Korea was a late comer to the world where animals became pets and compainions but has progressed rapididly, no doubt due to the economic changes in the life of the citizens. In the past royality and the wealthy had animal pets but the ordinary citizens would be busy with other concerns.
The dog was the first to be domesticated and that goes back to the stone age, for dog bones were found in the graves with their owners. Cats followed many years later. The dog and and cat were first domesticated for their ability to help owners with problems that came along in life. Dogs helped to defend the family from the wild animals and help in the hunt and cats would be helpful in taking care of rats and other predators stealing from the storehouses.
According to a survey by a Financial Goup, it is estimated that 30.9 % of the total households are raising pets. The money expended in the pet market will increase from 950 billion won in 2012 to 5.81 trillion won in 2020.
In an article of the Catholic Peace Weekly by a social critic, shows how Korea has gone from calling animals house pets to companions. Animals have become members of the family. In the above mentioned survey, 68.3% of the respondents agree that companion animals are members of the family.
The World Animal Day, was established in 1931, on October 4, the anniversary of St. Francis of Assisi. The saint was proclaimed the patron saint of ecology by St. John Paul II in 1980. On this day, in many churches all over the world we have ceremonies with the blessing of animals. In
Korea, the blessing of animals have been held in many churches from the beginning of 2010, and continues to increase.
We have funerals for animals and the writer mentions one of the prayers that is used at the death of a companion animal. 'O Lord, God, the pet that brought so much joy in life, is dead , and I am thankful for all the good times and happiness that he has given me caring for me, so that the memory of him will lead me to love and care for the people around me. May I also praise you by respecting the life of all creation. Amen.'
On the other hand, there is the reality of animal abuse. There
are 57 revisions to the Animal Protection Act promulgated in the first
half of the 20th Congress, but there is a pressing need to change the
perception of society as a whole. What is the church's position on animals in this reality?
'Responsibility and Practice for the
Restoration of the Order of Creation' (2010) compiled by the Korean Catholic Bishops'
Conference is a guide to our care for the environment, section 30: God loves not only man but all creation of the world. It is natural that one cares for animals because God created, cares, and protects them. St. Francis of Assisi and Philip Neri who treated animals with love, set an example for us in this regard.
A religious sister in a Catholic Peace column recalls an incident while studying spirituality overseas. She was living in an international community where she met Paul a very impressive individual. She was introduced to Paul in this manner: "Very responsible, faithful bright and thrifty." But nobody wanted to spend time with him.
At meals, the places next to him were always for the latecomers. When we went out as a group, the car that Paul drove would be the last filled. Why was everybody avoiding Paul who was doing his best? She soon found out.
One day, engaged in small talk with a group of friends, where English was not the mother tongue; yet the conversation was lively, heart to heart and wonderfully sympathetic. Paul suddenly entered the conversation and looking at each one of them pointed out were the pronunciation, grammar or context was not correct. The atmosphere of the group turned cold and the expressions on their faces hardened. From that time on, the writer also avoided Paul.
She was nervous when she sat down and Paul was present. When she spoke, she was more concerned about how she was speaking than what she wanted to communicate. He only knew sentences that were correctly formed. She had no hate in her heart for Paul but it was uncomfortable communicating with him.
She reflected watching Paul: "Does Paul know the uncomfortable feelings he is arousing in his listeners?" Paul did not care about the reaction and feelings of others. She found this a mystery.
Was Paul a free man who doesn't worry about what people think? Paul, she says, was trapped in his own world. Rather than being free from other people's feelings and reactions he had stopped them from entering his thoughts.
A truly free person feels the gaze and feelings of others but doesn't react to them. Freedom is not just what I like, but also concerned about what others do not like. Above all, a free person is not afraid to reveal their own mind. I know where my mind is and want to communicate it with my heart. Communication between persons is transmitted not only by words but by the heart.
Paul seemed to ignore his feelings. Someone told him: "I am talking to you now, and you lecture me?" He was given a stinging rebuke but you would never guess this by the expression on his face. Paul hearing the complaint and the person making the complaint seemed to be separated like water and oil. Paul was not able to communicate with those he was living. They praised Paul's sincere and honest behavior but something was seriously missing.
St. Don Bosco said: one of the greatest goods is to achieve a meeting of hearts between people. Only one's heart is able to speak to another person's heart. Sadly, in our world, we have many who are 'tone deaf'— insensitive to the feelings of others, not concerned to change, or feel a need to change.
The French Revolution is a chapter of European History, difficult to understand and appreciate the ramifications both for society and the church. Gallicanism was understood by many long before the revolution that the power of kings was independent of the power of popes, the opposite was Ultramontanism.
The American Revolution (1775-1783) and the United States Declaration of Independence (1776) greatly influenced the French Revolution (1789-1794). France allied with the United States provided military assistance during the war with the United Kingdom. The military exchanges between the two countries created an ideological exchange of liberalism and republicanism. But after the revolution, the Catholic churches in both countries had a totally different result. So begins a college professor of spirituality, explaining the French Revolution to the Catholic Peace Weekly readers.
Before the French Revolution, Modern France was an absolute monarchical kingdom, as in the Middle Ages. In many countries of Europe, including France, there were three social classes. The first was the priests and monks who accounted for 0.5% of the total population, the second was the nobles (1.5% of the total), and the third the remaining 98%, the citizens. The king was beyond any of the classes. The common people paid the taxes. In France, there was a council composed of representatives of the three divisions of society which existed from the beginning of the 14th century, but not convened until 1614.
Louis XVI, reigning 1774-1792, convened the assembly in June 1789, to resolve the financial problems of the kingdom through taxation adjustments, as the finances of the kingdom worsened. When the priests and nobles, heard they would be taxed they rebelled. Here, too, the commoners complained and rebelled against the methods of the assembly and separated from the main group. They met in a building with a tennis court, where they pledged they would not disperse until they had a constitution. This happened On July 9, 1789, the National Assembly was renamed the National Constituent Assembly and prepared for a constitution. The French Revolution occurred when the citizens of Paris attacked the Bastille prison on July 14, 1789.
The Civil Constitution of the Clergy decided to abolish the tithing in August 1789 and in November of that year to nationalize the property belonging to the Catholic Church. In July 1790, they established the Catholic Church as dependent on the French government. Parish boundaries and national administrative boundaries were to be the same, citizens elect clergy, and the state appoints bishops. Pius Pius VI (1775-1799), told the priests to refuse to take the oath of allegiance.
The Vendée was the largest counter-revolutionary uprising of the French Revolution. Provincial residents weren't interested in the Paris-based revolution or its ideas and took up arms against the National Convention. Eventually, the forces supporting the French Catholic Church in and around Vendee in western France opposed the basic laws of the clergy and about 30,000 to 400,000 people died during the rebellion (1793-1801).
Napoleon Bonaparte appears on the stage (1769-1821), the first president of the First Republic of France made a concordat with Pope Pius VII (1800-1823). The French government guarantees that the liturgy of the Catholic Church can be freely and publicly held, while the president appoints bishops and priests who are not opposed to government policies and demanded a pledge of loyalty from the clergy. Also, after the revolution, the property confiscated by the government was not to be resisted. Pope Pius VII approved on July 1801 the Convention for the spiritual benefit of the Church, although many objected to the Convention because of the disadvantages to the Church. Later, Napoleon lost the support of the Catholic Church by occupying the Papal States in 1809. The Catholic Church regained the Papal States in the Wiener Kongress (1814-1815).
Gallicanism advocating the supremacy of the French king was strong. In the 18th century, French Catholic priests who were politically inclined tried to stay close to the French royal family, not only because of the aftermath of Gallicanism but also because of the economic advantages of tax exemption. The French Revolution, which showed displeasure to the French royal family and nobles, was equally disdainful of the Catholic Church, which had close ties with the French royal family.
An aristocratic politician, Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642), became the prime minister of Louis XIII (1610-1643). In The Three Musketeers, a historical adventure novel, written in 1844 by Alexandre Dumas, the Cardinal was portrayed as a member of the villains which shows the antipathy the commoners felt for the Catholic Church after the Revolution.
In 1816 the higher clergy pledged unconditional obedience to Pope Pius VII and the writer Joseph de Maistre (1753-1821) wrote in 1819 in the book "Du Pape" (On the Pope) in which Ultramontanism was the theme. Fortunately, the French Catholic Church began rebuilding its church and Catholic faith in France from the 1820s.
Externally the French Revolution was the reason for material and spiritual damage to the French Catholic Church— forfeiture of church property and banning liturgy. But internally, the French Revolution brought to the attention of the French Catholic clergy the hard lives of ordinary people and because of their privileges and attachment to earthly power were blind to what was happening in society. Thus, the French Revolution was paradoxically an opportunity to restore spiritual vitality to the French Catholic Church. A deep study of what happened has many lessons for the Church today.
Plastic goods are everywhere and the most commonly found debris in our oceans. Plastic waste comes in all shapes and sizes, the ones under 5 millimeters in length are called microplastics. A member of the bishops' committee on the environment writes about the issue in the Catholic Peace Weekly.
She begins her article with the news that in the belly of a dead whale they discovered a lot of plastic trash. Her menu that day was grilled fish and she frowned and wondered about the amount of plastic in the fish the family would be eating that evening. She washed the fish again thinking it would be wise hoping to detect any microplastic that would be visible.
The world is at war with plastic as it takes hundreds of years to disintegrate. Recently in the United Kingdom, a paper was published in a science magazine giving figures on how many millions of tons have been poured into the oceans. This waste is broken down by the waves, ultraviolet rays and the like.This breaks the plastic down into small pieces which continues to contaminate the oceans with the microplastics.
These pieces, the plankton can mistakenly eat as food. And we have the sea creatures eating the plankton and the microplastics accumulate more and more in the bodies of the fish.
The Korea Marine Science and Technology Agency said that microplastics were detected in 97% of 139 different kinds of oysters, mussels, crabs, and earthworms from the fish farms and nearby waters in Gyeongnam. A considerable amount of these micro pieces of plastic come from washing machines and cosmetics.
In 2011, an Irish ecologist Mark Browne surveyed 18 areas of the world and found that there were a lot of small pieces of fiber coming from water ways— synthetic fibers like polyester and nylon in streams and beach sediments in all areas. Examing wastewater from domestic washing machines, Browne estimated
that around 1,900 individual fibers can be rinsed off a single synthetic
garment - ending up in our oceans. Skin exfoliants, cleansers and toothpaste also contain microplastics.
The May 2016 report of the United Nations Economic Programme 'Marine Plastic Waste and Microplastics' announced that nano-sized micro-plastics could penetrate into any organ, including the placenta and brain. Invisible micro-plastics accumulated in drinking water, seafood, shellfish, seaweed, may cause illness in humans who ingest them.
I want to make my family go to bed in the evening at peace. Consequently, careful of detergents, fabric softeners, plastic bottled water, and disposable plastic untensils which can in time penetrate into the food chain and enter the mouth of our family. It's a way to keep my family and the earth healthy while living simply. Eco-life may be a little inconvenient but is it not the way to care for the family and our earth?
"Ding Dong~Ding Dong~"
The
bell of the Urakami Cathedral rang at 6 pm on Christmas Eve 1945. A
college professor writes about Takashi Nagai (1908-1951) in the Catholic
Times. Nagai and his colleagues found the bell in the ruins of the
cathedral and hung the bell on wooden hangers, announcing the time for
Christmas Eve prayer. This layman, who led the small but strong
Catholic Church community, became well known the world over.
Takashi
Nagai was a Catholic layman, a physician who practiced radiology and
love for humanity He was not only a victim of the atomic bomb in
Nagasaki but wrote a great deal about his Christian faith and gospel
spirit up until his death.
Dr.
Nagai was originally an atheist, but married Midori, the daughter of the owner of the house in which he lodged. Chokada was a seventh
generation descendent of the Hidden Christians of Nagasaki. The doctor
became interested in Christianity while lodging in the house of this lay
leader (Chokada), and was baptized.
The
young Nagai, had been diagnosed with leukemia, and was given only two
or three years to live. He told his wife painfully of the diagnose.
Midori, after kneeling and praying for a while, said: "You
have devoted all of your life to important things, and your efforts
were for the glory of God." Upon hearing Midori's tearful sincerity,
Nagai confessed that he was delighted to have obtained a "new life."
Dr.
Nagai lost his wife in the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and as he slowly
continued to die, he reflects that his young son and daughter are soon
to be raised without parents. And writes: "When your sorrows overcome you, weep with all your heart. But let your heart be turned toward God. He
will give you true comfort and wipe away your tears." In the heart of
this dying parent, it's no wonder he found comfort in the
Beatitudes and hope facing death. The writer was deeply moved in reading about the last days of Dr. Nagai.
Do we live like a Dr. Nagai with a profound confession of faith? Many
of the young Catholics in Korea nowadays say they do not baptize
their children so that they can "choose their own religion" when they
grow up. Why
does the normal child live a life-long battle to live up to the
parents' wishes and expectations, even though they did not choose their
parents? Do they respect freedom for religion only? Our faith is not the object of choice! The
problem is we have not tasted how wonderful and great the blessings to live and know Him who gave us life from the beginning and leads us to
true happiness.
In a way, it is our fault in the way we have expressed the teachings of Jesus. Instead of sharing God's great love and compassion first, we talk about missing Mass on Sundays, and what is forbidden and emphasize only the external sacramental life! In our church pastoral practices, we need an awakening and fundamental improvement in what has been projected, so that love, grace and truthfulness can be shared before the accidentals.
This year, the church is celebrating the year of the laity. Our Korean Catholic history has many stories like those associated with Dr. Nagai. They shared a leadership in honoring and witnessing to the Lord with their lives even in the absence of priests. However,
it is necessary to reflect on whether or not the role of the laity, who act
in the church today, are recognized only as servants of the priests. Pope Francis emphasizes that we are all called to holiness.
Priests should respect the 'call of the laity', struggling in the middle of
the world and living the gospel—a holy and beautiful journey before
God.
I do not know how many tears I shed during the pilgrimage to Japan last summer. The book about the life of Takashi Nagai: A Song for Nagasaki, the
story of Takashi was introduced to the writer by a woman during the
trip, who shared with him the joy of conversion. Listening to what some
of the laity have done have invited him to a greater desire for
holiness.
Competition is a part of life. An article in the Kyeongyang magazine is entitled: "Your joy makes for my unhappiness." The writer is a professor in a psychiatric department and explains how this phrase is so true in our society. Quotes such as survival of the fittest, and may the best man win are just some of the many words that show we are not dealing with a win/win situation but rather with a zero-sum situation—I win you lose.
The life of young people is filled with competition and it begins early. Not only with grades in school, but in sports, computer games, physical appearance, dancing and even fist fighting, all objects for competition. Up until they become adults this fight in dealing with the psychological aspects of competition become their primary energy and motivation.
When competition becomes excessive it develops into envy and jealousy. Ambition is a good thing, but often, instead of motivating to achieve and imitate the success of others with a positive joy, the energy needed to follow one's desires ends up hating the competitor and we have anger and depravity.
Envy and jealousy give rise to false ambition. Seeing the ornaments possessed by a friend or a car, one may have the desire to have the same. We don't bother to figure out if it is necessary or suits us. We have a fake desire, they have it we want it, and we are heading for trouble. Jealousy will lead to depravity.
Another problem with excessive envy and jealousy is depression. Once you compare with others and acknowledge their intelligence and success and remember one's own short-comings and misfortunes, we may be tempted to tear down the other. Depression often is followed with anger, impulsiveness, and self-indulgence. Not able to express one's 'melancholia' one becomes lost, liquor, games, becoming critical of the world and personality changes are seen.
Anger is always in the mix. When we take joy in the failure of another we know something is wrong. If we had the right attitude we would commiserate with the loser and show concern. In competition we always have losers and winners but when the winners take more joy in vanquishing the losers than their own victory we have a serious problem.
We live in a competitive world. Envy and jealousy is part of this world but when we have joy in another's loss we are faced with a sad situation. Envy and jealousy are called sins but at the same time we are bringing upon ourselves punishment. We are on this earth only once and living in this way, dark shadows will enter our lives from our actions.
Every third or fourth year the young people of Korea meet from the 16 Korean dioceses to share their experiences and renew their faith. This year 2000 young people met in Seoul under the auspices of the diocese from Aug. 11 to 15 with the theme "It is me, do not be afraid" (John 6:20).
Both Catholic Weeklies reported on the event and the hope they have for the future. An interview with the bishop who was the committee head for the Korean Youth Day (KYD) mentions the situation of the young people in Korea. Words and phrases which have spread widely express the frustrations of the young having to give up: courtship, marriage, childbirth, job, home ownership, relationship etc. Briefly, they no longer have the hopes that the previous generation enjoyed.
An old Korean proverb: "From a stream, a dragon rises" meaning from rags to riches, a reality now rarely seen. The best of efforts in the eyes of many young people are of little avail in our society. Even during the struggles for democracy courtship and hope for a job were present. Today's college students don't have the time for romance and love but are busy getting the necessary qualifications to apply for jobs that are not there.
The workplace has been inundated with artificial intelligence, mechanization, and digitization, decreasing the jobs available, says the bishop. Capitalism has met many limitations. This requires a new way of looking at society and the need to accommodate.
In this kind of milieu where romance and love are missing, they have to find a place for spirituality and God.
The bishop is not asking them to lower their horizons but if they follow the dictates of society in attempts to find happiness they will face unlimited competition and conflict. One has to compete with another to find happiness. A new standard of values are necessary to replace the ones they have followed.
A new frame of reference is required. Following the worldly standard, they may find success, money but it will not bring true happiness. They have to find a different set of values and this says the bishop was the aim of the KYD.
This year different from the previous KYDs was the change in the age requirements. They took the example from the other national youth meetings in other countries and this year accepted those from 16 to 39. The bishop found that the impact on teenagers was far greater than on the older young people. The program was meant to show that not only is the head important but the person's whole being was a primary aim of the three days.
This year the numbers were lower than was expected. The participants were hosted by the local families who volunteered. In conclusion, the bishop wants pastoral workers not only to work with those who are coming to church but to go out to them where they are.
