator. Without growth in respect for human rights, democracy does not mature, and she hopes that this incident will help promote our understanding of gender and sexuality.
In
a bulletin for priests the writer introduces us to Mo Tzu a Chinese
Philosopher who followed Confucius and was in opposition to his ideas.
At the time he was as influential as Confucius but not as successful in winning people's hearts. Mohism has almost disappeared.
He
uses the book written by a professor who writes about the all embracing
love without discrimination, in Mo Tzu's teaching. According to Mo Tzu that are three things
that bring disorder to our society: the hungry have nothing to eat,
those who are cold have no clothes, and those that work can't rest.
When
we don't have universal love the strong will oppress the weak, the
majority will bully the minority, the rich will despise the poor, the
aristocracy will lord it over the lowly, the smart will deceive the
foolish, and we have chaos.
Mo
Tzu lived around the 390 BC and his times are not much different from
our own times. We have not been able to heal the wounds of war and have
not become any more mature in our love for others. Altruism instead of
growing appears to have decreased. All our attention is on money. We
seem to agree that to live better we need to amass more money. Not only true with the wealthy but with those who sorrow with little, but agree that money will solve all problems.
The
rich want more and are absorbed in its acquisition while those who
sorrow without it want to join the club and are oblivious of those who
are left behind. This is the kind of society that we are in and the
future doesn't look bright.
With
the eyes of faith we see this search for idols as unhealthy, and the teaching of
universal love that the Mohist school professed as the solution.
Apparently the demise of this philosophy was its impracticality, and unrealistic demands. In many ways his way of love is
very similar to Jesus' way and for many also seen as impractical.
The caption for the article is Mo Tzu's expression of his all inclusive love. IF UNDER THE HEAVENS WE HAD LOVE FOR EACH OTHER, A LOVE THAT I HAVE FOR MYSELF, WOULD WE HAVE ANY IMPIETY? Can we imagine what Asia would be today if instead of Confucianism we had Mohism as the mainspring of Asian Culture?
Not only those in leadership positions in the Church but those who trust the Church are concerned with what is happening: seen by some as a crisis within the Church. A seminary professor in his column in the Catholic Times gives his readers a reason to be concerned for the privatization and individualization of our faith life.
Rate of the increase of believers continues to decrease. Increase in the second half of the 1980s was a unique event but to explain the decrease is not easily done. Consequently, the number of those attending Mass on Sundays is noticeably not increasing. There is little difference in the numbers that were attending Mass 10 years ago and today.
Those willing to serve in the different organizations are difficult to find. Convents and seminaries have dropped in the number of vocations. Activity of the young within the church is not what it was, and we have a change to an aged European-like church.
Even among the devout, many are not following the teachings. The numbers going to confession have dropped. Members of the Legion of Mary who are visiting the sick, and the poor have decreased. Sacrifice and detachment among the members are not easily found. Human nature wants to avoid the difficult, but love, and our faith should overcome this tendency, but we don't easily see it, although he knows it exists.
Many are attending prayer meetings, but individualistic religious life is not abandoned. Pope Francis calls this:"a spiritual consumerism tailored to one’s own unhealthy individualism."
"Many try to escape from others and take refuge in the comfort of their privacy or in a small circle of close friends, renouncing the realism of the social aspect of the Gospel. For just as some people want a purely spiritual Christ, without flesh and without the cross, they also want their interpersonal relationships provided by sophisticated equipment, by screens and systems, which can be turned on and off on command. Meanwhile, the Gospel tells us constantly to run the risk of a face-to-face encounter with others, with their physical presence which challenges us, with their pain and their pleas, with their joy, which infects us in our close and continuous interaction. True faith in the incarnate Son of God is inseparable from self-giving, from membership in the community, from service, from reconciliation with others. The Son of God, by becoming flesh, summoned us to the revolution of tenderness" (Joy of the Gospel #88).
Development in individualistic spirituality within the church may seem a spiritual maturity, but the professor sees this as a serious corruption and a great danger. We as Christians and as Church are to be the salt of the earth. We need to continually purify our vision and desires. We are in need of reform and renewal, our answer to the call of the Gospel to be salt of the earth.
Presently in the Korean Church, we have twenty out of one hundred who are coming to Mass on Sundays. Those who have left the community are called tepid, and reasons for leaving are many. They are listed in surveys and questionnaires that have been made over the years.
We have those who no longer believe and those who need to work or study. Some find confession and the sacramental life difficult. Liturgy has no meaning, and boring. Scars from relating to others in community never heal, fester, and they leave. Money for the building fund, Sunday collections and donations are a burden. Sermons have little meaning. Christian life brings stress. They are disappointed by the behavior and words of priests and religious. These are some of the personal reasons, but a lay theologian in Here and Now Web Site gives us what he feels are the structural reasons for leaving.
First, he sees a lack of preparation in the catechumenate. It is a period of at least six months to a year, but this is not always followed. He gives the example in the military where he has seen that less than one hour of study prepared a person for baptism. Those who are baptized lack the motivation and enter the community for reasons other than a Christian faith life.
Secondly, he sees communities that are made up of core parishioners and the ordinary parishioners. We have those who have been active in church work from an early age who have been hurt and have left. Why should this be the case? Communities should be a place with equality, but we have those who because of merit or wealth become leaders in the community.
There are many who work in the community in many ways of service but are looked upon by the core group as tools, which leaves this group with a feeling of emptiness and lack of belonging.
We have those who enter the community which was not that apparent in the past, mostly not for a desire for a spiritual life but to find and enjoy recognition. They have had high positions in society and enjoyed wealth and seek to enhance their place in society by entering the community. They can offer services to the community that the ordinary Christians can't. They join the core group which further alienates the ordinary parishioners who feel an emptiness.
He mentions the third structural problem is the need to work on Sundays. Many in the community find it difficult to understand why they don't make the effort to attend Mass. This is a lack of understanding of those who need to work on the weekends to support their families, and the church should be concerned with this group for they are not turned off on the church.
Article concludes with a need for more than prayer for these who no longer belong to the community. Prayer can be an excuse for action needed to change our community way of life. We have grown greatly as a community, but we need to concern ourselves with the quality of life in community and not only a core group in the community.
