Japan Catholic News
March 2009
25 YEARS OF 'LEND-A-HAND' MOVEMENT
Catholic Weekly, March 15, 2009
The Lend-a-Hand movement provides support to children in Sierra Leone,
Nigeria and Mexico. It depends on individuals' good will, opens its
doors to anybody, and runs with no committees, no rules and no fees.
Anyone can contribute money in any amount at his or her discretion.
Retired university professor Masaaki Sato, 79, a parishioner of the
Machida Church, began the movement 25 years ago all by himself. At
first Sato's supporters were his wife, friends, colleagues and students.
Now about 700 individuals and 120 groups donate regularly or occasionally.
About half are non-Catholic.
A 1983 talk by Clarissan Missionary Sister Michiko Negishi at Tamagawa
University in Tokyo came to Sato, then a professor at the university,
as a bolt from the blue. Hearing that poverty prevented many children
in Sierra Leone from going to school, Sato was shocked by the reality
of the small African country of which he had known very little. He
approached the Sister after her talk and asked, "Is there anything
I can do for them?"
Sato started off by sending money to the Clarissan Missionary Sisters
in Sierra Leone for their schools. The aid expanded to lunch services
in 1987. Later, Nigeria and Mexico were added at the request of sisters.
The movement has also provided aid in Japan, helping victims of the
Hanshin-Awaji and Chuetsu earthquake disasters.
Sato said, "We have heard a cry for help. We felt like the Good
Samaritan who bumped into a half dead traveler. 'May I lend a hand?'
was our spontaneous response."
He added, "Sometimes we asked ourselves if we could raise the
money for lunches for 3,000 children, but each time we found ourselves
meeting the target. 'Do not worry about tomorrow' is a truth we have
actually experienced."
"The whole thing is a series of miracles," Sato said, reflecting
on the past 25 years.
According to Sato, donors include a person who has never missed any
of her monthly donations for more than 20 years, someone who continues
the support of a late donor, a kindergarten child who donated all his
money – a ¥500 coin – and a Buddhist family who because
of their participation in Lend-a-Hand became Catholics.
The Sierra Leone Civil War (1991-2002) was a crisis and marked a turning
point for the movement. Following the local bishop's advice, the Sisters
had to leave the country.
Doubts about continuing to provide aid arose on the Japanese side,
with some supporters asking, "Is it of any use to send money to
a place where no Sisters can work?" One-third of the supporters
stopped their support. However, Sato tried hard to keep it going, holding
a firm belief that the movement should not be suspended, and that he
should be the last man to quit.
Sato concluded, "I am often asked to provide more tangible aid,
since the donation-only policy doesn't give visible satisfaction. But,
it is impossible for everybody to go to the sites in person. What we
can do is to look straight at the distressed, lend them a hand to make
them happier, experience the inconvenience of giving, and when they
set out on their own, to withdraw. Together with money we send them
hope. In return we learn much from them."
The Children's Smiles are Back! Love's Miracle in Sierra Leone (in
Japanese), authored by Sato and published by Seibo no Kishi, is available
at major bookshops in Japan for ¥1,050.
FOOD AND FAITH LINKED AT PARISH COOKING CLASS
Catholic Weekly, March 8, 2009
At the Kagoshima cathedral parish, a cooking class for macrobiotic
cuisine was held on Feb. 10 with 22 participants, including four men.
The program included an exhortation by Jesuit Father Toshiro Oka and
the introduction of the concept of macrobiotic food by Mariko Sumiyashiki.
The menu included rice porridge with Azuki beans, potherb mustard boiled
with sesame seed dressing, fu (wheat gluten) rolls on bamboo skewers
and carrot dressing salad. All were based on the macrobiotic style
of cooking that uses the whole of raw ingredients, without peeling
skins or trimming leaves. Macrobiotic cooking is gaining in popularity
among peoples in the world as good for health.
Masako Uemura from the Kokubu Church and others set up a room for the
hands-on training, bringing in gas burners and kitchenware. Sumiyashiki
gave the instructions.
The dishes were ready in about an hour and all tasted them. Uemura
commented, "The cooking preserves the taste of the raw material." Another
participant said, "I will try it again on my own."
The idea of the class was born from a visit by Sumiyashiki to Bishop
Kenjiro Koriyama in Dec. 2008. Twenty-two years ago, Sumiyashiki's
daughter attended a Church kindergarten of which the bishop, then a
priest, was director.
Sumiyashiki remembered him saying, "Be useful to others." Because
of this exhortation she began a natural food shop and then cooking
classes, with the intention of offering something useful to others.
Talking about those old days the two came to the topic of food and
health, and eventually they got the idea of cooking class in the church.
The bishop suggested a room in the cathedral as a venue.
"Take good care of the body God gave you" is the basic concept
of the Daniel Society, a group of parishioners who study devotion,
food and health. The bishop extended the idea, saying, "The body
is a gift from God. You cannot neglect it. The gift is a grace similar
to that of Baptism. But, priests pay little attention to food, considering
it a separate matter from Christian faith. I know some lay Catholics
care about it. Non-Christians often use the words 'quality of life'
to convey gratitude for their well-being. But we hear more about anguish
from the clergy. We need another eye to look at bodily health. I wish
to raise it to the level of 'quality of faith.'"
The next class will be held on Apr. 14. For information, call Masako
Unemura at 0995-43-3796.
CRITIC SAYS NEWS MEDIA NEED SELF-CRITICISM, NOT
SELF-CENSORSHIP
Catholic Weekly, February 22, 2009
Nearly 100 people gathered in Tokyo at the Infant Jesus Sisters' Nicholas
Barre Convent in Tokyo for a national convention on Power, Business
and Journalism. On the first day of the meeting, the main attraction
was the lecture given by literary critic Minako Saito, who is a Catholic.
Saito spoke about self-imposed restraint in newspapers, television
and magazines, and how news that should have been reported has not
been reported.
Magazine copy is checked over time and time again by managing editors.
Though the process is intended to maintain accuracy, fear of potential
criticism by company higher-ups, advertisers and senior writing staff
causes articles to be changed and sometimes stopped dead in their tracks.
Saito referred to an example of a rewritten article analyzed in one
of her reviews, which criticized war reporting due to improper data
collection methods.
"I wonder if they're holding themselves back too much. We're not
in back in the pre-war days, so it's ridiculous to have this restraint," Saito
said.
While such problems exist in the media, at the same time people in
general tend toward the vague notion of the world's opinion, and therefore
don't analyze situations themselves.
Saito stressed that, in such an atmosphere, self-criticism will not
be possible in the media. "We should prepare media outlets, and
sponsor media literacy education, promoting new ideas without despairing
of the (media's) effect on society."
This current media culture has wide-ranging consequences, she added. "The
media's mission has become one of criticism, always looking for a scapegoat." Business
and government officials are easy targets. Without finding major defects
to criticize, the media tends to find small things that no one would
have noticed otherwise, and make big stories out of them, finding the
chink in the armor. "We have to watch to see whether or not they
are actually being made to report real news. If they (get away with)
saying this is what they're being made to report, the problem won't
be contained."
Responding to a question from the audience about how to learn things
not reported in the media, Saito said, "We don't know what's happening
as it's happening, but we know afterward. It's important to keep in
mind that there are stories being left out."
Discussing media education, Saito explained that reports on youth illiteracy,
crime, and corruption are ultimately baseless, stressing the importance
of instilling critical thinking and discussion skills early in childhood.
Saito commented on the media's effect on social action, offering as
examples the controversy surrounding the use of the Japanese national
flag Hinomaru and anthem Kimigayo, asking, "How did we get to
this point?"
On the other hand, she applauded the year-end Day Laborers' Village,
an ad hoc camp formed by homeless workers at the end of last year,
both as a great idea and for the fact that it received attention at
a time of year when there is usually little news.
"We can think about peace, but we must also come up with ideas
that are interesting," she said.
BISHOPS' MEETING LOOKS AT SYNOD, LITURGY, NATIONAL SEMINARY
AND JAPAN'S NEW TRIAL SYSTEM
Catholic Weekly, March 1, 2009
 The Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan (CBCJ) held a plenary session
at its headquarters in Tokyo Feb.16 -19.
Participants included 17 bishops from the 16 dioceses of Japan, a diocesan
administrator and representatives of male and female religious and
missionary organizations
Archbishop Alberto Bottari De Castello, apostolic nuncio in Japan opened
the session.
Nagasaki Archbishop Mitsuaki Takami, gave a report on the Twelfth Ordinary
General Assembly of The Synod of Bishops held in the Vatican, Oct.
5-26, 2008, with the theme The Word of God in the Life and Mission
of the Church. The archbishop served as Japan's representative to the
synod.
Summing up the Synod, he said that all of the churches in Japan had
to reconfirm the significance of the connection between Eucharist and
Scriptures and the awareness of the Word working in liturgy.
The archbishop handed out a booklet, Report on the XII Ordinary
General Assembly of The Synod Of Bishops, containing the homilies of Pope Benedict
XVI at the opening and closing Masses, an introductory note by Archbishop
Takami, and other 10 additional items (all in Japanese). The booklet
is available from the CBCJ for ¥300 to cover the cost of postage and
handling.
The bishops took "Blessed Father Peter Kibe and 187 Martyrs" as
the official name for the July 1 feast and designated a letter of the
Blessed Father Peter Kibe to be the second reading in the breviary's
Office of Readings for the day, pending approval by the Congregation
for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in Rome.
The bishops agreed that "YHWH Yireh," a
name in Genesis 22:14, should be replaced by "The Lord provides," in
view of the recent decision not to use the divine name in liturgy.
The financial plans, rules and programs of the new Japan Catholic Seminary
formed by the merger of the Tokyo and Fukuoka seminaries were analyzed
and approved by the bishops. It will open on April 1.
The bishops also approved the 2009 CBCJ budget.
On Feb. 16, the bishops took part in a study session on the new system
of citizen judges under which six citizens will join three professional
judges in reaching a verdict in trials and deciding upon sentencing
by a majority vote. The new system will be introduced in May.
Tokyo Archbishop Takeo Okada, president of the CBCJ, explained that
the primary aim of the bishops' study session was to learn and study
what the Code of Canon Law would say about the lay judges system. Since
the first nominees were announced, priests and laity who were nominated
have expressed anxiety and worry as to possible conflicts with Church
laws. The session aimed to help them form a clearer idea of the issue.
The first speaker was Professor Masao Maruyama of Nanzan University's
School of Law, who clarified the system and the role of citizen judges.
The second speaker was Franciscan Father Satoru Hamada, pastor of the
Itabashi Church in the Tokyo, who looked at the issue based on the
Code of Canon Law. He referred to Canon 285, no.1, which states "Clerics
are forbidden to assume public offices which entail a participation
in the exercise of civil power," and said that no clerics are
permitted to become judges.
He continued that "clerics" in the Article includes the religious
and those who live an apostolic life, too. But the law binds neither
permanent deacons nor non-clerical believers, who are consequently
able to participate in the system.
He also referred to Canon 87, no.1, which stipulates, "A diocesan
bishop is able to dispense the faithful from laws issued by the supreme
authority of the Church. However, the bishop is not able to dispense
from those laws of which dispensation is specially reserved to the
Apostolic See."
He said apparently this opened a way for clerics to take part of the
new system. But he argued that it was not appropriate for a priest
to take part without prior consultation with his bishop.
A Q&A session followed the presentations.
The question "Can a human being judge anohter human?" aroused
pros and cons. Comments included, "To judge a person is one thing
and to judge his or her action is another" and, "The boundary
of the two, person and action, is ambiguous. Circumstances alter cases."
A doubt was expressed about passing sentence on a person purely based
on what he or she did.
Fr. Hamada alleviated the concerns that since non-clerics are in principle
free from Canon Law as far as the system concerned, they can behave
according to their own conscience.
An opinion was expressed that in cases where the death penalty was
inevitable, Catholic jurors could show the Church's fundamental claim
and reverence for human life by voting against the penalty. On the
other hand, there were others who argued that involvement in the system
itself could be regarded as affirming the death penalty.
Archbishop Okada revealed that contrary to the session's negative presentation
of clerical involvement in the System, Fukuoka Bishop Ryoji Miyahara,
director of the administrative and legislative committee of the CBCJ
said at a committee meeting on Feb. 6 that clerical involvement did
not necessarily conflict with Canon Law.
Bishop Miyahara followed up the remark and said that the committee
planned to send an inquiry to the Pontifical Council for Legislative
Texts to find out if the new system should b viewed as a "public
office" as defined in Canon 285.
Prof. Maruyama suggested that CBCJ might do well to write to the Japanese
Government about the Church's position on the issue.
Not only clerics but also the laity is concerned about the Citizen
Judges System.
A meeting on the system was held in Kyoto on Feb.24, organized by the
Kyoto Catholic Conference for Justice and Peace at the Kawaramachi
Church in Kyoto with the theme Can you judge others? The problems of
the Citizen Judges System.
Ryosuke Oka, lawyer of the Kyoto Law Office, outlined the system. He
said that although the system presents problems its aim is to make
the current court system better fit the needs of contemporary Japanese
society.
Many negative comments were raised by the audience, including the poor
compensation for jurors' losses of time and social opportunities, the
anxiety for deterioration of the lawyer's defense due to lessened
court processes and the duty to protect privileged information that
could be a lifelong burden on jurors.
CHURCH PROVIDES JOB SEARCH SERVICES TO LAID-OFF FILIPINOS
Catholic Weekly, February 22, 2009
At the Kofu Church of the Yokohama diocese in Yamanashi prefecture,
five Filipinas did piecework, assembling paper boxes for ¥2.5 per box
on Jan. 14. The opportunity to earn some many was arranged by the Philippine
Project, a movement to help unemployed Filipino parishioners.
Arlene Kono, 39, one of the five, said, "We joked, 'When we've
got a good sum, let's enjoy some delicious sweets.' However, the money
we earned was only ¥7,500 in all after making 3,000 boxes. But, it's
all right. Meeting and joking together made us happy."
The project arose through collaboration between the Kofu and Emzan
churches. Teruzo Kimura of Kofu passed information to Osamu Saito of
Enzan about a company that wanted pieceworkers. Responded immediately
to the information Saito took the order and arranged for a work place
in a meeting room of the Kofu Church.
The Philippine Project is the second aid program conducted by the Kofu
Church. The first one is a meal service for street people who have
became homeless due to the current economic recession. (Catholic Weekly,
Feb. 15 issue)
As jobless Filipinos were increasing, Kofu's pastor, Paris Foreign
Mission Father Michel Gaultier, and Japanese volunteers began to look
for job opportunities on behalf of Filipino parishioners.
Saito said, "Piecework alone cannot sustain a family. They need
a steady income. Whenever we pick up a piece of information [about
a possible job] we track it down, call up and try to set up an appointment
for our fellow Filipinos. Life is very difficult here in Yamanashi.
Even recruiting companies are suffering the shortage of job opportunities.
We ourselves need to work harder."
Saito and Hiroshi Yagi, a Kofu parishioner, as well as three Filipinos
met up at the Kofu Church Jan. 29 to prepare for a job interview at
a new care facility for the elderly. The two Japanese taught the Filipinos
how to fill out the application and what to tell interviewers.
Saito and Yagi accompanied the applicants to the job interview, and
assisted them in the communication. Their effort proves successful
in securing a position.
Kono said, "It is really encouraging that Japanese help us like
this."
Following on Kono's comment, Saito said, "This is what the Church
should be."
The Kofu Church has many Filipinos, and is working at their integration
with Japanese parishioners. A Philippine Festival last October helped
both peoples get closer.
Maya Fukazawa, 51, a Filipina widow, said, "I was laid off recently.
My life is difficult. But, I take part in the meal service wishing
to help those who suffer more than I do. Coming to the church I can
find someone to speak to, which refreshes me spiritually and mentally."
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