World Opinion and the Ukraine War

In the Catholic Peace Weekly of the Catholic Times, a Professor gives the readers his understanding of the direction of world opinion on the Ukraine War.

A year has passed since the Russian invasion broke out in Ukraine. As soon as the professor heard the news of the invasion on February 24 last year, a question came to mind. Just as North Korea's invasion of the South in 1950 intensified the Cold War confrontation, is Russia's invasion a turning point that ushers in a new Cold War order?  
 
In the face of the blatant threat of Russia, Europe has united around NATO. In particular, Sweden and Finland, which are geographically close to Russia, abandoned their military neutrality and pursued NATO accession. In the meantime, both countries have tried to ensure safety by not provoking Russia, but now the Russian threat is close, and concrete deterrence measures must be put in place.    `
 
However, it is still difficult to predict the arrival of a new Cold War. The situation is complex and fluid. China promised unlimited cooperation with Russia before the war broke out, but it cannot openly support or oppose Russia's war. A resolution condemning Russia was passed by an overwhelming majority of 143 countries at the UN Special General Assembly last October, but 35 countries, including China, India, and South Africa, abstained. Despite Western economic sanctions against Russia, not only China but also India continues to import Russian crude oil. Even the EU has not completely stopped importing Russian gas. In many developing countries, national debt, climate catastrophe, and the corona pandemic are much more urgent than the geopolitical upheaval following the Russian invasion.
 
The fate of Ukraine has become a weather vane for world order. A Russian victory would strengthen solidarity and authoritarianism with China, and China would consider invading Taiwan more seriously. Conversely, a victory in Ukraine would reaffirm the viability of the liberal order. Of course, there is the possibility of an ambiguous end to the war or a truce.
 
The future of war is still unpredictable. At the beginning of the war, Russia expected an easy victory with its mighty military power, but Ukraine's desperate resistance changed the situation. However, Russia is also stepping up its war readiness in earnest. While it is not known how long the war of attrition will continue. Western arms support is gradually expanding.
  

Korea criticized Russia's invasion right after the war broke out and agreed to the UN resolution. It has also participated in economic sanctions against Russia and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. However, in our society, the war in Ukraine is more like a “fire across the river.” A protest is being held in front of the Russian Embassy in Korea to condemn the Russian invasion, but public interest is low. In April of last year, Ukrainian President Zelensky held a video address at the National Assembly Library, but political interest and attendance were low.
 
Recently, military aid to Ukraine has emerged as a major diplomatic issue. Until now, the Korean government has drawn a line on direct arms support. However, as the NATO Secretary General who visited Korea at the end of January, urged in a special lecture, the international demand for active arms support is growing stronger. The West has high expectations for Korea, which has emerged as a favorite of the world's defense industry, amid some limitations in the ability to supply weapons to the United States and others. On the other hand, we need to be cautious as it could worsen relations with Russia and negatively affect our preparedness. The level of public interest in the war in Ukraine is also a key variable in policy making.
 
There are no easy answers to questions like arms support. However, the process of finding the answer is just as important as what the answer is. Since it is an issue at stake in the world order, an active discussion is needed. There may be discussions within the government, but social discussions are greatly lacking. Any policy has its pros and cons, but efforts to form social consensus will broaden the base of support for the policy and strengthen consistency.
 

Wise Use of ChatGPT

 

 In the Eyes of the  Believer Column  of the Catholic Times a parish priest gives the results of his use of ChatGPT website.

Not long ago, he opened the site which is emerging as a global topic, and waited for the results to his question in English: "Please write a sermon in Year A on the 1st Sunday of Lent."  In an instant, he was given a sermon that filled up a sheet of A4 paper.

 

He was able to get a proper sermon at once by using English. Content is quite logical and comprehensive,  but it felt flat with no depth and no concrete examples of life experiences. 

 

ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) conversational chatbot, is a service that generates answers to questions with a super-giant AI designed to think and judge like a human by learning large amounts of data. On November 30, 2022, within two months of its release, ChatGPT users are said to have exceeded 100 million.

 

The use of ChatGPT, which can be called 'an invention as important as the Internet', is limitless. First of all, ChatGPT provides the right answers to the right questions. It's like talking to a very knowledgeable person who is capable of answering whatever he/she is asked. It is also applied to creative activities in all fields such as papers, novels, and poetry.  

 

What effect does ChatGPT have on religion and religious life, and how can believers use it wisely? Believers who are accustomed to searching will now have the possiblity of going to ChatGPT about the Bible and doctrine. 

 

When he went searching on the internet, the sites were many and the information so extensive it was difficult to determine which one was appropriate, and it took a lot of time and effort to find the data. How convenient and time-saving now with the ChatGPT.

 

ChatGPT is also available for religious conversations and counseling. Of course, there is still no depth, so it is premature to expect it to serve as a professional counselor. 

 

Although ChatGPT can have a positive effect on faith, it has several problems and limitations. Like any other media, ChatGPT is addictive. A person who is exhausted by constant conversation with it can become a person  subject to it. For believers, addiction to ChatGPT will have the side effect of distancing from God. Also, ChatGPT is not a substitute for personal fellowship and dialogue with humans. It helps to form, maintain, and deepen human relationships, but it does not provide relational resources such as mutual understanding, empathy, and solidarity. In particular, ChatGPT is highly likely to become a tool for expanding and reproducing hatred, prejudice, and fake news, so there is a risk of deceiving others or destroying other people's lives.

 

No matter how good the technology, no matter how great the invention of mankind, there are always two sides. Whether ChatGPT will become a state-of-the-art technology that enhances human knowledge and experience, or a tower of Babel that crosses the realm of God with uncontrolled human desires, is ultimately up to humans.

 

ChatGPT is expected to have a tremendous ripple effect. The church will have to research and pay attention to it in depth from a policy point of view through theological and ethical analysis and interpretation. The Vatican has already announced the "Rome Declaration" for AI ethics in 2020.

 

The ethical use of AI as defined by the following principles:
1. Transparency: in principle, AI systems must be explainable;
2. Inclusion: the needs of all human beings must be taken into consideration so that everyone
can benefit and all individuals can be offered the best possible conditions to express
themselves and develop;
3. Responsibility: those who design and deploy the use of AI must proceed with responsibility
and transparency;
4. Impartiality: do not create or act according to bias, thus safeguarding fairness and human
dignity;
5. Reliability: AI systems must be able to work reliably;
6. Security and privacy: AI systems must work securely and respect the privacy of users.

Human Trafficking—Talitha Kum

 

Human trafficking is a crime that involves coercing a person to provide labor or services, or to engage in sex acts. It is the recruitment of people through force, fraud, and deception, with the aim of exploiting them for a profit of one kind or another and occurs in all the regions of the world. Men, women, and children of all ages and from all backgrounds can become victims of this crime.The traffickers use fake promises of education and job opportunities to trick and coerce their victims.
 

In the Catholic Peace Weekly a religious sister in her column: the Pastoral Work Place, gives the readers an example of what is meant by the crime of trafficking. She is a member of an international network of religious women who advocate for anti-trafficking in all its different forms [Talitha Kum].

People often ask her if there is human trafficking in Korea. The flip side of this question is to think of human trafficking as nothing more than the forcible dragging and selling of people by some evil persons. Also, one sees human trafficking as an event that happens to special people who have nothing to do with me. In fact, human trafficking occurs frequently in Korea which is very close to us.  

In 2020, 19-year-old Jeong-eun (pseudonym) gets to know from an acquaintance a 44 years old man who resides in Turkey. Mr. Lee, who lives abroad, and Ms. Eun Jeong, who works in Korea, became close through frequent video calls and casual chats. Mr. Lee looked at the writings of Ms. Jeong-eun, who dreamed of becoming a writer, and listened to her concerns at work. In the meantime, he says that if she comes to Turkey where he lives, he will look at her writings and help her become a writer.

The two met in Doha, Qatar on December 31, 2020, and went straight to Istanbul, Turkey due to Jung Eun's visa issue. When Jeong-eun arrives in Turkey, Lee's crime begins. Jeong-eun was imprisoned, threatened, and suffered physical damage such as bruises and fractures as a result of sexual assault and violence. On March 10, the owner of the accommodation saw Jung-eun's bruised and swollen face through the crack in the door. Lee was arrested and imprisoned by the local police. With the help of the consulate, Jeong-eun returned to Korea.

This case demonstrates that human traffickers set traps for exploitation across countries via internet chat rooms. In the gap where the thirst for communication and meeting has been amplified by the Corona 19 pandemic, human traffickers are reaching out with the sweet touch of temptation. We must keep people safe from the increasingly sophisticated traps of human trafficking. Solidarity to promote preventive education, protection of victims, and criminal prosecution of traffickers is the vision of the Talitha Kum ministry.

Asian Movement of Women Religious against Human Trafficking (AMRAT) Year of foundation: 2009 (Meaning: life giving water in Sanskrit) is a member of TALITHA KUM, The International Network of Consecrated Life Against Trafficking in Persons. The birth of AMRAT was in November 2009 in the First workshop held from 18-25 Novemeber 2009 at Raia, Goa, India. The Foundress Sr Jyoti was awakened to the heart rending realities of the modern day slavery – Human Trafficking when she represented the Union of International Superiors General (UISG) in Rome in 2007 and was inspired by "I have come that they may have life; life in its fullness"John 10:10. She then motivated other religious congregations especially of South Asian Countries to join hands to combat this heinous crime - Human Trafficking.

 

Solutions to War Mankind's Failure

 

In the Catholic Times' Eyes of the Believer Column, a director of a Theological Institute gives the readers some thoughts on war and what it does to all of us.

Last January, many people were surprised by the sudden rise in gas rates—the heating bomb— so she opened the bill nervously. Fortunately, thanks to turning on the boiler less, she was relieved to see it was just a little more than the same month of the previous year, but when compared to Jan. 2021 the gas cost increased by 36% when she used a similar amount.
 
In the news, the root cause of the skyrocketing heating bill this winter is the war that broke out on February 24, 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine. Russia, the world's second-largest producer of crude oil and natural gas, is using its energy resources as a weapon by cutting off natural gas supplies to Europe after unleashing a war.  
 
Korea mainly imports liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar and the US, so there has been no supply/demand problem. The warm weather continued in Europe, so we managed to survive this winter, but the International Energy Agency (IEA) warns that the energy situation after March this year cannot be guaranteed.
 
The energy problem is serious, the war in this region, a world-class granary, has exacerbated food shortages around the world. As the prices of gas, electricity, and food continue to rise, our lives are becoming more and more difficult. The tragedy of war in the faraway countries of Russia and Ukraine has a direct impact on our lives, and once again we realize how closely the global world is truly interconnected.
 
However, no matter how difficult we find it, there is no comparison to the suffering of those who are in the middle of a life-and-death war. According to the announcement of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on January 10, the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine reached 18,657, including 7,110 dead.
 
Russian and Ukrainian military casualties over the past year are estimated to be at least 100,000 each, so it's staggering how many lives are lost in these wars. What's even more terrible is that this war doesn't show signs of ending anytime soon, and many neighboring countries are beginning to focus more on war preparations by increasing defense spending, and there are even signs of escalating the war. Korea also increased its defense budget by 4.4% this year compared to last year, and there are growing concerns that it might be swept away by the winds of war.
 
In this year's 'World Day of Peace' statement, Pope Francis mentioned the reality that a vaccine for the Corona-19 virus that shook our daily lives was found, but the war virus still has not found a solution, not only the parties involved in this war but also mankind. 

In paragraph 261 of the Encyclical 「All Brothers」 published in 2020, Pope Francis also said:  "Every war leaves our world worse than it was before. War is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil. Let us not remain mired in theoretical discussions, but touch the wounded flesh of the victims. Let us look once more at all those civilians whose killing was considered 'collateral damage'. Let us ask the victims themselves. Let us think of the refugees and displaced, those who suffered the effects of atomic radiation or chemical attacks, the mothers who lost their children, and the boys and girls maimed or deprived of their childhood. Let us hear the true stories of these victims of violence, look at reality through their eyes, and listen with an open heart to the stories they tell. In this way, we will be able to grasp the abyss of evil at the heart of war. Nor will it trouble us to be deemed naive for choosing peace."

The words of the  Gospel: "Love your enemies" (Matthew 5:44), may sound like naive ideals in the context of the complex international political order, but those who look more deeply into the misery of wars taking place around the world today and those that suffer from them, the way of peace is brotherly love and nothing will take its place.

Specifications And Jobs

During the summer, the apple farmers sweat cultivating their orchards. So begins the Peace column in the Catholic Peace Weekly by a entrepreneur now retired.

Fully grown apples fall to the ground with the fierce  autumn  winds. Even when they fall and  are scuffed the farmer knows how sweet and delicious they are no matter the scars they have on the outside.  However, regardless of the farmer's efforts, people pay more for an apple with a a good looking surface.

Are we like that too? Is it not true that they give more generous marks to people who look good on the outside, and on the other hand, are there not many  trying hard to have the kind of look that will be easily chosen.

Even with one or two scars, an apple grows as sweet and full with the efforts expended by the farmers.  Most importantly, apples vary depending on how well they receive the benefits of nature. It is said that the sugar content is determined by how much sunlight it receives. Even if it has flaws on the outside, it is sweet when it receives a lot of sunlight. Even if it is smooth and flawless, an apple that has not been properly exposed to sunlight is not sweet. 

I think that specs determine everything, to have a good apple to look at, will in most cases determine everything. One of the things the writer regrets after leaving the world of business is giving too much importance to specs in the recruitment process.  

There were often more than 10,000 applicants to select a few hundred, so in the end, the first selection is based on specifications from the screening of the documents. He can explain this situation with all kinds of excuses, but if he  made up his mind to find other ways he could have done so but he feels regret that he just took it as a matter of course and didn't change. Looking back, in the end, what really mattered was to find out how good the apple was, without tasting it.

You may say that you are comfortable in a world where it is difficult to find a job these days, and your personality has nothing to do with how others view or evaluate you. Even if others see you as a scared apple, at least when you stand in front of a mirror, being open  and confident depends on how ripe your apple is inside.  

The word of God is like sunlight. If I received a lot of blessings and felt confident that I was a well-grown apple, I would be freer from the  evaluations of others.  Then, in the end, because of that attitude you would have a better chance of getting a good evaluation. Just as the sun shines on an apple, it is only natural that when a person realizes and feels that he is in God's arms, his inner self matures more fully. The problem is that even if you think about inner faithfulness like this, the opportunity itself is fundamentally blocked because of the specifications. In particular, because of the company's selection method and the absolute number of jobs being insufficient, it feels like the qualifications have become a ticket gate to the future of young people.

However, there was a survey by 'Job Korea' that found that even if you were selected to join the company after building specs, the average turnover rate after one year was 70%. Both those who build up specs and those who choose people by immersing themselves in those specs eventually face the truth only after tasting the apple. 

However, the world eventually changes with its natural flow. As the problem of building qualifications and disappointment in the jobs offered by companies continue, it is clear that it will become a natural trend for young people to make other choices. Whether starting a business or self-employment, the trend to step into the world as a non-regular worker, which is relatively easy, is bound to intensify.

No matter the flow of society what is important is how mature and ripe, like the apple I am, and I who am the farmer how do I evaluate what I see? I think about that every time I look in the mirror. "Hey farmer! Am I a delicious apple grown in God's sun?"

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."