Power And Dignity

 

"I can drop a bird from the sky." An expression used by persons who believe that everything they desire comes true. A person who believes in their power. A bird flying naturally in the sky is not usually dropping from the sky. Those with power can believe they are omnipotent, a misunderstanding of power. The priest head of a diocesan human rights committee has an article in Bible And Life magazine on Power and Dignity summarized briefly below.

Power is the right to make others obey or control them with public authority. Competency is the limitation in which that authority may be exercised. In a democracy, all power (authority) is limited by competency. Putting this in another way: power must be directed to the common good limited by duty, and responsibility, and checked by law and structure— restrained by competency (capacity). But in our world, we often experience: "I can drop a bird from the sky."

In society, we see the separation of competency and power. In fact, they should be equal. Like the second, minute, and hour hands of a clock all working together to tell time. He gives some examples of what is meant. A politician is doing his job for the people, concerned for their good, this is his competency but when he is looking for personal gain the office is one of power. Prosecutors and judges when they punish the guilty and free the innocent they are acting within their competency, when they free the guilty and punish the innocent we have a show of power. Journalists are to report the news as is, but when they report what is not as if it is, they are using power. Police dealing with criminals confront them, this is competency but when they confront innocent citizens for no good reason this is power.

However, the discussion continues on whether a person's office is to be regarded as the power of position or competency. We need not look at the office of presidents or legislators for all around us those whose position can be considered a little bit higher than others, competency or power may easily be exhibited. This desire for power may be seen not only among politicians or officials but among farmers and inmates of prisons.

Why do people desire this power? Jesus was tempted with this desire for power in the desert. Even his disciples fought over who was first among them. There has to be a reason for this power search. What is it? Is it not our desire to be respected, our desire to make known our dignity? 

We all have dignity. This is all-natural and proper. We all want to be respected. My dignity comes from the respect I have for another person. My dignity is demonstrated by the other person's respect for me. The pursuit of power will be an act to satisfy this desire for dignity only through comparison and discrimination with others.

When we talk about human dignity often we hear it is because we are the lords over creation. This idea of dignity because humans are visibly the most developed among all creatures seems natural and plausible at first glance, but in fact, it is seeking the opposite of human dignity in comparative advantage. If the reason for dignity is because we are higher than the animals when we come into the presence of someone with better qualities than I have, does that mean I lose my dignity?

No the reason for our dignity is because we have been made in the image of God. It doesn't depend on what we have: material goods, education, place in society, pedigree, gender, we are all made in the image of God.  

 

'If one of you wants to be great, he must be the servant of the rest' (Mark 10:43). These words of Jesus, Serving God, and serving our neighbors are the only ways to break free from the lust for power of comparison and discrimination. It is a teaching that informs us that there is only one way. It is also a unique guideline for all powers in the world to be reborn with true authority for the common good. God, who is the most dignified above all, serves people. Who then can reign over people?

Male Suicide Rate In Korea

Korea has been for many years now the number one country in the OECD list of suicides. The Covid 19 has not helped the situation. In a recent article in the Catholic Times, we hear surprisingly that seven out of 10 suicides in Korea were found to be male.  

Critics point out that social and cultural remedies for the issue of male suicide need to be prepared, as well as pastoral efforts within the church.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare recently published a "five-year national suicide death analysis result report" with the Korea Life Respect Hope Foundation, which analyzed the demographic characteristics, major causes, and frequent areas of suicide deaths from 2013 to 2017.
 
The report, which was created by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in cooperation with the National Police Agency thoroughly investigated 64,124 suicide deaths, nationwide over five years and contains the characteristics and related factors of the suicide deaths.
 
Suicide accounted for 28.1% of those 30 to 40, 27.7% of the middle-aged, and the rest were similar at 27.0%. It was followed by 15.7% in youth and 1.5% in childhood. However, the number of suicides per 100,000 population was the highest at 51.4 in old age.

In particular, the average number of male suicide deaths per five years was 9,029, about 2.4 times higher than that of 3,796 female suicide deaths. In all cities and provinces, the number of male suicide deaths was two to three times higher than that of female suicide deaths.

Experts cited the characteristics of men who do not want to complain of difficulties to others, the social and cultural climate that demands masculinity, and the choice of suicide means with high fatality rates as reasons for the high number of male suicide deaths.
 
A professor of psychiatry at Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, said, "A large number of male suicide deaths is inversely proportional to a large number of female depression patients. Women often seek help before attempting suicide, but men often rely on alcohol instead." He then explained, "The success rate of suicide increases because impulsiveness increases when drinking alcohol." In addition, he said, "Men often use suicide methods with a high fatality rate, such as jumping from heights, but women tend to cut their wrists or take medicine, so the suicide mortality rate of men is high."
 

The government's report shows that men are more vulnerable socially and culturally than women and are not receiving proper help. It is pointed out that in order to reduce the number of male suicide deaths, measures should be taken to suit the characteristics of male suicides. Experts said that men after retirement are often no longer active socially and stress tends to increase rapidly.

The professor said, "When men enter middle-age they develop a lot of physical diseases along with economic difficulties, and these two increase the risk of suicide," and suggested, "We need to introduce a plan to provide mental health counseling." Men tend to think of suicide due to economic problems, said the head of the Korea Life Respect Hope Foundation. "If they find someone with signs of suicide during interviews with banks and other financial sectors, it is also a good idea to connect to a professional counseling center." In fact, the Korea Life Respect Hope Foundation has a system that connects people with signs of suicide during financial consultations with certain Banks and the Credit Counseling and Recovery Services.
 
It is pointed out that the church needs to be concerned with the serious male suicide problem. An official from the church said: "Women reduce stress through various activities within the church and in society, but men who have lost their jobs or are experiencing financial difficulties are more likely to stay away from others."We need to make efforts to reduce male suicide through active discovery, and efforts to help them.

We Reap What we Sow

 

We will gather what we have sown. The Corona counter-attack. The title of an article by a retired university professor of biotechnology in the Kyeongyang magazine.

I was born in Wuhan China. Rather than born my true identity was made known to the world at that time. I was hidden in the wildlife market of Wuhan.

In the past two years, civet cats, minks, raccoons, some 38 species among the about 47,000 animals were in the market before the pandemic.

My introduction is somewhat late. You may have guessed, my name is Covid 19. I didn't realize I would  be so famous and the king of all the viruses. I received a message congratulating me on my success in spreading so quickly. "Now you can begin your second phrase."

I will not be doing  this because of my kingship among the viruses. My family will be doing this. My family in the South American rain forest is in a serious situation. Trees are cut down and in their place building pig farms and the like, the sound of tractors are  heard all day.  If this continues we will be without a home. The other relatives: influenza, MERS, Ebola SARS all live in fear for all the animals we live with are being evicted from their homes.

Our places of residence are lost we have to find other places to live. That's my secret mission. Our virus family needs places to live and humans are our target. Wuhan China where we  arrived was a suitable place for this operation.

The area of my abode was the bat. Originally the home of the bat was the forests of South America. The forests little by little began to decrease in size, humans with all their energy took over and heat developed and the change in the weather.

Unlike other creatures that take only enough to make ends meet. Humans cut and eat everything they see, and increase their numbers. After learning how to farm, it becomes more arbitrary.

Bats are the most common mammals on Earth and account for 20% of all mammals. In addition, it flies.  It is a great landlord for the spread of the virus. Because the bat is friendly with other wild animals, they often interact with pangolins, so Corona 19 is easily  transferred.   This is called spill over by humans. Pangolins are a favorite wild animal cooking ingredient in China. In 2002, the SARS family also by  means of  bats and civets. penetrated into the human lungs.

Our virus was originally pacifists. All  that was necessary was to let us live in the forests. However,  war began on us and evicted us. So we responded. My secret order was simply to find a  place for us to live. Humans were the most suitable place.

The sixth mass extinction on Earth is being driven by humans. Today, the number of wild mammals has decreased to one in six at the start of agriculture. 36% of land mammals are humans, and 60% are livestock raised for human consumption. Wild mammals  account for only the remaining 4%.  

There are so many livestock that they become the intermediate bridge between wild animals and humans. Also, if we get on a passenger plane it goes around the earth in half a day. This is a golden opportunity for our virus to spread to the world. 

The last section of the article the writer deals with the HIV infection of humans. Here the host was the monkey  and when their habitat began to diminish and contact with humans increased we had the virus passing on to humans.

This earth is God's creation his master piece. There are not a few people who know that the earth itself is the work of the Creator, and that all living things must coexist. If their words were heard and we could find a way of mutual coexistence, our virus will gladly cast a vote for it as well. The only worrying thing is that humans don't really know we don't have much time. 

Parades In North Korea

North Korea held a military parade at midnight on September 9, the 73rd anniversary of the establishment of the regime. The late-night military parade was filled with unusual sights compared to past military parades. It reflects Chairman Kim Jong-un's unique style of governance. A member of the Far East Research Problem Study Center gives the readers of the Catholic Peace Weekly in the Diagnoses of the Times column some thoughts on North Korea.

 

Chairman Kim has always been unpredictable. Almost all domestic media predicted that strategic weapons such as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) would appear at this parade. However, instead of the regular army equipped strategic and tactical weapons, the reserve army, the Workers and Peasant Red Guard, police, the Social Security Force, were mobilized. The mechanized units of the Labor and Peasant Red Guards riding on motorcycles and tractors, were mobilized and attracted attention. A fire engine manufactured by German Mercedes-Benz also appeared. It was also unusual that the Emergency Quarantine Guard in charge of quarantine of the new coronavirus infection, marched wearing orange protective suits and gas masks. North Korea called the military parade a "civilian security force parade" for the first time.

 

What is the purpose of holding the military parade in the midst of the worsening economic hardship due to COVID-19? The labor force has more than 2 million troops and military equipment. The labor force is organized in all of society, including businesses, cooperative farms, and universities.

These are the reserve forces that are focused on economic projects in peacetime and become armed forces during wartime.The military parade has the purpose of showing off their comprehensive national defense capabilities, but at the same time it also has the character of a festival.

On the occasion of the establishment of the North Korean regime, the festival atmosphere was raised through celebratory nights and outdoor art performances from all over the country, gathering the hearts of the people tired of triple hardships: COVID-19,  sanctions against North Korea and low  morale. In other words, it is a North Korean-style prescription to soothe the public tired of COVID-19.
 

This is also the reason why three consecutive night parades were held in less than a year, including the parade commemorating the 8th Labor Party Congress in January of this year and the parade commemorating the 75th anniversary of the party's founding on October 10 last year. During difficult times, the North Korean authorities hold military parades to inspire people's pride in their country, and to achieve nation  building through internal solidarity. 

 

The biggest task facing the Kim Jong-un regime now is to achieve the economic construction goal set at the 8th party congress. The labor force is not only a local defense armed force, but used as a catalyst for internal solidarity and to energize the populace.  Looking at the composition of this military parade, only those related to agriculture, youth, economy, and people's livelihood, participated. The military parade was used to encourage the people to be more active in the implementation of the five-year economic plan in their  workplaces.

The military parade is also a place to enforce the promises to the people. The ultimate goal of the current Kim Jong-un regime is to build a socialist state. In order to achieve this goal, "we are carrying out grandiose operations for the overall revival and development of the country and the promotion of the welfare of the people." At the same time, the government  emphasized that "the people's first principle should be thoroughly implemented in state activities and social life in general." This leads to a message that we should prioritize economic work and focus our efforts on improving people's living standards. After all, the parade is not only a place to show off combat power and unity, but of festivity and to remind them of their promises to the people. 

 

 

 

 

 

Chance of Pope's Visit to North Korea

The present government administration, is nearing the end of its term, and is very much for a visit of Pope Francis to North Korea. On July 6th the head of the intelligence agency attended a Mass at the cathedral and said: "The government is pushing for the Pope's visit to North Korea."The government has been silent on the  progress since then. So begins the peace column by the press director of the Catholic Peace Weekly.

 

Discussions about the Pope’s visit to North Korea began three years ago, in October 2018, after President Moon delivered an invitation to the Pope to visit North Korea from Kim Jong-un. At that time, the Vatican and North Korea operated a communication channel for the 'Pope's visit'. San Egidio, (a lay Catholic association dedicated to social service),

visited Pyongyang, and a North Korean diplomat attended a San Egidio event in Rome. Italy has diplomatic ties, with North Korea and North Korea will be sending representatives to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome.
 

Was it because of this movement? In January 2019, the Pope said, "There is a positive signal coming from the Korean Peninsula." However, the Pope's visit to North Korea was canceled as the North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi ended in failure in February of that year. However, with the establishment of the Joe Biden administration in the United States in January this year, the hope for the Pope's visit to North Korea revived. Unlike the former Trump administration, the Biden administration's policy toward North Korea is quite flexible and dynamic. It is summarized as strict reciprocity.  President Moon said on several tours to the U.S. and Europe in May and June, "The day of the Pope's visit to North Korea will come soon."
 

Pope Francis has already made a decision to visit North Korea. In a Mass commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of St. Kim Dae-gun, Andrew,  on August 21, Archbishop Lazarus You Heung-sik the first Korean to be appointed to the Roman Curia, he

assumed the position of Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy on August 2, this year. He has made known that the Pope twice emphasized: "I hope I can go to North Korea." In the meantime, he also delivered the Pope's message, "I hope you prepare well."

 

Earlier on August 16, Unification Minister said in a congratulatory speech for the video of "Inter-Korean Peace Day" to mark the 200th anniversary, "I hope the Pope's visit to North Korea will take place soon." In the meantime, if the visit to North Korea is made, he stressed, "A blessed seed of peace will be planted in the North Korean land, reconciliation to the global community, and a message of true life will be delivered."

In September and October, international meetings will be held, which could be important turning points for the Pope's visit to North Korea. First of all, the 17th is the 30th anniversary of the two Koreas joining the United Nations. Also, the 19th is the 3rd anniversary of the September 19 Pyongyang Joint Declaration. At that time, the leaders of the two Koreas expressed their willingness to turn the Korean Peninsula into a peace base without nuclear weapons and nuclear threats in Pyongyang. The next day, the 20th, is the very day when the leaders of the two Koreas climbed  Baekdusan Mountain three years ago and promised to "invite the Pope to visit North Korea." The 76th UN General Assembly will begin discussion on the 21st. In addition, the leaders of South Korea, the U.S. and the Pope will meet at the G20 summit in Rome at the end of October to discuss peace on the Korean Peninsula.

 

Now, the key to the "visit to North Korea" depends on North Korea. It is "North Korea's Invitation." Fortunately, North Korea, which cut off the inter-Korean communication line criticizing the ROK-US joint training, has not issued a hard-line message to South Korea and the U.S. after the training. 

 

The Pope's visit to Pyongyang will be a golden opportunity for North Korea to return as a member of the international community and receive support at a time when U.S.-led economic sanctions against North Korea and the COVID-19 pandemic continue. All the Pope's actions go beyond ideology, politics, and even religion. They are present unconditionally wherever there is poverty, discrimination, and conflict. Although it is a silent North Korean church, as long as there are brothers and sisters who share the faith in the North, the Pope will go there in search of a stray sheep. The South is urging Chairman Kim Jong-un to make a decision.

All Life is Sacred

"Angulimala! I am always trying to stop violence against all living beings. However, you are not controlling yourself to do the same." The Buddha had stopped killing and harming and now it was time for Angulimala, to do likewise. Angulimala was so struck by these words that  he stopped; he threw away his weapons and followed the Buddha back to the monastery where he became a monk.

 

In the Catholic Times Eyes of the Believer column, a lawyer gives the readers the well known story in Buddhism about the criminal Angulimala who killed 999 people one after another and cut off their fingers to make necklaces. His original name was Ahimsa which  means non-killing, (the ethical principle of not causing harm to other living things)

 

Mahatma Gandhi always taught about non-killing and non-violence. Even those who wanted to harm him he would not resist them with violence and prayed for them. Angulimala, who was about to kill one more person to fill 1,000 people, was  converted by the Buddha, "Stop violence against existence," and became truly Ahimsa, a true disciple of the Buddha.
 

Recently everybody was talking about the prisoner Kang, who was released from prison broke the electronic anklet and killed two women. Even though the writer advocated for the abolition of the death penalty, for a moment, he thought that the prisoner deserved severe punishment. It turned out that he was the person who sent him a letter a few years ago that started with 'Dear Lawyer Kim'. He wanted a solitary cell so he would not have to listen to music, entertainment, and TV programs for 8 hours on weekdays and 12 hours on holidays. Since then, he has  given help through the Catholic Human Rights Commission, so his heart was heavy for a while hearing the news that he had killed two people after being released from prison.
 

The Angulimala story also came to mind. Just as Bible stories do, that story must be a metaphorical teaching. A parable that we humans do a lot of hating of our  brothers and sisters several times a day, and do a lot of killing of animal life as non-Buddhists. How many times have I hated people only 1,000 times?

Pope Francis also said this: "Even if you commit a very serious crime, the death penalty is unacceptable. The death penalty is an insult to inviolable life and human dignity. It is against God's merciful judgment on humans and society, and it interferes with a fair ending to sin. The Ten Commandments' 'Don't kill' has absolute value and applies not only to innocent people but also to sinners. We shouldn't forget that criminals also have the right to 'respect for life', a gift from God."

 

 According to the Pope, even the life of a person like Kang, is a gift from God, and his execution is violence against God's merciful judgment. For many this is hard to accept, but what can we do? Jesus also gave his life for these Angulimalas.

 

A presidential candidate promised to make a law that 

anyone given a death sentence must be executed within six months. Here in Korea the death penalty has been effectively abolished because it has not been executed for 24 years. 

 

The Norwegian Prime Minister said in remembrance of the 69 youths killed by one terrorist in 2011. "We are shocked, but we will not give up our values. Our response to terrorism is more democracy, more openness and more humanity. A simple violent response to violence  is never the answer. If one person can create so much hate, just imagine how much love we all can create." That's right. Only Ahimsa is the answer to Himsa (violence, killing).

 

The Leaven That Brings Change and Creativity

"No man can live happily who regards himself alone, who turns everything to his own advantage. Thou must live for another if thou wishes to live for thyself." "He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how." These two quotes the first from Seneca and the second from Nietzsche are examples that life is rough, non-believers who in the difficulties of their own lives knew what made sense even if they did not live according to their ideals.

In the Catholic Times the priest writer of Light of the World column reminds the readers that with faith we have the leaven that brings about change and creativity. He begins with an account of person who helped another not with any thing material but inviting him to work together for others. He realized later that the material aid he was looking for would not have helped as much as the invitation to help others.

The writer is concerned with  social issues and their solutions. The difficulties always remain with many conflicts, tensions over the limited goods in society which require  maturity and effort to deal with them properly.

Solving problems is by no means easy. When one is solved, another problem develops and seems to go on endlessly. God loves the world, and God's salvation exists in this world, but endless fights, disputes, alienation, and poverty never end. Is that why in the end, the social, political, and economic achievements of civilization are only relative and tentative, so the apostle Paul said that the world we see is going to disappear? (1 Cor. 7,31).

However the church exists in this world. "Humans live in this world, but should not be manipulated by the world. The Church's social doctrine is presented as a 'work site' where the work is always in progress, where perennial truth penetrates and permeates new circumstances, indicating paths of justice and peace. Faith does not presume to confine changeable social and political realities within a closed framework.

Rather, the contrary is true: faith is the leaven of innovation and creativity. The teaching that constantly takes this as its starting point develops through reflection applied to the changing situations of this world, under the driving force of the Gospel as the source of renewal" #86 Compendium of the Social Gospel.

What puts human activities in crisis is our excessive narcissism and arrogance that keeps faith and gospel away, which is also the most important lesson of faith learned from the Scriptures— Arrogance, the biggest root of sin and helplessness.

If you work hard on anything, you will suffer. Faithful efforts, good deeds and charity, interest and patience, and all activities that have a good influence on neighbors and society will naturally become depleted and exhausted. The most appropriate prescription for this is to take the time to pray and stay close to the teaching of the gospel.

Many great people who have dedicated their lives for their neighbors, such as Cardinal Kim and Sister Mother Teresa, did not leave out prayer in their activities resonates with the writer. 

 

We gain new strength and motivation through the teaching of the gospel to continue the work of the Lord. The gift of faith  does not stop there. Faith makes a path for us to walk and new things to do when we enter dead-ends, despair and darkness. Faith one of God's most precious gifts.