Europe's Heat Wave And Korea

 

In the Eyes of the Believer Column of the Catholic Times Weekly, the writer alerts the readers to the seriousness of World Climate Change. 

A man washing his head at a fountain in the square with his shirt off in the midday heat, a wildfire spewing black smoke on a dry yellow field, a forest fire turns forests into ashes and threatens private homes, a twisted railroad track, a red heatwave warning and declaring a national emergency situation... Europe in July because of climate change is experiencing the heat of hell.

 

This month, Europe is in a state of emergency due to extremely high temperatures in midsummer. The heatwave is setting new records every day, and it is now common to exceed 40 degrees Celsius. Britain crossed 40 degrees for the first time ever, and so did France. In Spain and Portugal, the situation is even worse, reaching 47 degrees. We have terrible prospects for the Iberian Peninsula, with temperatures over 50 degrees. The United States is no exception, and the entire global village is suffering from unprecedented severe body fatigue. "Climate change is killing people, killing ecosystems and biodiversity." it is affecting all of us deeply.

 

High temperatures exceeding 40 degrees are difficult to tolerate compared to the normal human body temperature of around 37 degrees. It's literally suffocating. If the situation does not improve, in a few years there will likely be a saying, "But then, compared to now, this will be considered mild". Bad times are waiting for the global village. 

 

Why is the heat wave particularly hitting Europe this year? First, the 'blocking phenomenon' is considered to be the cause of the heat wave. This is because the huge high pressure stays for a long time and stagnates the airflow. It got its name because it completely blocked the airflow. In addition, the weakening of the jet stream force pushing the heated high-pressure layer also played a role. It is a warning to the planet about greenhouse gases and climate change. 

 

Unlike Europe, we wonder if the heat wave and tropical nights are over. It is quite cool at night when you open the window without turning on the air conditioner. Are we better off than Europe? There is a slight difference in temperatures, but we don't know the future. We must not forget that today in Europe can be our tomorrow. 

 

"The climate crisis is at a crossroads between collective action and collective suicide." A warning from UN Secretary-General at the recent climate talks in Germany is terrifying. 

 

This means that the global village must take action on climate action together right now. In the face of the climate crisis, scientists have come up with a countermeasure called the global temperature change within 1.5℃” scenario. The goal is to limit the increase in global average temperature to 1.5°C by 2100. The standard is the pre-industrial comparison. Since it has already risen by 1℃, there is only a 0.5℃ margin. By 2030, greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by at least 45% compared to 2010, and net emissions must be zero by 2050. It is considered the only desperate solution to slow global warming. Other alternatives include preserving biodiversity, reducing internal combustion locomotives, and using fewer fossil fuels such as coal. 

 

The solution to the climate crisis is ultimately protecting the planet. Isn't the earth "the heavens and the earth that God created in the beginning" (Genesis 1:1)? It is also, as Pope Francis said: "the house of all of us." "The natural environment is the heritage of all mankind and a public good that everyone should be responsible for. We are facing a complex social and environmental crisis. We must unite in caring for this house entrusted to us." (From the Encyclical 「Laudato Si) Let’s get rid of the thought: I am only one person— what can I do to protect the earth? Even if it's not right now, we just can't ignore the problems of life and death of future generations? Let's be willing to start with small actions that we can do in our respective places.

Is The Korean Catholic Church Ready to Listen?

 

In his homily on 13 December 2016, Pope Francis said: "Clericalism is a really awful thing; it is a new edition of this ancient evil of the religious 'authorities' lording it over others. But the victim is the same: the poor and humble people, who await the Lord" (Casa Santa Marta).

In the Catholic Peace Weekly in its column the Readers Platform we have a Catholic expressing his views on an issue that we hear a lot about these days: listening in the preparation for a Synodal Church—Communion, Participation, Mission. 

The writer a layman used to work in a church institution. He worked for about 14 years, from the age of 28 to 42, now, he works for a general media company and only attends Masses. 

 

When he heard that the theme of the Synod of Bishops was to listen to what the Holy Spirit was saying to the Church as a whole, his first thought was whether the Korean Church was ready for this.

 

Experience is very subjective, but it becomes true when several experiences are repeated over a long period. The truth he learned from interviewing hundreds of lay people at the church was that the limitations of lay people within the church were clear. Laymen, especially those working in church institutions, complained and sometimes got angry talking to him. There really was no exception. They sometimes say, "I just do what I'm told. In particular, if you speak directly to your superiors, priests, and religious, for the development of the church, you will not last long. "I have a family to protect. I just keep my mouth shut."

 

It's a miserable reality. The fact that these words are often pouring out of the mouths of God's people is harsh enough. Do priests and religious really know this? Or is it that even if they know, they just ignore it, dismissing it as a lack of a sense of mission or faith? 

 

One of his ancestors is a Blessed Martyr in the Korean Church. But last year, he left his job. It was for the same reason as the lay people who complained to him.

 

But he doesn't believe he ever lost affection for the church. When you look at the word "listening" you'll expect to see if it will change now. 

 

If the religious and priests read this article, what do you think will be their response? Will it not be that he is making generalizations by magnifying what only a few are saying.

 

He responds with what a friend said: "it serves you right. Did I not say it in the first place? The Korean church does not seem to be able to realize the theme of listening..."

 

He is reminded of an old man's words. The senior said to him, who had confided his worries: "The time has not come yet for the Korean church to change; it will be possible when the believers disappear like in the European church. I think it will be difficult before then." 

 

He hopes it will not end like that.

Imitating the Owner of the Vineyard (Matt. 20)

In the Catholic Peace Weekly Diagnosis of the Times, the writer wants us to imitate the owner of the vineyard in Matthews Gospel (chapter 20).

Jesus often said that the existing values ​​and order would change to "first last, last first". The parable of the good vineyard owner gives us an example of this teaching. The owner of the vineyard left the house early in the morning to buy workers. The vineyard did not wait for the workers to come. Going to the market to find workers started early in the morning and continued from 9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., and 5:00 p.m.
 
The owner went out until 5 pm to call workers, not only because they were needed but to take care of people whose livelihoods were being threatened because they couldn't find work. The workers were promised a denarius each. It was a day's wage. They all received one denarius.
 
They were all in desperate need of a day's wages. It's probably normal for people who come early in the morning to grumble. However, the owner of the vineyard said that paying the same wages was not 'committing injustice'. According to the world, the attitude of the owner of the vineyard is unfair. They say it is fair to pay them as much as they work, and unfair to pay them a day's wages if they worked only an hour or so. However, the calculation method in the kingdom of heaven was different. It was not labor productivity, but the livelihood of workers and their families; it is not unrighteous to pay a person who arrives late a day's wages.
 
The church is like a vineyard where the sacraments, catechesis, and meetings are held. In the parable, the owner of the field needed workers so from early morning to evening, he went to the market to find workers. For the owner of the field, the marketplace was his work site. The church does not mean just a building, the church must constantly go out. You have to go into the world. As Pope Francis said, if you don't go out, the church will get sick.
 
When you go out in this situation, the church must have the ability to pay the workers. In this case, it's not just financial means. There is little the church can do only with trust in money. The church must face the infallible reality that workers can only earn a living by receiving their daily wages. It is also necessary to have a firm resolve to make this our reality. The church has a duty to show the kingdom of heaven here and now. So, the need to be diligent and show goodness like the owner of the vineyard.
 

Like the owner of a vineyard, there are things the church must do before going to the market for workers. It's necessary to check to see if the church is operating on good principles. The parishes, institutions, and companies run by the church must show the goodness of the owner of the vineyard. The working conditions and treatment of workers should be unique. It is difficult to use a method that considers only obedience and sacrifice. Wages should be sufficient to allow workers to dream of the future as well as the immediate needs of support for family and make sure no one gets their wages cut just because they are women, lack education, or are old.
 
 Only by asking the people who work in the church how much the church resembles the owner of the vineyard can you get the right answer. It is important to know if they are proud of their work and feel the goodness of the vineyard owner?
 

Leading the way, the church should set an example for others. It won't be easy, but it is the way we Christians should go. The proud history of martyrdom is encouraging the churches of this land to do what is not easy.

"Dialogue the Soul of the World"

An article on the opinion page of the Catholic Times by a university professor dreams of a world where dialogue was its soul.

Dialogue, is probably a key word to express the lives and activities of local churches in Korea and around the world. And at the end of next year's synod of local churches and the World Bishops Synod, we may be asking—feeling "the silence after the feast"— 'Is this the end of the conversation?' 'Now we just have to wait for the result to come down from the top?'

Is that really the situation? The conversation the professor experienced was actually not just a process of gathering opinions, but a  church beginning to live the life of Sinodalitas. Isn't dialogue a way of life that we should continue into the future in each local church and church community to which we belong?

In his opening speech of the second session of the Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI called the council's goal "the self-awareness of the church, the reform of the church, the unity of all Christians, and dialogue with the church and the modern world." The conversation was the basis of the topics covered by the Council and their activities. In dealing with the relationship of church members, the relationship with non-Catholic Christians, and the relationship with the church and the world, the teachings of the Council were established within a two-way perspective, not one-way.

 

While declaring the unique roles of priests, laymen, and religious, it was understood in their relationships with others and the world. In addition, the Council literature was formed in the process of free, intense, and orderly dialogue. Dialogue of the church is a way of life and its activities that the Second Vatican Council has vigorously proposed.
 

What is important to us living in the post-Vatican II era is the  spirit of Sinodalitas— how to talk 'well'. It is not easy to talk 'well' to people  familiar with traditional Korean culture. This is not about the 'skills' of conversation. Of course, technology is helpful, but more fundamental changes in outlook are needed to become a 'true' dialogue (conversation). Perhaps Pope Francis' suggestion in Joy of Love will help.
 

"Develop the habit of giving real importance to the other person. This means appreciating them and recognizing their right to exist, to think as they do and to be happy. Never downplay what they say or think, even if you need to express your own point of view. Everyone has something to contribute, because they have their life experiences, they look at things from a different standpoint and they have their own concerns, abilities and insights." (#138)
 

Keep an open mind. Don’t get bogged down in your own limited ideas and opinions, but be prepared to change or expand them. The combination of two different ways of thinking can lead to a synthesis that enriches both.(#139)

 

No one has a 'perfect' grasp of the world's affairs, or a 'perfect' solution. The word 'absolute' is reserved for  God. We talk and move forward together with our strengths and weaknesses, and when we do this, we can do things together that we cannot do alone. Don't people in the world  use the word 'synergy effect' derived from the Greek word "working-together"? Wouldn't our synergy as Christians be greater and more noble than that? The Holy Spirit is always leading us to a new future.

Is Just War Possible?

 

It is difficult to justify war. The Catholic Times in the column for Reconciliation and Unification the priest writer gives the readers his thoughts on the subject.

In the New Testament and in the writings of the early church fathers, the 'pacifism' that rejects the violence of the 'secular' is evident. Despite the persecution of the Roman Empire, Christians who faithfully followed the teachings of Jesus chose nonviolent resistance, martyrdom. However, the fast-growing church was recognized as the state religion of the empire, and the church's teachings about war and the use of force began to change.

Instead of giving up violence, the church, which became part of the “world,” began to think about how to  justify and conduct a just war. Since then, the theory of 'just war', derived from St. Augustine, has long represented the church's position on war. 

At the turn of the 20th century, the church, which suffered the ravages of two world wars, had to reflect more deeply on the justification for war. And with the advent of nuclear weapons capable of destroying mankind, the perception that war could be “controlled” changed.

Pope Pius XII's "On Public Prayers for Peace" (Summi Maeroris) is an encyclical made against this background. This encyclical, published on July 19, 1950, during the Korean War, urges the church,  to “pray for peace,” and reminds us of the horrors of war. The Encyclical made it clear that the new weapons introduced by the advancement of technology destroyed not only soldiers but also civilians and the weak. References to those who suppress religious freedom in China and Eastern European countries are also noteworthy. “Not through the use of force, but through the truth.” 

 Despite reports of persecution and physical clashes with communism around the world, the Holy See reaffirmed the Church's mission for peace. In an interview with the press on July 4, Pope Francis revealed that Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's Prime Minister, met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. He also expressed his will, "if the president of Russia gives me a small window to serve for peace, he can go to Russia before Ukraine." Together with the pilgrim Pope who humbles himself for peace, let us pray more earnestly for the cessation of this evil war that can't be  justified. 

The just war theory needs six conditions to be justified and in most cases are never tried: 1)Just cause, 2)lawfully declared by lawful authority, 3) good intention, 4) all others methods to solve the problem have been tried, 5)reasonable chance for success, 6) proportionate to the end the war seeks to achieve. 

Using means appropriate, the innocents should not be harmed  and international agreed conventions regulating war observed.

In July first of this year Pope Francis said: "I believe it is time to rethink the concept of a ‘just war.’ A war may be just, there is the right to defend oneself. But we need to rethink the way that the concept is used nowadays,I have said that the use and possession of nuclear weapons are immoral. Resolving conflicts through war is saying no to verbal reasoning, to being constructive … War is essentially a lack of dialogue."

 

 

 

 

Normalness of Evil: Structures of Evil

In the Catholic Times, one of the shades of evil is visited in the column: We see as much as we know. The author uses the words in the title of the book by Hannah Arendt on the trial of Adolph Eichmann—The Banality of Evil.

Sin leads to sin. Personal evil becomes a habit and proliferates to form a structure. Eve handed Adam some forbidden fruit, making himself guilty and ordinary. In this way, sin breeds and multiplies. So it constitutes "social sin". When the consequences of the sins committed by individuals are gathered, "the structures of sin" are formed, creating a system that attracts others to commit the same evil.

The Church teaches that you should be responsible for how we act in this system of evil and the Nazis are a case in point, and so are those who followed bin, Laden. Being part of the system itself is a sin. # 1868 Catechism of the Church: "A sin is a personal act. Moreover, we have a responsibility for the sins committed by others when we cooperate with them: by participating directly and voluntarily in them; by ordering, advising, praising, or approving them; by not disclosing or not hindering them when we should do so; by protecting evil-doers."

 

Adolf Eichmann is a man who contributed to establishing an efficient system to find as many as 6 million Jews in Europe, confiscating their assets, and sending them to camps. After the defeat of Germany, he fled to Argentina, was arrested by Israeli intelligence agency Mossad in 1960, and tried and executed in Jerusalem.

The Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt compiled an account of the trial and published a book titled "Eichmann of Jerusalem." Arendt initially imagined that Eichmann would look like a cool-headed Germanic warrior, but was surprised he was a very small, weak-minded, ordinary figure.

Eichmann was charged with 15 counts during the trial. But he didn't admit a single sin during the whole trial. He said he was not in a position to take responsibility and therefore did not feel guilty. He said he was just a low-ranking government official who faithfully fulfilled the duties given to him so he could feed and take care of his family. And that was the case. He did what the state asked him to do as best he could, not because he hated the Jews. So, Arendt sub-titled the book, "Report on the Banality of Evil" (Normalness of Evil). Maybe he wanted to say: "If you were in the same situation as me, wouldn’t you have done the same?" 

 

But he was convicted and executed. Why did you do that? His biggest sin that Hannah Arendt saw was his uncritical acceptance of the evil system. No matter how zealous and normal you live, a person always belongs to a system and is governed by it. But if you can't tell whether it's an evil or a good system, that's the biggest sin. A sailor worked hard all his life on a ship. But in the end, he was arrested by the police and sentenced to death. Why? Because the ship was a pirate ship. 

You have to distinguish whether your hard work is not a sin and whether your social system leads you to good or evil.

The only way out of the structure of evil is to stay in a community where good is common. The "church" is a community that Christ established in contrast to the system of the world. The world hated Christ and crucified him. St. Teresa of Avila, just before her death, repeats: "After all, I am a daughter of the Church", she hoped she was not a sinner

'World On Fire' Needs Peace

In the Catholic Peace Weekly, diagnosis of the times column, a Catholic University professor is reminded of the popular British TV drama 'World On Fire' which aired several years ago, seeing the present  world situation.  

It was a war drama set in England and Poland during World War I. As the first season ended, the second season was announced, but production and airing were delayed, and in the meantime, as the title of the drama, the world began to burn.

The war in Ukraine, which began with the Russian invasion in late February, has been going on for five months and shows no sign of ending soon. A few days ago, Russian President Putin emphasized the will to continue the war, saying that the war is only the beginning. Ukraine's will to resist the war has not been broken, and the West continues to provide arms support to Ukraine. The Ukrainian War seems to have entered the stage of attrition. It has become a battle of who can last longer.

Ukraine urges the West to provide more weapons quickly, but the West is limiting the weapons it provides because of fears of an escalation with Russia. Because of the fear of nuclear war raised by Russia. A bigger problem is that public opinion in major Western countries is slowly losing interest in the war in Ukraine. In the aftermath of the war, inflation and recession are deepening.

It is difficult for political leaders to oppose public opinion. As resolving economic problems in one's own country becomes a priority, helping other countries is likely to be pushed back slowly. Immediately after the military coup in Myanmar in February of last year, the world was outraged by the violent suppression of protesters by the military. But the anger soon cooled, and support for Myanmar's insurgents declined. With the final withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in August of last year, it became under the control of the Taliban. The international community's attention was drawn to the plight of the people of Afghanistan, but this did not last long either. There was news that a powerful earthquake in the country at the end of June had killed a lot of people, but few are paying attention.

In retrospect, about 30 years after the end of the Cold War with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 all was relatively peaceful. Post-Cold War peace depended on three pillars. First, the international leadership of the United States, which remained the only superpower, was important. The second was the progress of economic interdependence following globalization. Finally, the global spread of democracy also contributed to post-Cold War peace.
However, the three pillars are all shaking to some degree. Although the US is still strong, it has been weakening since the 2008 Wall Street financial crisis. The soil of isolationism has also strengthened. As President Biden struggles to restore traditional American leadership, his approval rating is hitting an all-time low.

Economic interdependence between countries is gradually starting to be recognized as a geopolitical risk factor rather than a factor conducive to improving economic efficiency. Countries are now starting to segregate supply chains in key industries. Democracy is also declining rather than spreading. Even in major democracies, political polarization is so intense that politicians based on rational discussion and compromise lose their place. The rise of authoritarian forces such as Russia and China is also a threat.

In times of crisis, the mind shrinks. The age of individual self-help begins. However, as soon as everyone becomes concerned with their own problems the world's crisis intensifies. Paradoxically, in times of crisis, we must think not only about ourselves but also about the safety and interests of the world community. If you can't expect a superhero role from any country, joint cooperation is the only answer. And for this, it is first necessary for all of us to feel and recover the brotherhood of mankind. This may be the biggest peace mission we have now.
 
 
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