Removal of Shoes and Holiness

The columnist in the Catholic Peace Weekly on matters of Faith gives the readers some thoughts on the removal of shoes and holiness.

We live in an age where religion has little influence on our daily lives. As a result, we are insensitive to the sacred and the holy. Nevertheless, they are present everywhere in human life. Where can we find them today?

He finds an interesting clue in ‘taking off shoes’— In Korean culture, it's something everybody does when entering a house. It means more than simply taking off shoes to enter a house doesn't it?

The ‘Final Document of the Asian Continental Assembly’ was published in March last year during the ongoing 16th World Synod of Bishops, and the document used the expression ‘taking off shoes’ to describe synodalitas. The document noted that Asians have a common practice of taking off shoes when entering a house or a temple, and stated that it is a beautiful sign of respect, an expression of awareness of the lives of those entering, and an expression of a deep awareness of the sacred. 

It also means taking off your protective self and revealing your naked self. This applies not only to temples but also to most places where you enter without shoes. For example, entering someone else’s home is an expression of respect for that home and an awareness of its holiness. It is also a friendly response to the invitation and hospitality of the person living in that home.

He remembered the annual meeting of the Theological Commission (OTC) of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) in Malaysia last May. In the middle of the meeting, our group was invited to a Thanksgiving festival in a community called Bunan. We arrived at the village and were led across the street with a band to the ‘long house’ where they lived. We took off our shoes to enter the longhouse, put on the necklaces they gave us and greeted each person one by one.

After the ceremony and greeting, we were accepted into the community. We participated in the festival with them and shared the food that was prepared. Their festival and food were imbued with holiness, and the liveliness of life was mixed everywhere in the house. For us, taking off our shoes meant being accepted into the community where they live, and sharing our lives as members of the community. 

At the Diocesan Catholic University Seminary, we conduct home visits during the winter break.  What we feel every time we visit a home is that all homes are sacred. This is because they are places of life that cannot be treated lightly and must be respected. The reason why homes are sacred is because they are places where life is conceived, born, and raised. 

We must take off our shoes to enter. We must also take off our shoes when accompanying students who were born and raised there as a sign of the student’s sacredness. Taking off our shoes means treating each other as individuals, and living with the heart to respect, learn from, and be together with each other. It also means taking off our 'ornaments' and facing the other person with our naked appearance.

If people today have lost their sense of holiness and lost the way to treat people as holy, how about learning how to take off our shoes? If we learn how to respect holy places, how to approach holy places, and especially how to elevate, serve, and protect the mysterious and holy beings called humans as truly holy beings, wouldn’t our faith grow in holiness day by day?

Korean Catholicism Looks At Confucianism

Can Confucianism, which emphasizes the real world, be understood as a religion? The Catholic Peace Weekly used the literature of the Committee for Chuch Unity and Inter-Religious Dialogue from the Bishops' Conference of Korea to help us understand the issue.

“The Church pays homage to the many moral values ​​contained in other religions and to the potential for a spiritual life that profoundly influences the traditions and cultures of entire societies.” (Discourse to the Peoples of Asia by Saint John Paul II, February 21, 1981)

The meaning of the Chinese character for religion (宗敎) is primary teaching. Confucianism can be understood as a religion in that it places the teachings of Confucius first.

However, if we ask whether Confucianism corresponds to the Western concept of religion— it is not easy to affirm this. The Western idea of religion requires objects of worship, rituals, a system of doctrines, and organization, and it is difficult to see Confucianism as satisfying all of these conditions.

Confucianism also corresponds to the universal definition of religion: it is a human endeavor and aspiration toward ultimate reality. The fundamental spirit of Confucianism is ultimately to follow the will of Heaven in human life. In this respect, some points in Confucianism can be compared to the religious practices of Christianity.

Does Confucianism have objects of faith and worship and religious rituals?

“Asia is a continent where spirituality is highly respected and where religious sensibilities are deeply engraved....” (Address to the Peoples of Asia by Saint John Paul II, February 21, 1981)

Even if it does not conform to the Western concept of religion, Confucianistic ways are practiced with absolute belief. Confucianism's highest absolute being is ‘Cheon’ (天) (heaven). Originally, Cheon was a character with a single line drawn over the icon  ‘대’ (big) (大) that represents a figure, meaning ‘the sky that looks down on humans from above’, i.e. the supreme and incomparable being.

The title that personally expresses this heaven is 'Sangje' or 'Shangdi'(上帝). In Korean, ‘Cheon’ corresponds to ‘heaven’ and Shangdi (should be translated as "Highest Deity", but also has the implied meaning of "Primordial Deity" or "First Deity" in Classical Chinese).

These are the most commonly used names of absolute beings in Confucian scriptures and traditions. Heaven and Shangdi are the origin of all things, objects of reverence, sacrifice, and prayer, and are intelligent beings with will and emotions, the masters of rewarding good and punishing evil, and the supreme gods who give and take the mandate of heaven to humans. Humans look up to Heaven and Shangdi and revere him (敬天). There are also rituals to show respect for Confucius. In Confucianism, Confucius is not considered a divine being or an object of faith like Jesus Christ, but rather a saint or sage, and is revered as an ethical teacher.

Name for  ‘God’ in Korean—

“Developing ecclesial communities will be able to gradually express their Christian experience in original ways and forms, by the objective demands of faith and in keeping with their own cultural traditions, in the spirit of the Gospel.” (Redemptoris Missio, n. 53)

The Jesuits played an important role in the process of spreading Catholicism to the East. Saint Francis Xavier (1506-1552), a founding member of the Society of Jesus, went to India and began missionary work in Japan in 1549 but died before being able to do missionary work in China. Matteo Ricci (1552-1610), who arrived in China in 1583, realized the dream of Francis Xavier as a Jesuit and actively carried out Christian missionary work using Chinese culture, writing “The Reality of the Lord of Heaven” (天主實義). This book, which was introduced to Joseon (Korea), was read by the aristocratic class and played a major role in the birth of Korean Catholicism.

In Confucianism, Heaven was originally called Shangdi and was revered as a personal absolute being, but in the late 16th century, Neo-Confucianism was mainstream in China. Unlike classical Confucianism before the Spring and Autumn Period and Warring States Period (before the 8th century BC), Neo-Confucianism was influenced by Taoism and Buddhism and had an atheistic tendency, so people at the time understood Heaven as an impersonal law of nature.

Matteo Ricci, in an attempt to introduce the personal God of Christianity to the Chinese, created the term ‘Cheonju’, meaning the ruler of all things in heaven and earth, while setting the Heaven (天) that they revere as the master or ruler (主). He also emphasized that Heaven and Shangdi, which appear in Confucian scriptures, are the same beings as the God of Christianity, Cheonju.

The expression ‘Cheonju’ for God and the  ‘Catholic Church’ has continued to this day within Catholicism. The Catholic Church is also called the  ‘Cheonju’ Church.

Need For Angels in Society!

The Catholic Website Here/Now has an article with a reminiscence of the past from a retired priest who wants us to be more angelic in our life here on earth.

In the past, school teachers were in charge of both day and night shifts. A common sight on Sundays in spring when they were on duty was a middle-aged woman sitting alone on a bench under a tree at the end of a playground. A woman in a well-dressed outfit and a hat with a brim, looking out over the playground and the classrooms beyond... 

Looking at such a scene, teachers could be imaged saying: 'Spring has come! Just as spring is said to be the women's season, when the vitality of spring arrives, one feels the urge to escape from the repetitive daily grind and return to the dream-filled days of the past. Of course, it's a short trip but an escape.

When autumn comes, men often go to the movies alone and drink alone at a food stall or a bar. Fall approaches with melancholy and a feeling of loneliness. That too is a runaway. It may have been only a few hours, but where does life go? His state of mind as he sighs and drinks a glass of alcohol is ultimately running away.

However, running away from home in his teens was not like that. He ran away from home when he was a teenager. He returned after a week. He was 17 years old, burdened by the guilt of being nothing more than a worthless human being. He wanted to throw away his useless existence, so he left home without a plan. 

On Christmas Eve in December, he went north from Busan Station on the railroad line in the city. He was going to a place where he would be cold and hungry, and where he had no one to ask for help. But when he got off at dawn with a ticket bought with all the money he had, he found himself in a desolate small station with a bleak landscape and biting cold weather. Moreover, the reality of hunger made him think only of returning home as the days passed.

No money in his pocket. From then on, he began the journey of struggling to return home. Surprisingly, many people appeared like angels and offered a helping hand. As he returned home after barely a week, he couldn’t help but think of the angels who helped him without asking or saying a word. He was truly grateful to these angels. 

When he returned home, he stopped at the church before going home and offered a prayer of thanks to God.  God silently accompanied him by the angels he met. He also had this vague realization— The core of the problem was not to compare himself to others, but to love and care for himself as he was…

So he wants to say this to all the teenagers wandering the streets or thinking of doing so to listen to his story. If you want to run away in a cool way. There are many reasons for running away, so he doesn't want to pretend to know them or fail to sympathize with reasons that go beyond imagination, but if you want to run away in a cool way and gain new strength to live a cool life in the world, then you want to face the difficulties as a God-given challenge and with courage. without running away.

Truly, runaway teenagers need many angels to stand with them. The moment they leave their homes and schools, what they need immediately is the hand of an angel. These angels are needed to lead them to the well of water and guide them to the light, so they do not fall for the many temptations all around. What if we reach out to the youth and say: "If you dream of running away, listen to my story and have hope to face the future."

"Do not cast me off in the time of old age" (Ps.71:9)

 

The Catholic Peace Weekly in an article on Ageism shows why it is a topic society can no longer ignore.  Interpersonal ageism takes place between individuals, towards yourself and your age group, and when social norms, practices, and rules are unfair to the elders in society it is institutionalized.

As Korea enters an aging society, the label ‘gerontophobia’ has emerged. This grows from ‘conflicts with the elderly’ and ‘discrimination against the elderly’ that occur throughout society as we enter a super-aging society next year. Expressions of gerontophobia are being used excessively online, and gerontophobia is happening daily. Just look at the recent series of accidents involving elderly drivers, and the criticism of the elderly.

In his message for the 4th World Day of Grandparents and Elderly, Pope Francis said: "The accusation that the elderly ‘steal the future of the young’ exists everywhere these days, the unfounded prejudices continue to fuel the conflict between the young and the old." He urged us to have open hearts and happy faces toward the elderly. In celebration of the ‘World Day of Grandparents and Elderly', the article looked into the problem of gerontophobia in society.

Inconvenient Beings—

The article gives the example of a young office worker who was approached by an old man as she went home on the subway feeling tired and reminded by the elder: "I am an old man who has to stand but a young person sits— is this appropriate?" This seat was not for the elderly, she gave up her seat but did not understand the old man's request. Another old man pushed her away as she was getting out of the train. It was an especially difficult commute home for her. 

Another example was a 30-year-old office worker, who recently felt uncomfortable after visiting a cafe with her colleagues after lunch. After ordering drinks and sitting down to wait, old people came into the cafe. The old people seemed to be friends. They not only spoke to the cafe staff rudely but also asked for understanding.  Even after the old people sat down, she continued to feel uncomfortable. They laughed and talked loudly, completely disregarding the people around them. In the end, she and her friends had to leave their seats.

According to the National Human Rights Commission of Korea's Comprehensive Report on Elderly Human Rights (2018), 80% of young people have negative prejudices against the elderly. The reasons for this are changes in perception between generations due to changes in social structure and an increase in the economic burden of support due to the increase in the elderly population. According to the survey of the Presidential Committee on Low Birth Rate and Aging Society (2021), Korea's level of discrimination against the elderly ranked second among 15 OECD countries.

Recently, as the number of elderly people aged 65 or older in Korea exceeded 10 million for the first time, voices of concern about discrimination and hatred against the elderly are growing louder.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, as of July 10, the number of registered residents aged 65 or older reached 10,006,200, exceeding 10,000,000 for the first time ever. This is 19.51% of the total registered population of 51,269,012, meaning that one in five people is aged 65 or older. Next year, the elderly population will exceed 20% of the total, entering a “super-aging society.” As the elderly population increases, conflicts between generations will gradually intensify, and as the economic burden of supporting the elderly increases, discrimination and hatred will also intensify.

In reality, there are quite a few elderly people who are hurt by the words, actions, and uncomfortable stares of others.

A university professor in the Department of Social Welfare said: "Compared to other countries, discrimination and hatred against the elderly in our country are serious. The younger generation tends to view the elderly as unproductive in economic activity, so discrimination and hatred against the elderly seem to be more prominent."

A religious sister working with the elderly said: “When I counsel elderly abuse cases, I often see children viewing their parents as 'unhelpful beings'. Discrimination against and hatred for the elderly often starts at home. The tendency to view slow and unproductive elderly people as unnecessary in our society is fostering discrimination and hatred.”

The professor emphasized: “We need to make an effort to understand what kind of life we ​​have lived and what kind of life we ​​are living now. It is important to acknowledge the differences between generations.  Elderly people need to think about what role they can play for young people, and young people need to think about what role they can play for old people. Education to understand the differences between generations from a young age should be carried out at home, school, and in society, and the media should also sufficiently inform this awareness.”

The Sister concluded: "It is a wrong perspective to distinguish between the elderly as unnecessary and the young as needing protection.  Instead of looking for each other’s shortcomings and confronting each other, our society should highlight each other’s strengths and roles and strive to act accordingly. I hope the elderly can show their generosity by sharing their experiences."

What Needs to Change?

In the Catholic Times, a lay missioner working within the Korean military gives us his thoughts on the young people and the empty pews they no longer frequent.

Many thoughts arise when he looks at an empty church without young people. With interest, he considers the pastoral considerations and efforts to call young people to the church or keep them from leaving. He wants to make a few suggestions based on his experience of 15 years of providing catechetical education for new believers and re-education of parishioners, special forces, soldiers, officers, and military families at the Military Ordinariate.

Some people refer to today's young people as a 'fragmented individualistic generation' that seeks "what works and pleasure" and say they are experiencing a serious "post-religious phenomenon." Is this true? 

Near the church in the Military Ordinariate where he works, there is a Protestant church and a Buddhist temple beside each other. In the case of trainees, more than 120 people attend the Protestant church during Sunday service, about 80 attend the temple, and about 20 attend the Catholic Church. Compared to 15 years ago, when he started his military mission work, there was not much difference in the numbers; today, the number of people attending Mass at church has decreased significantly.

Why is that? These days, young people are interested in social order changes related to equal opportunity and inequality, the climate crisis, sustainable future communities, and the common good. This means they have retained their religious faith. So why are they absent from Mass? In rare cases, there are cases where they feel the solemnity and holiness of Mass and decide to receive Baptism themselves. However, many young people think that Mass is boring, uncomfortable, and just a religious ceremony that has nothing to do with their lives. He doesn't see them experiencing salvation from the Lord.

The core of the faith of Resurrection is that everything is 'renewed' every day. "I prefer a church that is hurt, wounded, and defiled by going out on the streets rather than a church that is closed off and unhealthy, only caring about its comfort. I do not want a church that is desperate to be the center but caught up in a web of obsession and procedures. If something truly disturbs us and torments our conscience, it is because so many of our brothers and sisters live without strength, without the comfort and light of communion with Jesus Christ." (Evangelii Gaudium, 49)

This is the 'new wine' Pope Francis gave us ten years ago. However, ten years later, we are still stuck in the 'old wineskins' of volatile self-centeredness, cafeteria faith for self-satisfaction, and obligatory Sunday attendance at Mass. If we cannot experience the fullness of grace by breaking away from 'the old way' and the church cannot reverse its decline and restore its dynamism, shouldn't we be looking for new wine?

Many young people say that they always feel sidelined in the church and that the church is not willing to listen to their problems, which is why they turn away. Instead of teaching and demanding, there is a need for an attitude of learning and acceptance, creating space for them to participate. Therefore, we must also ask the young people: Can you not make suggestions? Can you demand your own space? Have you tried? If you try and it doesn't work, then you can leave. I want to see young people who find their role as church owners.

Young people! If you think you will share, care, and sacrifice after you have received something, the opportunity will never come. Just as 3% of salt makes the entire sea water salty, love this moment and be the salt within the church!

Difference Between Dialogue and Discussion

The attitude of listening and dialogue requested in the Synod process is 'being more open to the voices of those who think differently from us, as well as those we tend to easily ignore and exclude'. It is difficult to accept that we should listen to those we do not want to talk to. This is the kind of preparation given by the Catholic papers, magazines, and news reports within the teaching Church.

“Strong and well-written phrases can attract consumers’ attention, but they are not enough to lead them to purchase.” We can make people accept the importance of listening, but it seems that some preparation is needed to become a Synod that willingly listens to and talks with even those with whom we have uncomfortable relationships.

Our relationships with others improve through listening. It would be good to gradually learn the skill of listening, but first, listen to other people’s stories with sincerity. When the other person feels that they are sincerely listening to my voice, their attitude toward me changes. At some point, you will feel that the other person’s voice toward you has become softer. Experience the power of listening. Listening is not just hearing what the other person says, but also examining what the other person is trying to convey even though they haven’t expressed it in words, and giving feedback to the other person.

Even if we have something we need, it takes some time and effort to become accustomed to it. For example, people want to lose weight. So they choose extreme weight loss methods, but it seems that they rarely succeed. People who have confidence in weight management by reducing overeating and increasing exercise time regularly seem to be relatively more successful. The same goes for listening. As you accumulate daily experiences of listening, you gain the power to willingly listen to even the most difficult words of the other person.

The article from which these words were taken mentioned a writer who began practicing listening and started a new life by improving his relationships with people around him. He listened to the stories of people around him and responded to them, and could feel his attitude toward himself changing, and the author confesses that this change became the starting point for living his life actively.

Listening is more than just hearing. It requires patience and effort to focus on the other person’s voice. Even if you make an effort to listen, it is difficult to continue listening if the other person shows a wary attitude toward you. Nevertheless, Synod emphasizes conversations of listening that sincerely listen to the other person’s story. Synod’s demand that we listen to the voices of even those we want to ignore and exclude seems unrealistic. However, if the change in relationships that occurs through listening is helpful not only to the other person but also to ourselves, it is definitely worth trying. 

A help in doing this is to remember the difference often heard between dialogue and discussion. Dialogue means using your ears as much as your mouth, asking questions to learn, agreeing with what you can, discovering the similar and common values you have, and expressing emotions to help to understand. Discussion may often mean debate—giving answers, wanting to be right and win over the other, and seeing it as competition and not a means to seek the truth but looking only for the points of conflict and not valuing the other as a person of dignity. 

Let us remember the theme of the Synod— "For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission."

Defectors from North Korea

Over the years we heard a lot about defectors from  North Korea to South Korea. Below is a summary of some of the news that the Catholic papers have covered over the recent past on those who have come from the North.

As of 2023, there are approximately 34,000 North Korean defectors who have settled in South Korea. When defectors come to Korea they go to the North Korean Defector Settlement Support Office operated by the Ministry of Unification commonly called Hanawon.

Here, they are introduced to Korean society and are trained for jobs. It is a place all defectors must go, a second home to them. To write this article they met with the Hanawon Director to discuss Hanawon’s work and role, the characteristics of recent North Korean defectors entering the country, and ways to strengthen cooperation with religious organizations to ensure the emotional stability of North Korean defectors.

According to the Ministry of Unification, 196 North Korean defectors entered South Korea last year. This is three times the number in 2021 (63 people) and 2022 (67 people), during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were also two cases of defection by sea, which had not occurred in the previous three years. By gender, women accounted for the majority at 164. In particular, more than half of those entering the country, 99 people, were in their 20s and 30s. 70% of defectors came from the provinces, bordering North Korea and China. 

The Director said: "Recently, more people defected because they dreamed of a better future rather than because of hunger. In the past, the main reasons for defecting were hunger and economic hardship. Then came dissatisfaction with the political system and a yearning for freedom.  However, now the main reasons for defecting have changed to a better future and an improved quality of life, such as children’s education. They want to live in a freer world."

"This change is largely influenced by South Korean broadcasts and TV dramas, K-pop, etc. Many of the people who come to Hanawon now have some knowledge of South Korean society.  Just looking at the fact that North Korea has recently greatly strengthened its laws to crack down on the (Korean Wave), it shows that the yearning for South Korea is growing in North Korean society and that it is becoming a threat to the system."

When North Korean defectors come to South Korea, they are investigated by the National Intelligence Service and then transferred to Hanawon. Here, they receive 12 weeks of adaptation training before entering South Korean society. They learn what is necessary for living in Korea. 

"Defectors think of Hanawon as their second home, they really felt like they were on a picnic. They invited defectors who were physically disabled or financially struggling. Everyone was very touched. Many people said they wanted to hold such events more often."

The director said: "The number of North Korean defectors who entered South Korea in the first half of this year exceeded 100, and although North Korea is increasing sanctions such as border control, he expects the number of people entering this year to increase by about 30% compared to last year."

Religious events play an important role in the Hanawon educational program. The director said: "For North Korean defectors to settle down in society not only material support but also emotional stability is very necessary. Religious events provide psychological and emotional stability to North Korean defectors.  On Sunday mornings, four major religious events are held: Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, and Won-Buddhist."

The director especially praised the Korean family experience event for North Korean defectors in which the Catholic Church participates. Currently, the Catholic Church is holding family experience events in the Suwon Diocese and the Archdiocese of Seoul. "Among our programs, there is one called ‘Family Culture Experience.’ It is designed to enhance the understanding of our culture and market by allowing North Korean defectors to come into contact with ordinary citizens, share feelings, experience real family life, and engage in shopping activities with volunteers. They eat, sleep, and live in (volunteer) homes for one night and two days, and see how each family lives. The Catholic Church proposed this and connects many with (volunteer) homes. It is a significant experience for many North Korean defectors to feel the warmth of our society during the initial settlement process."

The director said, "Many defectors have no ties to South Korea, so they still have a hard time adjusting to society. We will continue to find ways to strengthen cooperation with religious circles."

The Director stated: "I will continue to do my best to help North Korean defectors settle well into Korean society. During the recent North Korean Defectors’ Day event, the president talked about settlement, capacity, and harmony for North Korean defectors. It’s all related to Hanawon. We are providing education related to the initial settlement of North Korean defectors, and we are doing the initial preparation stage to help them get a good job. Lastly, harmony is about being able to leave Hanawon and live better with our people, and education at Hanawon ultimately plays an important role in this as well." 

Defectors are a large group working for the unification of the Country.