ASIA/SOUTH KOREA - An action plan to put the encyclical Laudato Sì into practice: personal and community commitment

Seoul (Agenzia Fides) - Identify concrete measures to respond to climate change and redefine the active role of the Catholic community in implementing the proposals, indications and suggestions contained in the encyclical Laudato Sì: this is the path of the "Catholic Forum" which brought together environmental scholars, scientific journalists, Korean priests and religious in Seoul in recent days. The Forum, organized by "Signis Korea", promoted an exchange of ideas and explored, under the sign of realism, the possibilities and objective limits, also addressing the theme of the role of the media in dealing with climate issues. The assembly reconfirmed the perspective of the Catholic Church on environmental issues starting from the reference document, Laudato Sì, on the "care of the common home", which has been translated into Korean, is circulating in the dioceses and universities, and is the subject of study and reflection. Peter Soon-Taick Chung, OCD, Archbishop of Seoul, who attended the meeting, said: "A true ecological approach always becomes a social approach", noting with pleasure that Catholic media professionals and scholars were gathered to open a constructive debate. Archbishop Simon Hyun-jin Ok, Chairman of the Commission for Social Communications of the Korea Catholic Bishops' Conference, sent a message saying: "The Forum will help raise awareness of climate change in our society, providing our communities with the opportunity to respond promptly".
Participants reviewed efforts made so far to address climate and environmental issues, looking for alternative ways to increase the effectiveness of the policies adopted so far. The two keynote speeches were delivered by Ki-chul Oh, Secretary General of the Green Asia Network, on the theme "The Climate Crisis and the Catholic Church: Rediscovering Solutions", and by Rae kwon Chung, Former Ambassador of the Republic of Korea for climate change, on the theme "New climate order: the personal contribution". Ki-chul Oh emphasized the "community model". Not only is the individual approach necessary, he said, but the issue of problem solving should have a community approach, as various examples and good experiences demonstrate. Ambassador Chung emphasized the complementary nature of the two aspects: particular solutions to climate change must, on the one hand, be offered by government and companies but - he added - individuals and consumers cannot remain inactive. If citizens voluntarily decide to use renewable energy, a "virtuous social system" is built, which is the essence of a solution and can lead to the so-called "carbon neutrality" (see Fides, 1/6/2023). Citing the results of a recent survey, he said that 48% of Korean society members are willing to choose renewable energy even with an additional cost, and therefore people's will is a necessary step. which is happening. As a positive sign, the ambassador cited the increase in the number of people voluntarily paying green surcharges as part of the "Me First" movement to tackle the climate crisis. One of the points discussed was the role of the media in tackling the climate crisis. Often the media just creates a "sense of crisis about the climate crisis", the assembly noted. Reporter Joo-young Lee agreed on the need for the media to have a "sense of mission" for the future. Opinions and suggestions then focused on the role of the Catholic Church in addressing the climate crisis. Regarding the "community model" mentioned by Ki-chul Oh, it was agreed that paragraph 14 of Laudato Sì "could open up a bold and diverse path": in Korea, expectations are generally high regarding the cultural and social role of the Catholic Church. Faced with this, Father Dong-ho Park, priest and academic present, regretted a certain indifference of certain local communities on the issue of climate change, and presented the different teachings of the universal Church which show the urgency of direct involvement of the Catholic community in this area. The Church in Korea, he said, will continue to raise awareness, engage in education and cultural reflection, and implement “good practices” that can serve as an example to all communities. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 26/6/2023)

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