Mystery Of Life?

A professor at a Catholic University in the human life department gives the readers of the Catholic Peace Weekly her thoughts on 'genetic scissors' CRISPR. (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats)
 
Many have heard or seen the word genetic scissors (hereafter CRISPR) at least once. CRISPR appeared in 2012. Since the second half of the 20th century, technology that can arbitrarily cut and manipulate genes has been popular, but CRISPR is evaluated as superior in accuracy and efficiency to existing technologies.  
 
Recently, Professor Jennifer Daudna, one of the CRISPR developers, published an article in the international academic journal Science, commemorating the 10th anniversary of CRISPR development, research achievements and limitations, and prospects for the next 10 years. If the last 10 years have been a period of developing CRISPR technology, the next 10 years are expected to make it a technology for humans. In particular, it is predicted that the pace of development of life sciences using genetic scissors along with technologies such as artificial intelligence will accelerate.
 
Reading the article gave her a rough idea of how CRISPR technology has evolved over the past decade. Scientists around the world have been working hard to develop more accurate, precise, safe, and efficient technology. Although there are still limitations in terms of technology and many challenges to developing safer and more efficient technology, the achievements achieved so far can now be applied to humans as well as animals and plants to solve food problems in the fields of agriculture, livestock, and aquatic products, as well as to produce highly nutritious crops. (Water)Meat production, organ production for transplantation in the medical field, gene therapy, drug production, etc. The scope of its application seems endless. It's like seeing a future utopia right in front of you.
 
But why does listing the research achievements of scientists seem like a game? This is because there is something unsatisfying about scientists' amazing research achievements and future prospects. To list a few reasons: First, just as the media in Korea communicates with the public in a way that focuses only on the visible results of science, scientists themselves seem to be intoxicated with their achievements. Second, they check the results as they manipulate and transform life like a machine. It can be seen that this understanding of life reduces life only to a simple material or mechanical system, and even considers human life as the subject of its manipulation. A typical example is the genetic manipulation of human embryos. Third, it is an uncomfortable truth hidden behind the splendid achievements. For example, if the genes or genetic traits of animals and plants are modified to be useful to humans, there is no reflection on how this will affect the natural ecosystem. In addition, these studies can be developed in the direction of prioritizing the pursuit of profit, even if the means and methods are unethical, in line with the profit logic of the bio-industry
 
Lastly, the knowledge we know about life and genes is very weak compared to the blueprints shown by scientists and the bio industry. Maybe that's why, at the 17th Mystery of Life Award Ceremony last month, a professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, who won the main prize in the field of life sciences, his impressions linger in her mind. "I am a scientist who studies life sciences. One of the words often used when introducing life science to the general public is 'the mystery of life'. One of the reasons... Compared to other fields of natural science, understanding of 'life' is relatively lacking, so the word 'mystery' is added to emphasize that there are still many unknown areas."
 
Is the perspective of looking at life as a mystery only required by scientists? Perhaps we too, seduced by the blueprints presented by scientists and the bio-industry, are still looking at life, especially human embryos, as mere tools?

Dictatorship and Democracy

The secretary of the Bishops' Committee for Reconciliation with the  North has some thoughts in the North/South Reconciliation column of the Catholic Times— problems we face in overcoming our prejudices.

The Maryknoll Foreign Mission Society was the first foreign mission society established in the United States in June 1911 and was active in the Pyongyang region of North Korea since the 1920s. However, when the Pacific War broke out in December 1941, the United States became an enemy of Japan, and all members in Joseon (Korea) were forcibly deported to their home countries.  

Syngman Rhee, who was the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea at the time, was engaged in the independence movement on a diplomatic level. Monsignor Carroll, who maintained a close relationship with Syngman Rhee even after the establishment of the government of the Republic of Korea, recalled that he supported Syngman Rhee's independence movement, a "patriot in exile". However, in June 1952, a diary written by the Maryknoll Foreign Mission Society in Pusan reveals the missionaries' changed their views on the Syngman Rhee government.

 

"With election day approaching, people are very anxious. The coercive government arrested members of parliament on uncertain charges. The Constitution calls for (presidential) elections by the National Assembly to be held before June 23rd, of course Assembly members in prison will not be able to vote for a new president."

 

The "Political Upheaval in Pusan" during the Korean War was an event that was difficult for the US government to accept. The US Department of State Information and Investigation Bureau data that recorded this mentions that martial law was declared in Pusan and other areas on May 25, 1952, and that the Syngman Rhee regime arrested some members of the National Assembly and pushed for a constitutional amendment. American missionaries of the Maryknoll Foreign Missions Society looked closely at the ‘Political Upheaval in Pusan’ and compared the situation in Korea, where the government cannot be recklessly criticized, to past totalitarian governments of Europe.

 

Reinhold Niebuhr, a theologian well-known for his  ‘Christian Realism’, expressed the dangers that democracy must be vigilant in his book: Children of Light and Children of Darkness. In this book  he wrote as follows: "In a sense, it can be said that democratic societies are particularly exposed to the dangers of chaos. If this danger is not properly recognized, it can engulf free societies and give rise to the evil of tyranny."

 

Let's pray for the democracy of this land built at the sacrifice of countless people. The writer hopes that we can work together for democracy in the entire Korean Peninsula beyond a rigid anti-communism without dialogue, so that unstable inter-Korean relations do not threaten democracy in the Republic of Korea. 

  

Postscript:  (Taken from  the Maryknoll Archives On Monsignor Carroll)

"At the end of World War II he returned to Korea as acting Society Superior and became Group Superior. In June, 1950 he became chaplain of the United Nations Forces. Later, as the forces under General MacArthur swept north and Pyongyang was recaptured, Rome named Monsignor Carroll as acting administrator of the Pyongyang Diocese previously staffed by Maryknoll. He was thus entitled to be called Monsignor. During this time he helped to establish the U.S.O. in Korea. When the Korean military action ended and Pyongyang returned to the Communists, Monsignor Carroll became involved in relief work of various kinds and eventually was the Catholic Relief Services representative in Korea. He was a good administrator. From 1952 he was full-time in Catholic Relief Services activity and had many opportunities to be of service to the needy. He represented the Korean Bishops’ Conference on a trip to Latin America to ascertain emigration possibilities and was a pillar of strength to fellow Maryknollers in his CRS position."

I MAY BE WRONG!

 

The article in the Catholic Times by a professor in a college Social Welfare Department gives the readers some advice for a happy family. The article begins with the titled words: I must remember I may be wrong.  The premise of Happiness is the realization of one's deep-seated dream.

Anthropologist René Girard has introduced the scapegoat mechanism which he believes humans evolved with— a tendency in difficulty to imitate others in blaming arbitrarily selected others or groups.

 

Humans basically have desires, and the reason for these desires is essentially to imitate the desires of others. What I want, for example, is that I want it more because someone else wanted it before me.

According to this logic, conflict, quarrels, and violence will eventually arise due to the similarity of desires between others and me.

Even in families where violence occurs, conflicts exist due to the similarity of desire. When looking at couples in conflict, both husbands and wives aim for a happy family. However, he says that what he experienced at the beginning of his marriage was unbearable sadness and pain.

Couples who meet through counseling are often in a state where they cannot express healthy emotions. Resentment towards the other person appears with anger, sadness, and despair.

The behavior of such parents also leaves scars on young children. Children who have been deprived of their lives due to domestic discord, violence, and neglect act at times so that their lives are no longer violated by their own self-destructive behavior. In addition, we would like to punish those who cannot be punished directly in the form of extreme self-violence. So what should we do?

First of all, I have to admit and accept that my happiness may not make others happy. I have to accept that what I've been thinking so far can be wrong.

 

I may feel happy to stay up late drinking and waking up my sleeping wife and children and at dawn lamenting my situation, but it is not giving joy to my family but pain and sadness.

 

Is it wise in harsh language to blame the wife for not respecting her husband more, and her children for not being polite to their father? Will the strong emotions and strong words and actions be considered for the happiness of the family, or rather will it not be for long-lasting wounds to the family? 

 

The wife needs to realize that may be constantly pointing out and pushing her husband and children to be more perfect than they are, and considering that her duty and the path to happiness, may not be good for her family but gives pain and unhappiness and feelings of emotional abandonment. 

 

There is always something to learn from suffering. You need to learn that the way you think and the way you want happiness doesn't exist in the world. Happiness in reality depends on how much we can compromise in the way the other person wants and how much we can agree on the way we compromised. The farther away you are from your own thoughts, self-pity, and your own ways, the closer happiness will come.

 

Religion Seperated From Life

In the recent Catholic Peace Weekly's Uncomfortable Talk Column, the writer gives us another place where we have the separation of Religion and Life.

"No talk of politics. Violation will result in expulsion!" This is a warning posted in the social media group chat room with friends. Everyone must have encountered this at least once or twice in a chat room. In some houses, even when family and relatives gather, talking about politics or elections is forbidden. It must be because there are cases where families who have not been together for some time blush and raise their voices when together. The columnist gave up on persuading his family with his political choices. It's because he knew very well that he was marked as a mean son and an ugly brother.

 

'No talk of politics' is a rule used even in churches. Not only at public gatherings of worship but also in district meetings and private meetings, everyone keeps their mouth shut about politics. He's pretty sure he heard that from the priest during the Mass homily. Is it because they are worried that believers will fall away? I don't want to believe that, but it's clear that the church is a political off-limit zone. There is no democracy in the church. It is probably the result of thinking of faith as something that is detached from politics.

 

There are many times when Catholics, not to mention Protestants, feel that their faith is becoming more individualized and internalized. The roots of the substitution of faith as an internal problem that is free from political or social conditions are deep. The anecdote is famous that Luther, a virtuous priest, found pride in his purified heart on his way home after going to confession, and went back to go to confession again.

  

Max Weber explained 'Protestant ethics' by citing the view of salvation that one can obtain temporal salvation called 'wealth' through individual good and sincere efforts. However, did they realize that turning faith into an individual's inner problem like this is also a political attitude? In fact, the logic of modern capitalism was hidden in the establishment of an individual as a 'single person before God'. Such a religious view does harm to those who lived happily in the spirit of community, mutual aid, and close to nature given by God and brings them into the economy of commodity production and exchange. 

 

In his last article, he mentioned the action of the Samaritan who saved a man who was robbed and proposed imitation, but more fundamentally, he wrote, "You must catch the robber." He hopes these words do not sound like a radical political remark, but in an unjust world, even speaking common sense justice and truth is likely to sound radical. When the understanding of this world, the essence of being a human being, the soul, and salvation is achieved without understanding the structural dimension of society, only transcendent emotions remain for us.  

 

There is nothing that is not political in the social doctrine that the church presents. Doctrines of human rights, labor, the socially disadvantaged, capitalism, life, and ecology all require political solutions. Can we solve the issues of disabled people protesting on the subway, meat obtained from an indiscriminate clearing in the Amazon jungle, abortion, and women's rights through our individual inner determination? We believe in the separation of church and state and the political neutrality of the church, so we dismiss the issues of truth and justice as politics and push them aside. 

 

The church should not become an island indifferent to politics and society in the name of faith. He doesn't want to know the inner thinking of the person beside him. He is more curious about what he thinks about this world and how he lives.

From Dust to Life

 

In the Catholic Times, a journalist from the paper gives the readers some thoughts on the meaning and precedent of 'Ash Wednesday' reflecting on the Christian's journey from dust to life.

Ashes in the Bible symbolize repentance. It also implies the need to be purified revealing the frailty of human existence symbolizing the need for salvation through mercy, always greater than sin.
 
This year February 22nd is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent; a time to remember the suffering and death of Jesus. At the same time, it is a gracious time to wash away sins and purify the inside in order to welcome the resurrection of the Lord with a proper attitude.
 
The Jews had a custom of putting ashes on their heads when they sinned against God. Christianity accepted this, and on the Wednesday before the first Sunday of Lent, putting ashes on the head was performed as a penitential ceremony. This is where the name Ash Wednesday comes from. Pope Saint Gregory I (590-604 AD) instituted Ash Wednesday as the first day of the official Lent season of the Catholic Church, and Pope Blessed Urban II recommended that all believers participate in the rite.

Ash has various meanings. Ashes symbolize the 'sorrow' that we have sinned and separated from God. Ash, is the residue left over from burning. This is a remnant of human sins, and it also reminds us of the act of "reparation" for the sins committed. It also means 'passion' to burn ourselves out for God and his kingdom. After everything is burnt, the remaining ashes are free of impurities. Placing ashes on the head also implies that human beings must be purified and clean as when God first created them.
 
In the time of Pope St. Paul VI, the church prescribed fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday. Believers must keep two things at the same time on this day. Fasting means skipping one meal a day. Abstinence from meat is observed from the age of 14 until death, and fasting from the age of 18 to the day before the age of 60. Fasting and abstinence have the meaning of participating in the Passion of Christ with self-control and self-denial. In addition, it contains practical tasks to practice love by giving and offering to the poor neighbors what is saved through fasting and abstinence.
 
The ashes used in the ceremony of ashes are prepared by collecting, usually, in Korea, the twigs from evergreen trees that are distributed to believers on the Sunday of the Lord's Passion the previous year and burned the following year for the Ash Wednesday Ceremony.
 
After blessing the ashes the priest performs a ceremony in which the sign of the cross is made on the foreheads of the believers or placed on top of the heads. At this time, believers hear from the priest, "Man, you are dust, remember that you will return to dust" or "Repent and believe in the gospel." It reminds us of the fact that human beings are finite, reminds us that life and death are in God's hands, and calls for repentance.
 
Beginning with Ash Wednesday, priests wear purple to symbolize repentance and atonement. From this day, when we meditate on the passion and death of Christ, we do not sing the Glory and Alleluia, which symbolize joy. The Liturgy of the Word is composed of contents emphasizing penitence, fasting, and charity. The first reading (Joel 2:12-18) emphasizes God's mercy and calls for repentance. The second reading (2 Cor 5:20-6:2) calls for reconciliation with God through reflection and conversion. The Gospel (Matthew 6:1-6.16-18) teaches us the right spirit in charity, prayer, and fasting.  
 
"Our wretched ashes are loved by God," Pope Francis said at Mass on Ash Wednesday 2020, calling for "accepting the love of Jesus who hung on the cross, asking him for forgiveness and going through the journey from dust to life."
 
Participation in the Ash Wednesday liturgy is not obligatory,  however, the Church invites us to pass through this day of repentance and solemnly enter the season of Lent, joyfully awaiting the Lord's glorious Resurrection. 

 

Oxygen of the Christian Life

 

In  the recent Catholic Times a former President of the Catholic Journalists Association gives the readers some help to become missioners in his column Eyes of the Believer.

"Mission is the oxygen of the Christian life." This is the topic raised by Pope Francis during his Wednesday general audience on January 11, asking us to begin a new catechesis journey. The Pope emphasized the "passion for evangelization," saying that the Church’s mission is to joyfully proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the world. He also said that each person should preach the gospel with charm, not proselytizing ( respecting the beliefs of others) in the environment they find themselves in. The part he paid attention to here is 'catechetical education'.

 

The teaching of doctrine or catechesis is the ongoing process of preaching the gospel. According to the「Korean Catholic Encyclopedia」catechesis is 'the church proclaiming and teaching the word of God, that is, a form of ministry of the word'. Efforts to help individuals or communities to acquire and deepen their faith, and to help educate Christians to form their conscience. 

However, there are many cases of being embarrassed or evasive when faced with an unfamiliar term or vaguely known doctrine. It is more so when conveying or explaining Catholic doctrine to people who do not yet have faith or Protestants. Why? For the catechesis we received is almost entirely in the teaching before baptism and confirmation. He recommends a axiom  from the past to know yourself and the other and you will have little trouble in discussion about the faith.

When you do have difficulty he recommends reading to strengthen your faith. The Faith of the Church Fathers, written by Cardinal James Gibbons and translated by the late Dr. Chang Myon (John), is by far the best. It explains the essence of the Catholic faith with deep reflection and abundant examples. and one will  find it greatly helpful. This is  confidently emphasized  by the columnist.

Many spiritual treasures can also be found in the words of Pope Francis mentioned above. Why don't you come in contact with the teachings of the universal church more often through Mass sermons, Angelus prayers, general audience talks, etc.? This is a shortcut to make an unfamiliar doctrine my own. Here's one tip. Let's become friends with the 'Vatican News' Korean page. It is translated into more than 30 languages around the world. Personally, since he volunteered as a member of the translation team from the beginning of the year, it is a medium that I feel deep affection for. (https://www.vaticannews.va/en/taglist.paesi-e-luoghi.Asia.Corea-del-Sud.html)

 

The Catholic Theological Seminary, where he is  studying, will produce graduates on the 18th of this month. In both the daytime catechesis department and the evening religious education department, 37 students complete the two-year course and receive missionary and catechist licenses. The reason for the existence of the Catechetical Institute is to train missionaries who can contribute to the Catholic Church through systematic education on the Bible and overall Catholic theology. The role of the catechist who teaches the faith of the church through words and example is quite large. The attention and care of parish pastors is needed so that what they have learned can serve in catechesis of catechumens.

 

 "Your words should always be right and seem to be seasoned with salt. Therefore, you must know how to answer everyone" (Colossians 4,6). Meditate on the words of the Bible and resolve to study continually. He hope that we will deepen our faith day by day, pass on that faith to our neighbors, and become ' a light bursting out like the dawn' (see Is 58:8). We all have been called to be missioners and asks for God's grace for it to  be the reality of our lives.

 

Enjoy Your Old Age

 

A Religious Sister working with the elderly tells them to put down their worries in her spirituality column in the Catholic Peace Weekly.

The long-term care insurance system was implemented, and nursing homes were transformed into competitive structures. The facilities are well-equipped and the types of services are diverse, so there are many positive factors. Nevertheless, the faces of the elderly in nursing homes do not express joy.  
 
Compared to living alone, three meals are provided at the correct time, nutrition is a concern, bath service is provided regularly, and programs are prepared for each hour. Among the many rights that people need to live like human beings, how many do elderly people living in nursing homes enjoy?
 
Let's think in terms of the right to self-determination. When you go to a nursing home for admission counseling, it has become customary for most nursing homes to provide information to their guardians rather than to the elderly who will be living there, and the guardians to sign a contract if they are satisfied with the conditions.  Perhaps, for the elderly, a nursing home is the last place of life in this world, so they want to pay more attention to it, but their own decision or concerns are not taken into account. Upon entering the facility if you do not eat well and do not follow the timetable, you may be stigmatized as a difficult old person who cannot adapt.
   
The moment they enter a nursing home, the elderly feel depressed because they think their children have abandoned them. An old person who wants to live alone in a harsh environment says: "Even if I have to live on kimchi, being able to eat when I want to eat, sleep when I want to sleep, and go where I want to go is the greatest freedom and happiness."
 
Elderly people say that the most unbearable pain is ‘loneliness’. There is no one to talk to, and even when there are those present to talk to, some feel guilty for wasting their time. In order to soothe loneliness, some of the elderly say that time is a pain because they go out into the empty parking lot and walk the same path over and over again.
 
According to the National Statistical Office, the average age is 83.5 years and the healthy life expectancy is 66.3 years. A healthy lifespan refers to the age at which a person can live a healthy life without the help of others. Subtracting the healthy lifespan from the average lifespan yields the result that 17 years must be lived with someone's help. Since 17 years, which is not short by any means, can come as a pain, material preparation for old age is important, and extending a healthy lifespan is more important than anything else.
 
Stress management and exercise are essential to extending a healthy lifespan. However, the elderly say that it is difficult to put down their impatience in worrying about their children and grandchildren. We know from experience that the more we worry, the habit just continues to grow. It is said that only 5% are things you need to worry about the other 95% are not. How many children will thank you for worrying about them? Most children want and hope that their parents will put their worries down and put them at ease.  
 
They say that the older you get, the more stubborn you become. Children complain that their parents do not listen to them no matter how much they try. When the Sister was growing up, she heard the saying: "If you listen to your parents, you will eat rice cakes even while sleeping," but as you get older, the children say: "If you listen to your children, you will grow old and strong." If your children buy you clothes, don't refuse them saying that you're old and don't have much time left to wear them, and accepting their children's affection will be one way to actively live your old age in peace.
 
She hopes you will put down the worries you have had all your life and enjoy the peace of old age.