Corona Pandemic Survey Within Korean Catholic Church

 On the front page of the Catholic Times was an article on the recent survey made on the future of the Church after the Corona pandemic. The survey showed that it brought meaning and crisis to the lives of many Catholics and the church's need to know the direction in which the world is going. The survey was a joint effort of the Catholic Times and 'Our Theology Research Institute'.

The aim of the survey was to discover the changes in the daily life of the believers and their religious practices after dealing with two years of the pandemic. How will this change in the consciousness of the believers affect the life of the church in the future and what are the ways the church will face these changes in the pastoral life?

It was a random selection of 4879 laypeople, 175 priests, 384 women religious, 44 men religious, for a total of 5482. A survey was made in May of 2020 by the 'Our Theology Research Institute' this is the second one on the pandemic situation in the church. The first survey was made when we had no Mass for over two months. This survey was made after 1 year with certain restrictions, but Masses continued, and comparisons were made.

This present survey has clearly shown that the crisis feeling of the believers has weakened. In the first survey, the religious life of the believers was the biggest change with 90.7 % response, but in the second survey, it decreased to 34.1%. Also, awareness of the importance of faith and the church community decreased from 89% to 76% in the second survey.

While the sense of crisis was blunted, there was a high awareness that the role of the church for the Christian life has to change. Respondents answered for the most part that the most important pastoral activities after the pandemic was to seek a new role for the parish, to shift from the liturgy being the center to faithfulness in the daily life of the believers.

The ordinary understanding of our religious life: liturgy, devotional activities, requires we re-examine the meaning of faith and the religious life centered on the liturgy and pious activities, which were previously considered to be the religious life, they are experiencing a crisis and are demanding new answers.

The church's common concern is interest in the world and our neighbors and agreed to by almost all. The respondents wanted to learn how to live in the world with this priority. Not only the individual believer but also the community has to learn how to face the world.

 Many of the respondents hope that Synodality (all the members of the church walking together) which has begun will bring a change in the pastoral life of the church.  Most of the respondents thought that the church is managed for the most part by the clergy. One-third of the laity said the ideas of the believers don't reach the clergy and hope this will change with Synodality.

Aging In Place

Amid the recent aging phenomenon, there is growing interest in ending one's life in a dignified old age. The term 'Aging In Place' (AIP) emerged from such interest: 'to age continuing to live in the family home or community. In the Catholic Weekly, a member of a North East Research Institute gives us some thoughts on the subject.

  

This concept is suggested to overcome the shortcomings of leaving the home or community where they lived and going to facilities such as nursing homes when faced with long-term care. This has become the common way for many families.

The writer whose mother has died but before her death, the situation in the family required that she go to a nursing home. The mother did not want it and was heart-rending for the son. He also thought that focusing only on these facilities might become like the modern version of Goryeojang. (In ancient Korea the taking of an old person out to the mountains to die)

Hearing of AIP, he thought of the separated families. In general, separated families can be divided into those who broke up after liberation, those who broke up after the Korean War, and those who broke up for other reasons.  

Where is the 'home or community for these elderly separated families? Of course, there is a saying, 'hometown is the place you love', but for many of these elders, they can't for a moment forget the land where they were born reappearing even in their dreams. As the Ministry of Unification continues to show interest in the 'Hometown Photo Exhibition of Dispersed Families', which is currently being held at the Unification Observatory to comfort separated families and displaced people. He thinks the answer might be 'hometown'. 

 

In the recent political season, each party is electing a presidential candidate, and various pledges for unification, diplomacy and security are presented. He hopes that some of the candidates' promises will be the AIPs of separated families. He wonders what it would be like to reunite on the same day near Gaeseong, close to the metropolitan area, let the separated families visit hometowns, exchange pictures of their hometowns, create a burial place in their hometown for the deceased, and create a joint memorial between the two Koreas in the DMZ.

 

Of course, this will require a response from the North. On the other hand, there seems to be an objection to whether forcing a connection with your hometown even though the place where one is currently living fits the concept of AIP. However, because the current separation of separated families is not 'voluntary but forced', it does not seem appropriate to judge from our own point of view. 

 

To this end, the continuing efforts and great determination of the leaders of the South and the North are required. He is concerned that North and South Korea may be perceived by the international community as a pathetic nation that cannot solve the problem of separated families. Living in old age with dignity is a human rights issue that applies to all.

Empathy

The head of a counseling center gives the readers of the Catholic Times some thoughts in his column on what is meant by empathy.
 

How to win people's hearts without spending money? The answer is empathy. Empathy is reading the heart, understanding feelings, and being with the other person. Empathy is the best way to win people's hearts.
 
As psychologist Carl Rogers once said, "People are moved when they receive full empathy." It is the same as being in a home or church. Most of the people who ask for counseling because of marital problems, instead of listening to the other's story and trying to understand, in many cases they fight by pouring their own grievances onto the other.
 
It is no exaggeration to say that most marital quarrels begin with a lack of empathy. Housewives, when their husbands yell at them, "What do women do in the home all day long?" who will say, "Oh, your right." Most of them will shout: "Oh, then I’ll make the money, you can do the housework!" And when the wife disparages the husband: "The men in other households make good money. Why are you like this?" Where is the husband who will say, "Oh, you’re right~ I am not a very capable husband? I am sorry."
 
The same is true in the parish. If you look at the cases in which believers follow a parish priest and when he leaves will remember him, it will be because he was able to empathize with the parishioners. When one of the faithful comes late for Mass, and the pastor during the sermon looks at the believer and says: "You have had a hard time coming. Sit down and take a deep breath", all the believers are moved.
 
However, if you shout: "How can believers be late for Mass?" or shut the church doors, the parishioners are left with scars, difficult to heal.
 
Most of the priests who scold and glare at believers do so because most of them have a personality disorder. At the same time, they take pride in acting like a pastor, but in reality, they lack empathy. The same goes for the assistant priests.
 
Children will not approach priests who punish children for chattering throughout Mass. Really wise priests read the minds of children. A certain priest saw the children talking during Mass and pointed out the child who was the loudest. Then he said, "Hey man! You look like so and so ( a well-known actor) so why are you talking so much?" Suddenly, the child shouted: 'Wow'! And from that day on, the child who heard that he looked like a famous movie actor changed.

We have affective empathy, emotional understanding; somatic empathy when even the body is moved; and cognitive empathy is understanding the other's mental state. Compassion and sympathy usually involve more of a passive attitude while empathy is a much more active attempt to understand the other person. As they say, it's walking in the other person's shoes for a while.

Fertility Rate and the Church

 

All of us look at the world from different mountain tops which we have built up over the years. Our experience, knowledge, family, environment, religious beliefs or lack of them, and many other elements make up who we are and what we hear and see. In the Catholic Peace Weekly, an article on the declining birthrate is a serious concern for the country and the church.

Developing countries usually have a higher fertility rate for many varied reasons, developed countries' fertility rates are usually much lower. Birth control methods are easier to obtain and women often choose a career before becoming mothers.

According to the '2020 Birth Statistics' released by the National Statistical Office at the end of August, the number of births last year was 272,300. Compared to the previous year, 2019, the number decreased by 10%, or 30,300. Compared to the 1.10 million births in 1970, at the height of the second baby boom, the annual number of births decreased to less than a quarter (-73.1%) in the past 50 years.  

The total fertility rate was 0.84, down 0.08 from the previous year, the lowest since the birth statistics were compiled in 1970. Korea's fertility rate is the lowest in the world. Among the 30 OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) countries, Korea is the only country to have a fertility rate of 0%. Israel had the highest total fertility rate of 3.1, followed by France at 1.83, the US at 1.71, and Japan at 1.36, with most countries accounting for more than the mid-1%.

To increase the proportion of infants and toddlers, it was suggested that the church should actively open the church as a space for child-rearing and more active religious education for infants and young children.  

With the birth rate falling sharply, the church has a bleak future. According to the ratio of believers by age in 2020 announced by the Conference of Bishops, there were 37,358 believers aged 0-4, and the ratio of believers to the population of the same age group was only 0.6%. 

In 2010, the number of 0-4-year-olds was 68,139, 1.3% of believers. According to the Bishops Conference, as of 2020, 83.8% of 1,767 parishes nationwide, or 1481 parishes, are operating Sunday schools. The number of Sunday School students in 2020 decreased from 2019 by 24.2%. or 21,643.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the current plummeting fertility rate and the sharp drop in the ratio of young people are combined, it is expected that more parishes will face great difficulties in operating Sunday schools within a few years.

A priest in Seoul said: "I think this low fertility rate is perhaps a warning signal for the future of our country. The church needs to play a bigger role so that we can raise the fertility rate." The church can take interest in infants, material support for single mothers and pregnant women, the spread of prenatal meetings and infant education, and the expansion of daycare facilities in parishes. Running a nursery class, where young couples can bring their children to the church to reduce the burden of childcare.

Another priest has suggested that the church should open the parish grounds to the neighbors. "If the reason young people are not getting married now is because of the burden of childcare, it would be good to use the church space as a kindergarten, etc., and use it as a space where young people can have and raise children with confidence. Let's open up the church's space to society and share it with all.

It is difficult to find Catholic parishes that link childbirth, care, and education issues to encourage childbirth. Some Protestant churches are much more active than Catholics.

The competition in Korea is fierce and the young see the prospects of a family and children as a great burden. Certain areas have understood the situation and have become very family concerned with free kindergartens and trying to change the economic situation and atmosphere of the neighborhood to family-orientated needs.
 

The Place of Courage in Life

Is it possible to work for a world without breaks as if we are traveling on an eight-lane superhighway? So begins the article in the Light of the World column of the Catholic Times.

It is necessary to distinguish between the difficulties of reality and the right path. Dear readers, are you practicing social doctrine well? Why is this necessary? Simply put, this is the practice of the Gospel. As expressed in "A Brief Social Doctrine", preaching the social doctrine is the mission itself of evangelism; problems faced by mankind are resolved and results are seen by meeting the gospel; the church as a community of faith preaches the Gospel as a social doctrine.

To change the world, the practice of the gospel and social doctrine are urgently required. Politics, economy, labor, justice and peace, environment, and ecology are not the world of ideas, but the places where our lives are lived. Social doctrine practices are concrete teachings of the Gospel implemented in our daily lives. Of course, the reality faced is full of conflict and confrontation and not easily changed. But we must distinguish between the difficulties and the right path for life. This is because the truth does not change just because there are many conflicts and difficulties in our society. Also, these conflicts and difficulties should not overcome our courage. Courage puts the truth into practice and corrects injustice. So today, let's look at social doctrine and courage together. 

A prophetic call to resist injustice, crying for fairness, justice, and right values ​​is the prophetic calling of religion. In the 1980s, under the dictatorship, the people denounced unjust human rights violations and took to the streets for a just world. Among them were believers, clergy, and religious. Especially, the episode where Cardinal Kim Soo-hwan said: "Step on me," to the police who were trying to arrest hundreds of protesters who had been chased to the Myeongdong Cathedral during the June Uprising in 1987, was one of the most dramatic scenes. 

The world was moved by the courage to be a voice for the voiceless, to cry for justice by the side of the weak, to proclaim the truth amidst violence and oppression, and to lay down our lives for our friends and neighbors. History evaluates that Cardinal Kim was such a great man in the era when he defended human rights and witnessed to conscience, and the Catholic Church and Myeongdong Cathedral were one of the last strongholds against unjust power. We must clearly identify. The proclamation of the Gospel and the courage to defend life, human rights, peace, and justice against injustice are completely different from ambitious political campaigns for a place in the sun or a political campaign filled with irresponsible words. 

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, courage, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit and one of the four cardinal virtues, is explained as follows. It is the virtue that makes us pursue the good amid difficulties, overcomes temptations, obstacles, and fears. Fortitude assures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It reaches even to the ability of possibly sacrificing one’s own life for a just cause. It is said that courage leads to a commitment to the truth, it takes courage to make difficult decisions and prayer helps us to find courage. 

In retrospect, it takes courage every moment in our present reality which is often like a battlefield. Courage to resist injustice, make peace during trials, cherish love, hope, and faith to witness to God, and to trust in God's providence in ambiguity. The cross-bearing Son of God best revealed what courage is: "Be brave for I have conquered the world!" (John 16:33), Jesus Christ, who chose love with courage out of fear, is the path of truth that we must look and meditate on. Let's look to Christ and pray. With the help of the one who loves us, let us also move forward. 

"Prayer inspires courage and gives strength to all true friends of peace, those who love peace and who strive to promote peace in the various circumstances in which they live." (Social Compendium #519)

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What We Can Learn From a Tree

It's autumn. The chestnut picking is over, and the cold weather stops the grass from growing so the lower edges of the mountain stand out. Thus begins an article in the Catholic Peace Weekly by a religious sister on what we can learn from a tree in her weekly column.

We know that leaves usually fall in autumn. As the days get colder, the leaves can't stand the cold and send all the energy needed for their life back to the roots to make it through the winter. To support its large body, the tree descends deeper into the ground that will be frozen solid and grabs the soil with all its strength. In the winter, any tree that looks like dry firewood to our eyes will have this happening deep in the ground, the roots hugging the earth. It makes her think of humility—a tree lays down its abundant leaves that have lavishly dressed her from spring. But doing so the tree grows even more. The fallen leaves rot and become soil and nourishment on which to tread. If you look at this cycle, the land, leaves, and tree eventually form one body.
 

Learning this wisdom from the tree, and sharing these stories, it's difficult to 'put them aside'. Difficult as going from being young, having a job, money, and returning to the ordinary and being old. All our energy was expended. The images of us doing Botox to get rid of wrinkles on our faces, looking for various ways to rejuvenate, and struggling to get a better job come to us in images that contrast with the natural scenery of the forest.

The forest we create shows its splendor from the outside, but the roots are shallow and we don't know when it will collapse. We must remember that when the leaves drop all their nutrients go down to the roots, the trees stand firmer and that letting go is never death. When a tree sends all its nutrients to its roots, it looks like a dead tree. This is because the moisture in the body of the tree is expelled to prepare for the severe cold of winter. Now is the time to learn from the tree.

If we try to keep everything within the boundaries we have made it will soon come to an end; if we put our heads together and find a way to live together across borders the light of hope will lead us.

The nun has lived with the soil for ten years, so her face is full of blemishes, and her skin is dark even when she doesn't work in the sun. When she goes home on vacation, her mother sighs. Of the five daughters, the youngest has the most wrinkles and blemishes on her face.

The nuns look at her face and say, "The sun has kissed her!" She likes to hear the expression. It makes her feel good to think of the traces of the sun on her face. She is happy when there are traces of grass on her hands and traces of dirt under her nails. Signs of the time she spends with nature remain in her heart. Those who care for nature enter into nature. This principle of giving that makes us live is what we call love so we live in love.

When we live in harmony with the earth it becomes like a mother's lifeline. This principle of giving that makes us live, is what we call 'love'. So we live in love. Because in everything there are traces of the love that God has given. If she lives a little longer like this, she wonders whether she will come to know that giving is the way to live?

The Common Good or Meritocracy

 

In the Eyes of the Believer column of the Catholic Times Weekly, a lawyer discusses meritocracy and the common good.

The autumn rain has stopped and the sky is really blue like a lake. Red dragonflies roam in groups against the backdrop of the deep sky. He thinks this is all thanks to COVID-19. The sky is clear everywhere, the number of planes in the sky has decreased and we no longer, since the start of COVID-19, hear much about fine dust— polluted air.

 

He also thinks COVID-19 is our teacher. He looks back on his life using freely the limited resources of the earth for his convenience, comfort, and entertainment. He worries that if we go back to the past relying on vaccines and treatments will we be handing over a healthy world to the next generation?

It's been a while since he last saw two old friends due to the COVID-19. This was possible because everyone was vaccinated. A friend who used to work as a manager of a large corporation is now living alone in a one-room area for the poor, with a monthly rent of 300 dollars. He also undergoes kidney dialysis at the hospital three times a week. In the past, he was unable to receive basic livelihood benefits because he had a wife and children, but the law has changed, and even if there are dependents, he receives 255 dollars a month, and then another 255 dollars is added as a disability benefit receiving a total of 510 dollars. Another friend who is retiring from a small business is washing dishes in the kitchen of a restaurant for 8 hours a day, earning, $1,557 the minimum wage guaranteed by the country.

 

The lawyer had many dreams when he was in school, studied hard, went to a good university, and lived well, but the years passed very quickly. His friends are now walking the downhill road of old age but thanks to the fact that they quickly grasped the meaning of life and were able to let go of all their regrets and greed they are in peace.  

Last night, the three of them drank two bottles of soju and four cans of makolli until the closing time of 10 pm, a drinking party giving thanks for the 'benefits of social welfare'. 

 

When he read the newspaper this morning, he saw an article on meritocracy and the common good. Ten years ago, Michael Sandel's book: Justice became a bestseller. The 'Illusion of Being Fair',  and the arrogance of meritocracy prevents us from feeling responsible for the common good. Competency-ism thinks this is fair, but it is a big mistake to think: "I am successful because I was capable and it is natural for those who have lost in competition to have it rough."  

Even if a fair test is given to students who get help from expensive tutors and students who have to work part-time for their families without tutors, the results are not just. If we go one step further, there is no such thing as 'fairness' in the first place, since the ability to study, physical condition, and artistic talent are different from birth. If the starting line is different, but only meritocracy is fairness, how are the poor people supposed to live? This is where the higher value of the 'common good' is needed. 

My friend, who is good at English and graduated from a good university, ate and lived well according to his abilities when he was young, but now he is old and ill and has left his family, so he becomes incompetent and lives on the social pension provided for the common good. Another friend, thanks to the minimum wage system, can wash dishes and receive the government minimum wage.  

In the past, some young people spent their lives working for the socially disadvantaged: workers and the poor. At times it was very unfair because they went to jail and even died though they were doing what was right and good. However, their dedication to the common good enabled my friends whom I met last evening to gain some peace of mind in their old age. 

That's right. It's not a meritocracy based on the illusion of fairness, but living together working always for the common good.