Japan Catholic News
July 2008
"Nippon Notes" by William Grimm
NEW MISSION TO THE GLOBALIZED BECKONS AS PAULINE
YEAR BEGINS
UCA News
TOKYO (UCAN) -- June 28 marks the beginning of the Pauline Year
celebrating the second millennial anniversary of Saint Paul's birth.
Of course, we do not know exactly when Paul was born, but the presumption
seems to be that celebrating it in 2008-9 will be close enough
and may actually include his actual 2,000th birthday. Paul, though
a great quibbler in life, will probably not complain.
The main activity of the Pauline Year will probably be a rerun
of the hoopla that surrounded the Great Jubilee Year 2000. Remember
that? Even three years before it happened, every document or talk
produced by a hierarch finished with a peroration linking whatever
he had said with the jubilee. Often, the links were rather hard
to perceive.
In any case, most people were too concerned about their day-to-day
affairs or fears of Y2K wiping out the programs and data in their
computers to pay heed. The year 2000 came and went with neither
a new birth of fervor in the Church nor the collapse of the world's
computers.
So, should we simply leave the Pauline Year to bishops who want
to prove to the "head office" that they are "on
message" by adding an obligatory paragraph of Pauline praise
when they speak or write?
We could, but we could also use the Pauline Year as an opportunity
to take a close look at a man whom Catholics tend to overlook except
when we are looking for proof texts. In many ways, we have let
Paul become a Protestant saint. After all, the Reformation began
when Martin Luther tried to approach Paul's theology without scholastic
presuppositions.
Saint Paul may, in fact, have something to offer our age, something
he might not have had even 100 years ago. Paul can be the Apostle
to the Globalized.
There have been, perhaps, three periods in history when the Church
was called upon to evangelize in a globalized world.
The first was the age in which Saint Paul lived. People living
in the Mediterranean basin two thousand years ago were only vaguely
aware of the existence of China and India "out where the sun
rose" (the likely origin of the word "Asia"). Even
much of Northern and Western Europe was outside the scope of people's
knowledge or concern. However, throughout the world as they understood
it, there was globalization. The Greek and Latin languages, an
international transportation and communication system of roads
and Roman economic, political and military power tied people together
throughout that world.
That globalization allowed Saint Paul to travel freely from place
to place and ensured that when he arrived anywhere, people would
understand his speech. And, in fact, he apparently stayed within
that globalized culture. There is a tradition that he went outside
that world to Spain, but also that he soon returned to Rome, presumably
because of the difficulties he faced in a foreign language and
culture.
That global world where Christianity was born and matured ended
when the Roman Empire fell due to internal weakness and external
invasion.
The next globalized world, still centered on Europe and lacking
parts of the empire that had become Islamic, was that of the Middle
Ages. Once again, a language, Latin, made possible the movement
of people and ideas. Thus it was that Saint Anselm, the Italian
abbot of a French monastery, could become archbishop of Canterbury
in England. In place of the political power of the Roman Empire,
the religious power of the Catholic Church provided a unifying
identity for people of various political entities.
The period saw a flowering of theology, the development of the
Scholasticism fathered by Anselm. That global age, too, eventually
came to an end, brought about by internal corruption in the Church
and external forces of nationalism and the Reformation.
Now, we are in the early stages of a third globalization, this
time one that truly includes the entire world. The English language
serves as a lingua franca for much of this world, but even more,
American-dominated popular culture provides links among people,
especially the young, who may not in fact know that language. Multinational
corporations and organizations, and the ever-evolving means of
electronic communication provide some of the "glue" that
empire and Church once provided.
Like it or not, this is the age in which we live today and in which
the Church will probably live for generations, if not centuries.
What has Saint Paul to offer us in evangelizing this world?
Paul wrote in the unifying language of his age, Greek. He used
the philosophic and cultural presuppositions of his audience to
express the truth of Jesus Christ. He ignored geographic and cultural
limits on that proclamation, making use of Roman roads and seafaring
technology to carry the Good News.
That is Saint Paul's challenge in this Pauline Year and beyond.
Is a Church that often seems nostalgic for the second globalization
ready to follow Paul's example in the third? Are we willing to
invest the personnel and resources to really speak the language
of this world? Are we willing to adapt our language and concepts
to make them understandable to our neighbors? Are we ready to imitate
Saint Paul in going throughout our own globalized world proclaiming
Jesus Christ, and him crucified?
That is not something for a single year. However, this single Pauline
Year can be an opportunity to commit ourselves to be a Church that
is an Apostle to the Globalized.
Maryknoll Father William Grimm
is the editor-in-chief of Katorikku Shimbun, Japan's Catholic
weekly.
Opinions expressed in this column are those of the writer and do not represent
the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan.
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OKINAWA CATHOLICS MARK BATTLE ANNIVERSARY
WITH PILGRIMAGE
Catholic Weekly, July 6, 2008
 Some 300 people took part in the Naha diocese's 22nd Catholic Peace
Pilgrimage on June 23, the anniversary of the end of organized
Japanese resistance in the 1945 Battle of Okinawa.
The program began with a six o'clock morning Mass at Oroku Church
in Naha city, where Naha Bishop Emeritus Tadamaro Ishigami led
80 people in prayer before starting the pilgrimage to the Konpaku
no To (tower of the spirits) in Itoman city.
In his homily, Capuchin Franciscan Father LaSalle Parsons exhorted
the congregation, saying, "We are lamenting that little has
been achieved in 63 years. How long must we wait? Jesus urges us
to act now. Let's work for peace."
Along the 16-kilometer route to the memorial, meetings were held
at three places where, after listening to accounts of individual
war experiences, participants took time to offer prayers. The pilgrims
increased to about 300 by the end of the four-hour walk as many
joined on the way to Konpaku no To, a site where local people gathered
and laid the remains of more than 35,000 war victims that had been
forsaken there.
A message of Naha's Bishop Toshio Oshikawa, who was in Brazil attending
commemorative events marking the100th anniversary of Japanese emigration
to Brazil, was read.
The bishop's message said, "May our prayers today renew us
toward making further steps forward to the world's true peace."
Yu Oshikawa and Jurina Higa, students of Okinawa Catholic Junior
and Senior High school in Ginowan City, proclaimed peace appeals
in front of the Tower. Higa expressed a resolution to tell what
she had learned from the pilgrimage to people who did not know
about the Battle of Okinawa yet as well as to those who would be
born from now on.
Participants were obviously aging and decreasing in number compared
to previous years. However, a notable number of participants came
from outside of Okinawa. Saneiki Tanaka who came from Hokkaido's
Obihiro Church with his university friend said, "This was
our first visit to Okinawa. To be honest, we are shocked by the
atrocities of war and the terror of mass suicides. I feel now we
shouldn't overlook such tragedies. We want all Hokkaido to know
of them."
Chiharu Yuhara from the Okayama Church of the Hiroshima Diocese
spoke of the possibility of uniting the peace movements of Hiroshima,
Nagasaki and Okinawa for joint action. She stressed that though
it was important to pray for the repose of the victims, it was
more important to raise a louder voice for peace on behalf of the
living silent majority.
Kei Arata, a 19-year-old parishioner of the Shuri Church in Naha
city, explained, "My grandparent hate to talk about the war,
because they have to recall their inextinguishable sorrows. Annual
pilgrimages, therefore, are a good chance for me to learn about
Okinawa's past."
LAITY IN TAKAMATSU FIND INSPIRATION, PROBLEMS
IN NEOCATECHUMENAL WAY
Catholic Weekly, July 13, 2008
Though some 30 years have elapsed since the Neocatechumenal Way
(Way) first arrived in the Takamatsu diocese, the movement and
its activities remain largely unknown among Catholics in Japan.
This article, the conclusion of a two-part series, presents the
Way as seen by those who have encountered the group over the years.
Unfortunately, repeated attempts to interview current members of
the group were rebuffed.
After years of involvement in the Legion of Mary, Cursillo and
other movements, Hisako Ino, a parishioner of the Imabari Church
in Ehime prefecture, became involved with the Way in 1990. She
continued her involvement for 10 years. Since the Way had been
recommended by their pastor, the majority of parishioners, except
for those whose work kept them too busy to participate, took part
in the activities of the Way.
Like others, Ino joined half-day evening gatherings and a Saturday
evening Mass.
"Until then, I listened to the Word of God in snatches, but
what I learned through the Way's 'salvation history' approach became
the path of my faith," she said, evaluating her time with
the movement.
Meetings were held at the homes of members, and every few months
there was an overnight gathering.
Ino commented, "When you include preparation time, we would
meet three or four times a week. We were that dedicated. We read
the Scriptures and listened to the sermons. There are still some
people who carry that on."
However, some people complain that with meetings taking up several
evenings each week, the children of Way members wound up sacrificing
time spent with their parents.
Some meetings were held far from home at hotels, and members were
expected to cover the costs.
Ino said, "Each time I paid out about ¥100,000."
As members advanced through the different levels of membership,
they were expected to make financial contributions.
"I was told to sell things and give the money to the Way," said
Ino.
In 1999, she was at a gathering where the group read the story
in Mark's Gospel of the rich young man whom Jesus told to sell
his goods. After reading the passage, each person was called upon
and asked, "Will you give up all your possessions?" Ino
replied that she was willing to give up whatever she and her husband
would agree to, but not all. At the next day's meeting, she was
told, "You Inos should no longer come." That marked the
end of her involvement.
Looking back, Ino said, "I had heard there are many stages
(of membership), and if you ever fell, well...."
The Way has "Itinerant Catechists" and "Families
in Mission," lay people who travel away from their home community
on behalf of the Way. There are some in Japan. Ino wonders if these
people have given up all their possessions.
The Families in Mission have received much criticism.
In the early 1990s Yoko Imaizumi, a member of the Gunchu Church
in Ehime prefecture, provided household supplies to families that
came from Italy and other places to Matsuyama.
Commenting on the families, she said, "They have a lot of
kids, but don't get jobs. They aren't a model for Japanese who
are working hard at raising their children."
While the Way's unique style of celebrating liturgy has come under
attack, Ino said, "It's wonderful to really see the Spirit."
Commenting on criticism of the Way's rearranging sanctuaries, she
added, "At a lot of churches, they've changed things around,
but that's so that the liturgy can be really experienced."
However, another lay person in Ehime who asked for anonymity commented
on how shocking it was to hear Way members at a funeral singing "Called!
Called!" to the rhythm of a guitar. "Non-Christians who
were there must have thought they had come to some New Religion
sect."
Those who do not take part in the Way express severe doubts about
a group that does not explain its activities. Yutaka Suzuki supposes
that one-third of the members of his Sakuramachi Church in Takamatsu
are members of the Way, but, he said, "In fact, I have no
idea who they are."
Even when he wants to talk about the Way he does not know with
whom he can speak.
"It's been like this for more than 30 years," he said. "Sure,
there are people who say that they first encountered Christ in
that group, but they focus more and more on themselves and it's
become impossible to have any heart-to-heart conversation with
them."
In addition to Takamatsu, there are Way priests, Itinerant Catechists
and Families in Mission in a few other dioceses, including Niigata
and Oita. In spite of that, there has been no increase in baptisms
in any of those dioceses. Instead, the Way seems to scramble to
take in the already active members of parishes.
According to Hiroshi Tada, who attended the 1993 World Youth Day
(WYD) in Denver, U.S.A., he was invited to take part in a Way gathering
the day after the WYD ended. The Sakuramachi Church parishioner
was surprised when there was an announcement inviting all who wanted
to be priests or Religious to come down from their seats onto the
playing field of the arena where they were gathered.
"I wondered if that was the way to decide on a religious vocation," he
said.
Ino, who is 82, summarizing her opinion, said, "(Our generation)
worked for the emperor. We worked for the Church. We worked for
the priests. Priests were coming all the way from Takamatsu, so
we tried to do our best. But now, things have gone bad. (Those
who are in the Way and those who are not) are all suffering. If
it would be better for our parish if it stopped, isn't it time
for them (the Way) to quit?"
CATHOLIC MEDIA PREPARE FOR NOVEMBER BEATIFICATION
Catholic Weekly, June 29, 2008
 Twenty-three Social Communications staff from various dioceses
and others connected with Catholic media gathered June 16-18 at
the Japan Catholic Center in Tokyo under the auspices of the Social
Communications Office of the Catholic Bishops' Conference
of Japan (CBCJ) to prepare for the Nov. 24 beatification of Peter
Kibe and 187 other martyrs.
Bishop Osamu Mizobe of Takamatsu, head of the Bishops' Special
Committee for the Causes of Japanese Martyrs, spoke about the significance
of beatification today and the uniqueness of the upcoming beatification.
He pointed out that though other Japan martyrs had been canonized
or beatified, this is the first time for the Japanese bishops to
promote a cause themselves.
According to the bishop, there are over 5,000 martyrs who are known
by name as well as the place and time of their deaths. The total
of those killed in the persecution is some 20,000. The 188 were
chosen to represent the entire group. In order to do so, several
criteria were used. The preference was for lay people. The next
criteria favored women, children and the handicapped.
Bishop Mizobe explained that as the group was chosen, it became
clear that their situation was similar in many ways to that of
Christians in Japan today. They faced the negation of human rights,
in particular religious freedom; tension between family bonds and
personal conviction; educational programs along the lines of non-Christian
values and frequent changes of political leaders.
"The martyrs' problems are ours, too," he remarked. "They
remain a threat to Japanese Christians even today."
He recalled that the committee had worked hard for over 30 years
to promote the causes, repeating explanations and changing approaches
to the Roman Curia before succeeding in convincing the Vatican
to proceed with the beatification.
The bishop summed up, saying, "The final goal of our movement
toward the beatification is the evangelization of our nation by
spreading the message of the blesseds."
Jesuit Father Fuyuki Hirabayashi, secretary of the committee, gave
a theological explanation of what makes a martyr. He said that
a martyr is not simply a victim, but rather a witness to God's
love. Anyone who gives one's life by reason of the faith, a person
who follows Christ's Passion, is a martyr.
Following the presentation, the participants confirmed the logistics
for press coverage of the Nov. 24 beatification ceremony in Nagasaki.
One participant raised a voice of encouragement for all to follow
up and maintain the spirit of evangelization even after the event
is over. Discussion ensued regarding a suggestion that the CBCJ
General Secretariat should open a bulletin board on its web site.
Action plans for the Year of Paul, 2008-2009 were also discussed.
NEOCATECHUMENAL WAY SEMINARY TO CLOSE AS TAKAMATSU
DIOCESAN SCHOOL
Catholic Weekly, July 13, 2008
The Redemptoris Mater Seminary (RM) conducted by the Neocatechumenal
Way as a Takamatsu diocesan institute will be closed.
A decision by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan (CBCJ)
to close RM at the end of June had been put on hold by the Vatican
(see Catholic Weekly, July 6) pending a Roman decision on the future
of the seminary.
A June 26 letter from Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary
of state, announced the decision. The text was in Italian, but
was accompanied by an English translation.
"The Redemptoris Mater Seminary of Takamatsu will be closed
as a diocesan seminary," the cardinal's letter said. The contents
were immediately conveyed to the clergy, Religious and laity of
the diocese.
Cardinal Bertone's letter was sent as a reply to a letter sent
to Pope Benedict XVI by the CBCJ on June 6 at the end of its annual
Plenary Meeting. The letter asked for papal guidance in resolving
difficulties regarding the seminary.
The Roman decision has four points.
The seminary will be closed as a diocesan institute and its programs
and staff will be moved to the RM seminary in Rome "as an
expression of the Holy Father's paternal care for it, and with
the confidence that in the future it will continue to contribute
to the evangelization of Japan in ways deemed most appropriate
to this objective."
Second, because the 25 or so Neocatechumenal Way priests working
in Japan "may encounter various difficulties in the wake of
this decision," the Congregation for the Evangelization of
Peoples in Rome will appoint a vicar "charged with the specific
responsibility of handling, in cooperation with the bishops of
the episcopal conference, various issues pertaining to the presence
and ministry of these priests, including their contracts of service."
The letter also states that when the seminary moves from Takamatsu
to Rome, it will retain its connection to Japan. It will be called "Redemptoris
Mater Seminary for Japan" and Bishop Takaaki Hirayama, bishop
emeritus of Oita, will be its rector.
Finally, the present seminary building must be kept and "a
solution will be sought for both its administration and temporary
use." It is unclear whether "temporary use" implies
an eventual return of the RM to Takamatsu.
According to the letter, until the four decisions are implemented,
the pope has asked that Bishop Mizobe of Takamatsu continue the
present status of the RM.
Commenting upon the letter, Archbishop Takeo Okada of Tokyo, president
of the CBCJ, said, "We are grateful for His Holiness's concern
and guidance. Several matters remain. It is important that those
involved in their solution pray, listen to one another and make
an effort to understand each other's position. The bishops'
conference will give its full cooperation to the Takamatsu diocese
and we look forward to Bishop Hirayama's understanding and cooperation."
When asked for a response to the decision, the RM rector Father
Angel Luis Romero Carbonell said, "I have not yet seen the
letter and have no comment."
PRIESTS WORKING IN TAKAMATSU OPPOSE NEOCATECHUMENAL
WAY
Catholic Weekly, July 6, 2008
Although a decision by Bishop Osamu Mizobe and the pastoral council
of the Takamatsu diocese to close the Redemptoris Mater (RM) seminary
in Higashi Kagawa, Kagawa prefecture, as of June 30 was ratified
by the Vatican following two visits to Rome by the bishop and a
personal meeting by him and Japan's three archbishops with
Pope Benedict XVI on April 25, an order later came from Rome halting
all action on the seminary.
The order to stop the process came in a message to Archbishop Alberto
Bottari de Castello, the apostolic nuncio in Japan, from Cardinal
Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, and was passed on
to Bp. Mizobe on May 31.
The Roman order came as the pastoral council, the priests' senate
and the diocesan committee for evangelization of the 5,070-member
diocese were being officially notified of the decision to close.
As of the beginning of July, no further movement has taken place.
The RM seminary, which opened in 1990, is conducted by the Neocatechumenal
Way (Way) as an international seminary connected with the diocese
of Takamatsu. Seminaries conducted by the Way train priests according
to the liturgical and spiritual practices of the movement for service
as diocesan clergy. The Takamatsu RM seminary has graduated about
30 priests who work in the Takamatsu, Niigata, Oita and Kagoshima
dioceses.
The Way was founded in Spain in 1964 as a means of adult faith
formation through small groups within parishes that conduct their
own liturgies and programs. Though the Statutes of the movement
state that it "is at the service of the Bishops as a form
of diocesan implementation of Christian initiation and of ongoing
education in faith," relations between the Way and diocesan
bishops have frequently been contentious.
"I can't believe how this was done," said Fr. Sueo Hamaguchi,
a Nagasaki diocesan priest serving as pastor of the Sakuramachi
Church in Takamatsu, commenting on the Vatican order.
Fr. Hamaguchi is one of several priests from other dioceses and
religious orders who have been lent to the Takamatsu diocese since
Bp. Mizobe took over in 2004 to help settle the situation there
after turmoil over the Way lead to widespread division in the diocese,
culminating in a defamation lawsuit by two laymen against the former
bishop, Satoshi Fukahori. The bishop had issued a pastoral letter
condemning the two for their opposition to his invitation to the
Way to open a seminary in the diocese.
Fr. Desiderio Cambra, a member of the Spanish Foreign Mission Society,
is the newly-appointed chancellor of the diocese. He also expressed
shock at Rome's interference.
"They ignored a decision by the entire bishops' conference
of Japan as well as the apostolic nuncio," he exclaimed.
Speaking on behalf of Fr. Angel Luis Romero Carbonell, rector of
the RM seminary, Fr. Antonio Anfuso, the vice-rector, declined
a request for an interview for this article, saying, "We cannot
respond to questions at this time when many things are not yet
decided." In fact, all Way members who were approached refused
comment.
Salesian Fr. Kosuke Murakami, on loan to the diocese and serving
as pastor of the Zentsuji Church in Kagawa, explained why he felt
the seminary must be closed.
"The seminary is the driving force behind the activities of
the Way, producing liturgical problems and damaged unity in parishes," he
said.
"In my previous parish in Imabari (Ehime prefecture)," he
continued, "regardless of when a child was born, the Way refused
to baptize it until the following Easter, and they refused to let
anyone but a Way priest administer the sacrament. They were a completely
independent group in the parish that the pastor could not control.
The most active members of the parish were drawn off to the Way's
Saturday Mass. Their main financial support was also directed toward
that group, to the detriment of the parish as a whole."
According to Salesian Fr. Hideaki Hamaguchi, diocesan procurator
and another loaned priest, the Way's tendency to ignore pastors
extends as well to the bishop.
"I've strongly felt over the past two or three years that
though the Way priests who are diocesan clergy here say they are
obedient to the bishop I don't see it," he said. "They
proclaim, 'The bishop's way of thinking is different from ours.'
It's a shame they give no thought to how they might cooperate
with the bishop or be of service to the Church in Japan. If they
would direct their zeal to working with the bishop, great things
could happen."
On the issue of obedience to the bishop, the superior of the Rosario
province of Dominicans, Fr. Juan Manuel Gonzalo, said, "We
Dominicans don't work for ourselves."
"The authority for the Church in Japan," he continued, "rests
with the bishop of Takamatsu and the other bishops appointed by
the pope. So, their decision (to close the seminary) is the best
for Japan and I think it should be done as soon as possible."
According to Fr. Cambra, "The Way was fine at educating people
in Spain who did not come to church, but here in Japan, the situation
is the opposite."
Fr. Murakami said that among the basic problems is the Way's celebration
of the liturgy in a manner that ignores Japanese culture and sensibilities
and imposes a European style upon worshipers.
"They rearrange the sanctuary, put up their own icons and
use their own music and gestures. At a church like Imabata where
there are a lot of elderly parishioners, the Way brings in kissing,
hugging and hand-holding while singing and dancing at Mass. They
even use guitars at funerals. Until they correct such practices,
it is impossible to work with them," he said.
Fr. Sueo Hamaguchi said that structurally, coexistence with the
Way is impossible.
"The Way has its own structure of control, taking orders from
three leaders of its own," he said. "Their special way
of celebrating the liturgy is intended to assert their uniqueness."
Deacon Yasuhiro Nishikawa, director of the diocesan office, said
that Way members conduct activities for their own benefit using
the names of parishes without consulting with the pastors.
"They ignore the diocese and the parishes," he said.
Fr. Murakami said, "If the seminary is allowed to continue
as it is, the Way will spread throughout Japan and we will have
two Churches here, the pope's Church and Kiko's Church," referring
to Kiko Arguello, founder of the Way.
"Japan's Catholics must become aware of the problem," said
Fr. Hideaki Hamaguchi, the Salesian.
Priests who work in the diocese said that since his arrival, Bp.
Mizobe has worked hard at building unity.
Fr. Hideaki Hamaguchi commented, "After the first three years,
it was clear that the gulf was too big and that the best action
would be to cut the connection between the diocese and the seminary."
Bp. Mizobe has sent Way-trained priests to Tokyo and Rome for studies
that would better equip them to work in Japan.
"The bishop is saying, 'Let's work together,' but they
have a persecution complex that only sees the seminary closure
and not the bishop's concern for pastoral care," said Deacon
Nishikawa.
Fr. Sueo Hamaguchi said, "There is absolutely no reason to
continue the seminary. There's no way a small diocese like Takamatsu
can support it. Neither does the diocese need the Way that stands
behind it. They are just an obstacle."
This is part one of a two-part series. The next part will look
at the Way from the point of view of lay people in the Takamatsu
diocese.
PARISHIONERS READ STORIES OF MARTYRS TO PREPARE FOR BEATIFICATION
Catholic Weekly, June 22, 2008
In preparation for the Nov. 24 beatification of Peter Kibe and
187 other Japanese martyrs, a reading circle began at the Nagoya
diocese's Nagaura Church in Chita city in April to contemplate
the virtues of the martyrs and to follow them in daily life. The
group uses the book Petoro Kibe to 187 Junkyosha (Peter Kibe and
the 187 martyrs) published by the Catholic Bishops' Conference
of Japan.
Hideaki Tanaka planned the circle, which takes place after the
Mass on the first Sunday of each month. About 10 participants read
aloud in turn two chapters that have been assigned for the day.
They share knowledge about the history of persecution and freely
exchange their views and opinions.
There was a case where a participant who had moved to the parish
from Nagasaki helped discussions by telling legends of the persecution.
Free discussion allowed a simple and straight question such as, "We
have to know about the apostatized too. I wonder what their feelings
were?"
Tanaka has long been interested in Kirisitan, Japanese Christians
during the persecution in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries.
Eighteen years ago he visited the Goto Islands off Nagasaki where
many Christians found refuge and where their descendants live today.
He happened to be in a church and was deeply impressed by dozens
of children, all with hands folded in prayer before the Mass. He
saw it as an embodiment of Kirisitan faithfulness, and became interested
in it.
"Few Japanese choose native martyrs for their Christian name.
I wonder why the 26 Martyrs of Japan, saints I honor highly, are
better known overseas than at home. I felt an urge to make them
known more widely in Japan by learning more about them myself," said
Tanaka. He pinned posters on the Church's bulletin board on the
feast of the Saints and handed out copies of relevant documents
when available.
He took the Nov. 24 beatification of the 188 martyrs as a chance
to deepen people's understanding of martyrdom.
Tanaka said, "Enemies of the martyrs were visible — feudal
lords and their subjects — while the adversary of today
is invisible — materialism, a hidden enemy spoiling our
body and soul. Times and conditions are different, but we need
to imitate the martyrs, who dedicated their lives to God. Every
time after our gathering we find ourselves having looked for an
answer to what evangelization today should be."
Thirteen parishioners plan to participate the beatification ceremony
in Nagasaki and will carry on their circle until then.
LATEST REPORT SHOWS DECREASE IN JAPAN'S CATHOLIC
POPULATION
Catholic Weekly, June 22, 2008
According to a report published by the Social Communications Office
of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan (CBCJ), the number of
Cathlolics in Japan has decreased by one percent over the past year.
State of the Catholic Church, the annual statistical report of the
CBCJ, puts the number of Catholics in Japan as of December 2007, including
priests and religious, as 447,720, representing a decrease of 4,851
since the 2006 report. However, the accounting of parishioners with
unclear parish affiliation was dealt with more conservatively than
in the previous year's census, and there are other issues that may
skew the numbers, including the fact that (temporary) foreign residents
were not always recorded.
The census accounted for 439,360 lay Catholics, 175,147 men (40 percent),
and 264,213 women (60 percent). Beginning with this census, one who
might have once been counted in the parish, but whose actual residency
had not been verifiable by the parish within the last 10 years, may
be omitted from the officially reported number of parishioners whose
residencies are unconfirmed (for a period of less than 10 years).
Tokyo diocese had the highest population of Catholics, followed by
Nagasaki, then Yokohama and Osaka dioceses (see below).
The survey recorded 1,515 parish priests and bishops in the country,
of whom 904 are Japanese and 611 non-Japanese. It also shows 34 deacons,
28 of them Japanese and 6 non-Japanese, and 134 seminarians, with 57
students preparing for seminary studies.
There were 5,944 Sisters, 5,582 Japanese and 362 non-Japanese, and
202 Brothers, 150 Japanese and 52 non-Japanese.
The survey showed 800 regular parishes, 179 mission stations and 19
non-parish gathering spaces.
There were 7,275 baptisms, 3,617 for children up to age 7 (infant baptisms),
and 3,658 for adults. There were 4,201 recipients of First Communion,
4,903 recipients of Confirmation, and 5,048 catechumens and candidates.
There were 118,242 Sunday Mass attendees, with 206,218 during Easter
and 278,190 for Christmas. There were 29,883 participants in foreign
language Masses
There were 2,899 marriages, but only 279 marriages were recorded between
a bride and groom who were both Catholic. The largest number of recorded
Catholic marriages took place between a Catholic and a non-Christian,
1,389 couples.
Compared with 10 years ago, the total number of Catholics in Japan
has increased by 5,808. The number of parish priests, bishops and deacons
has dropped by 237. The number of Brothers and Sisters has fallen by
673. The number of regular parishes has gone down by 13, but the number
of mission stations rose by 6. Infant baptisms fell by 1,183, and adult
baptisms by 434. Sunday Mass attendance dropped by 14,196. The number
of marriages decreased by 6,185, marking a drop of more than 70 percent
in 10 years, as of this most recent census.
State of the Catholic Church, A Summary
Total Catholic population: 447,720
Population by Diocese
Sapporo: 18,018
Sendai: 10,855
Niigata: 7,356
Saitama: 21,257
Tokyo: 93,839
Yokohama: 54,521
Nagoya: 26,501
Kyoto: 18,794
Osaka: 53,774
Hiroshima: 20,471
Takamatsu: 5,070
Fukuoka: 31,263
Nagasaki: 64, 654
Oita: 6, 264
Kagoshima: 9, 573
Naha: 5,510
Baptisms
Children: 3,617
Adult: 3,658
Clergy and religious
Bishops (including those retired): 26
Priests: 1,515
Deacons: 34
Brothers: 202
Sisters: 5,944
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