The Church Needs to Speak for the Young

 

A Kyeongyang magazine article by a humanity scholar wants the Church to wake up to the problems with the youth in society. In his eyes, the church does not see the young people and the crises they face.

Believers who go to Mass, devout in their religious life, he wonders whether they are conscious of the absence of the young from the church community. With the shortage of young people, the few that remain are often teaching two Sunday school religious classes, and this is not something rare.

The thinking of many is that the efforts necessary to prepare for college at least during their 3rd year are such that they can excuse themselves from church attendance without fault. Many parents are also of the same opinion. This is easy to understand. However, once they do enter college many never return to church. It's like the salmon that leaves the rivers for the ocean they never go back to the river. The church is filled with elders, no feeling of a crisis, and yet are there any greater problems the church needs to face?

His wife received word from a friend that their son passed the civil servants exam and with joy passed on the news. Both his wife and the writer congratulated them on the news; they were truly happy for the family. The son is now opened to getting married and preparing for the future.

The Korean Catholic Church ironically grew greatly in numbers when the church began to speak out when democracy,  human rights, and the dignity of the citizens were being trampled. Many kept their eyes shut and mouths closed. The church became a sanctuary for many and a means of hope and courage to many. What is the church saying about the problems facing the young?

When he was a student no worries about jobs even while in school they were able to find work. Dating and romance were part of school life. The young today are dealing with a completely different situation, they have to live with envy.  The majority of society has little concern in looking for ways to reverse the situation.

He has two boys whose life materially has been much easier than his own upbringing. However, they have faced fierce competition in their schooling and worries about work. They don't find hope from their parents, having to learn about the difficulties of life at an early age.

We need not be concerned with the absence of the young people from the church nor overly concern for their religious education. This is the time to talk with them, listen to them, and help them realize their smallest of dreams. Make the society in which we live open to the plight of the young. The church needs to see how it has been blind to the problems of the young and begin to redress its role with courage, encouragement, and a strong voice speaking out for their concerns.

They are not only the objects of the church's teaching but persons who need the church's support and not concerned with their absence. Once they lose all hope of help from the church they will completely leave the church They are hurting, in crisis, we need to feel this pain and it is not a choice.

Are the young people coming to church? That is not the question we should be asking. This is a time for the prophets to speak out loud and strong about the contradictions in society and the greed all around. This is no time to reconsider what is to be done but to begin doing something. This is the time for all of us to ask God for ways to give strength to the young.

Hate the Sin and not the Sinner

In the Catholic Times a lawyer writes in Eyes of the Believer column on the topic:  Hate the sin and not the sinner.

A few days ago, TV news reported the child abuse incident at a daycare center and showed the same video several times. A young female teacher picked up a large sponge pillow, turned it to the side, and hit a three or four-year-old child hard. The child fell to the floor. From the teacher's perspective, it must have been because the child did something wrong, but it was a lack of sympathy for the child.

The next scene of the news showed the victim's mother crying and appealing for severe punishment in front of a court where the teacher was arrested for child abuse. If his grandson had been abused like that at a daycare center, he would have been resentful of course. However, he felt a little uncomfortable in that scene, perhaps because of his profession as lawyer defending the wicked. He would have preferred that the daycare center solve the problem.
 

His mother use to say often: You hate sin, but don't hate people. If you hate people more than you hate sin, you will lose your sympathy and be no different from the wicked.

That's the case with the news report. It doesn't seem necessary to show the teacher hitting the child repeatedly. It was read as a selfish intention to increase ratings by repeatedly showing stimulating scenes to viewers. Selfishness is the opposite of compassion.
 

We seem to have a kind of pleasure in uncovering other people's faults,  making them known, and punishing them. By the way, is there nothing wrong with us? The lyrics of the folk song 'One and 500 Years' are now brought to mind. "I find it difficult to live in this unkind world with its lack of compassion."

 

There is a vicious cycle in which the daycare center teacher fails to embrace the child with a generous heart to correct the child, and society calls out harsh punishment for the teacher's actions, and the media uses it for their business. A vicious circle, not a virtuous cycle.

Two years ago, on behalf of a terrible killer, a petition was filed with the court,  that the death penalty was unconstitutional. A young man who graduated from a  prestigious university, suffered from various delusions, brutally killed his mother from  "an order from within," and even chased his father to the master bedroom and killed him. The Bishops' Justice and Peace Committee began the constitutional trial with the intention that instead of cursing the pariah, the death penalty, should be abolished. It's because you hate sin but not the sinner.

The Hindu scripture Bhagavad Guitars teaches that people must escape the yoke of "I" to be saved. There are several things on the road. On the Christian path of wisdom  we are flawed and finite, but realize we are children of God. The path of abandonment is to put down the desire to achieve the results of our acts but do what has to be done— the path of devotion to God and neighbor.

We have to get out of the bondage to the  "I" and break the vicious circle of hate that the whole society is slowly falling into. In order to do so, it is important to realize that wicked people and adults are all children of God, so you have to have compassion:  you hate sin but not the sinners.

Peace on the Peninsula

In the Reconciliation and Unity column of the Catholic Times, the writer gives us her thoughts on Coup d'état and Slander.

Listening to the news of the coup in Myanmar, she sees how dangerous the military is without civilian control. Aung San Suu Kyi, a national adviser, was detained and the military declared martial law. Their decisions lack democratic legitimacy, it is nothing more than violent coercion. In fact, the military has illegally captured the state, and the reason why this situation arises is that the military has weapons that can kill people.

An ideal condition of a democratic system is when the military is not able to exercise arbitrary control because of state legislation, justice, and the administrative control of the military by the government.
 
If the government doesn't have sufficient control over the political influence of the military it can stage a coup at any time. At times the military comes to the forefront of politics or in alliance with certain forces to support the government. In Thailand, which advocates constitutional monarchy, royal power is close to the military, and it is often in the background of coups.

Importantly, the absence of control over the military increases the political instability of a country. When the military pursues its own interests, rather than protecting the nation and its people from external threats, internal problems arise.

In this regard, there are more than a few times that South Korea has said "Good Heavens" in our view of the North Korean military. It is easy for the North Korean military to stage a coup and bring down the regime. This is often found on North Korea-related news comments from the South. Beyond the playful expression of the opinion, there were also suggestions that the government should foster opposition forces that oppose the current regime in North Korea. This opinion has no concern for stability in the North Korean region, the phrase "Those who use gossip are fools" (Proverbs 10,18) comes to mind.

North Korea, which is in contact with South Korea, is an authoritarian regime dominated by the military and by its leader, Kim Jong-un. Even if the nuclear development level is greater than we think, it can be interpreted as a relatively better situation for the present to achieve a stable inter-Korean relationship and peace on the Korean Peninsula than a North Korea, where military control is weakened and warlords are raging. This is because, at least now, the targets to negotiate the North nuclear issue are limited to leaders. A situation difficult to predict who controls the nuclear weapons and the subject of nuclear negotiations changing from time to time would not be a way of bringing peace to the Korean Peninsula.

The Grace of Humor

 

These days, because of Covid-19 we are familiar with non-face-to-face classes and meetings. A college professor writes about the importance of humor at this time in a column of the Catholic Peace Weekly.

She met an  acquaintance in person after some time, with the words: "You look good". The  acquaintance's reaction was unexpected. When she saw her not saying anything while touching her face, she felt she said something that wasn't proper. Even if it was meant well it was interpreted as evaluating her appearance. 

 

We don't like to be judged by another. "You look good." "You look like you lost weight." "You look pale."Careful attention should be paid to such greetings.

 

For media with multiple targets, careful attention to the language used is essential. Many are the cases in which the cast of the broadcasting program received administrative censure from the Korea Communications Standards Commission for making remarks that mock other people's appearance. The negative effect on viewers is magnified by subtitles, sound effects, and background music when used.

 
The Korea Communications Standards Commission is asking for caution in the use of language reproduced in broadcasting and video content with the "Broadcasting Language Guidelines." 

 

In detail, entertainment programs stipulate that "even considering the characteristics of programs to induce laughter, the use of expressions that demean the other's appearance, personality, age education, occupation, disability, class, region, race, and the like are pointed out. It is often necessary to check our society's perception of humor.
 

Therefore, even if the purpose of the statement is to induce laughter, if the content is to mock or disparage the appearance or character of others, it will be an attack on the other party, not humor.

Broadcasters who are sensitive to ratings are likely to be sensitive to the language that viewers usually use. In particular, it may be a survival strategy to borrow so-called YouTube and Netflix  grammar, speech methods, abbreviated words  that speak to the viewers. Good broadcasts are also made by good viewers. Let us all experience the grace of humor through good language and dialogue in everyday life.

The Boundary Between Life and Death

A doctor has a meditation on the boundary between life and death in the Catholic Digest, seen as a medical person and not a theologian or scientist.

The longevity index of every living being is recorded in the Telomeres of the gene (the length may serve as a biological clock determining the life span of a cell and organism). With time the Telomeres decreases and disappears arriving at death. 

However, depending on our lifestyle there is a difference in the time that it will disappear. The dog's life span is from 8 to 13 years. The smaller the dog the longer the life. A cow feeding naturally in pastures will live about 24 years those that raised in the usual way, live from 10 to 14 years. Dogs and cows that live a natural life without stress the Telomeres take longer to disappear.

The instructions in the Telomeres of the gene indicate that life should reach 125 years—living a healthy life and returning to the Creator. However, death gives humans great fear. What is death? Many religions have death as their foundation.

If we return to the basics we get an idea of what is entailed. Life's organism, life's activity, and life's energy will give us an understanding of life and death.

What is a living organism? Something alive. What is life movement? The movement of life. As a doctor, he has been at the death of many and has made out the certificate of death which at times is difficult to determine.

 

The energy of life comes not from the inside but from the outside which communicates with the living organism. When the living organism receives the energy we have movement when it ceases we have death—TV when connected to electricity we have a picture.

For the living organism to have movement three things are necessary: water, dust, and energy from the universe.

"A flood was rising from the earth and watering all the surface of the soil. Yahweh God fashioned man of dust from the soil. Then he breathed into his nostrils a breath of life, and thus man became a living being." (Gen. 2:6-7) 

 

The scientific explanation is similar except for God breathing life into man. First of all the living organism is made up of 70% water. A plant on the verge of dying given water begins to flourish.

Secondly, all material objects are made up of dust which the scientist calls Quarks. 

Thirdly, the astrophysicist Georges Lemaitre declared

the universe beginning was like fireworks in the 'Big Bang'. At first, many considered his ideas too much like the Scriptures since he was a Catholic priest and ignored him but it finally did become the accepted thinking.

With the 'Big Bang' time and space began; the making of dust, all matter, and life. I am one with all of  matter with all of creation. Loving you and all nature I am loving myself.

The energy from the mass, formed matter, with the disappearance of matter, energy returns to mass. This is Einsteins' famous equation E = mc2— energy and mass (matter) are interchangeable; they are different forms of the same thing. 

I live as a human organism when I die and disappear Almighty God and his power returns me to the energy where my empty space remains.

 

How much do we think of the Holy Spirit, the energy of the world, working in our souls? Do we ask ourselves this question? From the time of conception to the hour of death we live in our soul with the energy of the world which for the believer is the Holy Spirit, but we don't acknowledge this for the most part and end up as walking corpses.

True health is possible when spirit and body are in harmony. Death is the beginning of another journey to the home of the energy that made us. Life is a gift. Death is a return to our creator a happy journey.

Some Thoughts for Ash Wednesday

The advancement of science is extraordinary but not always for the good of humanity. So begins an article by a Catholic priest, Catholic University professor, in the Kyeongyang magazine asking the readers to be alert and discerning.

Material comforts have not made us more human; the longer life span has not made us happier; nor has the information age decreased loneliness and alienation. Biochemistry can fashion a new human; a need to face new questions on morality and life. The Coronavirus because of the progress in transportation within two months the virus spread throughout the world.

The information age has influenced our society greatly. We can't say it has all been for the good. We have false news, not always helping us to draw nearer to the truth. Hate speech, desires, and divisions in society have increased. How do Christians in the flood of information find their way?

The word 'infodemic' is an overabundance of information, both online and offline. It includes deliberate attempts to disseminate wrong information to undermine the public health response. Many cognitive scientists have said the multitasking may have improved but our attention span has decreased, memories shortened and what is worse our ability to go deeper into issues has been blocked.  

The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu holds that modern means of communication especially television exploits our passion and works against democracy.

The amount of information that pours out befuddles our minds. In one way or another, it is for the most part slanted—it is not objective or neutral. This bent of the news is accepted by those with the same inclination, reinforces their ideology, and becomes like a religion. At this stage, anything that agrees with their ideology is accepted, that which is contrary disregarded.

"The worship of the ancient golden calf has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose. The worldwide crisis affecting finance and the economy lays bare their imbalances and, above all, their lack of real concern for human beings; man is reduced to one of his needs alone: consumption" (Joy of the Gospel #55).

How are we Christians to live in this uncontrollable world with infodemic and false news? We can't be without the media but he recommends that we distance ourselves in some way from immersion. If we dissociate ourselves from social media we will deepen our thinking and judgments,  have more time for prayer.

We need also to change our style of living and intentions. To have more and live more comfortably will not help us change the world where pandemics will be fewer.

St. Ignatius of Loyola in his Spiritual Exercises mentions the importance of discernment. We have the two banners, one of Jesus and the other of Lucifer. The banner of Jesus has poverty, embarrassment, humility, the one with Lucifer has riches and honors. The more we empty ourselves the more we will be filled with light. The less the world attracts us with its abundance, development, efficiency profit, and the like, freed from a  strong attachment to possessions and power, the better we will see the poor, and those hurting and feel closer to them. We need to distance ourselves from the many idols in society. "We should not be sleeping like the others, we should be awake and sober" (1Thes. 5-6). 

Japan —Close but a Distant Land

It's difficult to see the whole picture of any single issue that we face and Japan and Korea's relationship is one of these; the reasons are many. As is well known Korea and Japan have had a complicated history. They were at war off and on for hundreds of years.

In 1910 Japan annexed Korea making it their colony. In the late 1930s, it mobilized for war and forced Koreans to work in factories, enlist as soldiers, and sent many women from Korea to work in brothels to service Japanese soldiers, these victims became known as comfort women. In an article for a priest bulletin, a writer expresses the feelings of many on the situation between the two countries and what he sees as the right-wing in Japan.

At the center is South Korea's demands that Japan pays what they consider to be appropriate reparations for atrocities committed during the Japanese occupation of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945, particularly the use of forced labor.

But Japan considers the issue to be settled since they gave Korea at the time of President Park Chung-hee hundreds of millions of dollars in loans and grants; Japan considers this to have settled the matter.

Japan is the country that modernized our country. Japan is an important country for Korean security. It is also important economically. We are grateful to Japan for giving Korea money. We need to emulate Japan. Why are you fighting against Japan and criticizing the Japanese administration? This is not what pro-Japanese seniors say, but young people in their 20s and the writer finds this shocking. Of course, not all of their words are wrong, he admits.

He wants to analyze whether Japan contributed to our modernization. Elementary school children also know that the various facilities installed by Japan were not for the development of Korea, but for the use of Korea as a base for entering China. Far from modernization, the Japanese right-wing is afraid of our development and just wants Korea to remain a subcontractor.

Also, Japanese rightists want to use our country. This is because the South will serve as a defense against the communist state only when the division continues.

The Japanese right-wing has a deep unconscious fear that the two Koreas may reunite and retaliate for the harm done during the colonial period. Therefore, they instill a sense of inferiority in our people. In particular, brainwashing with words that hurt Korean national self-esteem.

To host the Tokyo Olympics, the government is pressing residents to return to Fukushima, which is still polluted. Nevertheless, the majority of the people suffer from the tyranny of the right-wing government because they do not have a sense of social consciousness or history. Moreover, it is said that the phenomenon of hiding Japan's unique inner thoughts is making psychological problems worse.

I think it is the job of our young people to help Japanese citizens break away from their feudal past and make Japan a democratic society. The young people of Korea should be wary of the vague envy, admiration, and glorification of Japan's colonial era as it sympathizes with the Japanese right.