Nagasaki, Japan, Nov 23, 2019 / 07:55 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis Sunday honored the many martyrs who died in Japan during two centuries of persecution, encouraging Catholics in the country to use their heroic witness as inspiration to spread the Gospel.
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Nagasaki, Japan, Nov 23, 2019 / 06:48 pm (CNA).- At the ground zero site of the 1945 nuclear attack on Nagasaki, Pope Francis said the threat of using nuclear weapons is not the way to build peace and shared responsibility in the human family, reiterat… […]
Tokyo, Japan, Nov 23, 2019 / 05:00 pm (CNA).- For centuries, Japanese intellectuals, emperors, and missionaries have asked the same question: What does it mean to be both Japanese and Catholic?
The arrival of Pope Francis in Japan this week has revita… […]
Tokyo, Japan, Nov 23, 2019 / 03:30 pm (CNA).- Wearing a white t-shirt with a cartoon of Pope Francis, Minori Takeuchi energetically bounces up and down in Joseph Hall, switching between English and Japanese as she tells friends to come to the library.
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Bangkok, Thailand, Nov 21, 2019 / 09:21 pm (CNA).- In a meeting with priests and religious in Thailand Friday, Pope Francis urged an inculturation of the Gospel which allows it to have a “Thai face and flesh,” and not be seen as a religion … […]
Fujian, China, Nov 21, 2019 / 09:30 am (CNA).- A Catholic bishop in China is reportedly on the run from state authorities after refusing to register with the state-sponsored Church. Bishop Vincenzo Guo Xijin is believed to be in hiding in the diocese of Mindong after leaving the residence of the local state-sponsored bishop.
Bishop Guo is considered a leader in the Chinese underground Catholic Church, which refuses to submit to the state-sponsored Church which is in turn under the authority of the Chinese Communist Party. Priests in China are required to register with the government in order to be able to minister openly. In the process of doing so, they are expected to acknowledge the government’s policy of “sinicization.”
According to Asia News, on November 9, Guo was placed under the supervision of two state security officials and visited daily in an attempt to force him to sign an act of registration with the state.
On November 12, officials attempted to compel Guo to attend a meeting of “independent” clergy of the diocese with a view to bringing them in line with the state-sanctioned Church. Asia News reports that the majority of the diocese’s priests have refused to sign the act of registration with the Communist-backed Church. When Guo refused, he was taken to the Mindong diocesan chancery in Ningde to meet with Bishop Vincent Zhan Silu, who was expected to “convince” him to sign the formal submission to the state-Church.
Guo was the Vatican-recognized bishop of the Diocese of Mindong until the conclusion of the recent Vatican-China deal, agreed in 2018. Following that agreement, which gave communist officials say over the appointment of bishops and the right to enforce “sinicization” on local Catholic practice, the Holy See recognized the communist-approved Bishop Zhan, who had previously been considered an excommunicated schismatic, as the diocesan bishop, and compelled Guo to accept the position of auxiliary bishop in his own diocese.
In June, the Vatican issued “pastoral guidelines of the Holy See concerning the civil registration of clergy in China.” While recognizing the need to continue efforts to normalize relations between the Catholic community and government authorities, the document “respects the choice” of priests who refuse to register with the state.
“For some time, requests have been received by the Holy See from Bishops in mainland China for a concrete indication of the approach to be adopted in relation to the obligation of presenting an application for civil registration,” the document says, noting that “many pastors remain deeply disturbed [at] the modality of such registration.”
The Holy See also noted that the act of registration “requires, almost invariably, the signing of a document in which, notwithstanding the commitment assumed by the Chinese authorities to respect also Catholic doctrine, one must declare acceptance, among other things, of the principle of independence, autonomy and self-administration of the Church in China.”
If, the Vatican said, “the text of the declaration required for the registration does not appear respectful of the Catholic faith,” priests should specify – in writing if possible, or else in front of witnesses – that the declaration is made only to the extent it is “faithful to the principles of Catholic doctrine.”
“At the same time, the Holy See understands and respects the choice of those who, in conscience, decide that they are unable to register under the current conditions.”
Guo has previously been arrested for refusing to participate in public events with Zhan. In February, Guo told the New York Times that “we must obey Rome’s decision,” and that “our principle is that the Chinese Catholic Church must have a connection with the Vatican; the connection cannot be severed.”
But he also indicated that while “the Chinese government doesn’t say explicitly that we need to disconnect” from Rome, “in some circumstances it has such an implication.”
Asia News reports that on November 13, Guo “escaped” from the chancery and returned to his home town of Luojiang where it is belived state authorities are attempting to locate him.
The Diocese of Mingdong is home to 90,000 Catholics, 80,000 of whom are affiliated with the “underground Church,” as are 57 of the diocese’s 69 priests.
Tokyo, Japan, Nov 20, 2019 / 05:25 pm (CNA).- Though it is mostly an irreligious country, seemingly untroubled by matters of the hereafter, Japan is over-run with festivals and holidays dedicated to the Buddhist and Shinto gods.
According to the most recent available data, approximately 35% of Japanese people claim Buddhism as their religion, while around 3-4% claim Shinto or associated folk religions. Only 1-2% of Japanese claim Christianity as their religion, and only around half of Japanese Christians are Catholic.
However, despite the minuscule portion of the general population that actively affiliate themselves with Shinto temples and claim to abide by the Shinto worldview, around 70% of Japanese report participating in some annual Shinto ceremonies.
These ceremonies include Tanabata, the star festival, wherein families visit temples and shrines in order to write wishes on slips of paper and hang them from bamboo plants.
The festival’s mythology claims that the day is the annual meeting of two gods, one male and one female, who are separated lovers – Orihime and Hikoboshi. Tradition states that these two spirits are separated by the Milky Way, and that when there is no rain on the seventh day of the seventh month of the year, the two can be together.
The celebration is so widespread that even Tokyo Disneyland performs a special event for the day, casting Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse as the separated god and goddess in love.
Another example of common Shinto-influenced celebrations is Obon, a week-long festival far more solemn than the joyful, carefree festivals of spring and early summer.
Obon is a week-long holiday dedicated to deceased ancestors. Many families come together from across the country to meet at ancestral homes, cleaning graves and leave offerings for the spirits ancestors, including sake and rice.
But are these Shinto holidays off-limits to Catholics?
“A few years ago, the Committee on Inter-religious Dialogue of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan issued a guideline on this matter,” Archbishop Isao Kikuchi told CNA, ahead of Pope Francis’ Nov. 23-26 visit to Japan.
“In the case of community traditions, there is no problem participating in the event.”
That’s because, according to the committee’s findings, these festivals often carry no spiritual weight for participants.
“In many cases, members of the community do not find religious implications for these events. But rather, they see it as an opportunity to strengthen the community spirit of the neighborhood.”
These Shinto “community events” can perhaps best be compared to, for instance, Halloween in the United States.
While for some Christians, Catholics included, All Saints Day and All Souls Day are very real and religiously charged days on the liturgical calendar, many people celebrate the holiday of Halloween with no awareness of its actual spiritual significance.
The reality of Shinto celebrations (and to a lesser degree Buddhist celebrations) in Japan are largely the same.
However, Archbishop Kikuchi made one clear distinction on the subject of these holidays.
“It is not recommended to actively participate in worship at places such as in a Shinto shrine.”
The Japanese bishops have warned against certain forms of participation in these community festivals that still swerve too close to expressions of real religious devotion. While many visitors to shrines and temples around these times of year are not directly engaging with any religious worship, others can toe the line or fully cross it, the bishops warn.
For example, a common ritual at shrines during the holidays is to toss money into the open area in front of the main worship area, clap thunderously to scare away evil spirits, then clasp your hands and close your eyes in prayer. While there can be debate over what exactly the average Japanese means when they say they “pray” during these events, the practice is still universally condemned for Catholics in the country.
Additionally, a Shinto totem known as a mikoshi is often carried through the streets on festival days. A mikoshi is considered by Shinto believers to be a portable vehicle through which to transport gods and spirits from one shrine to another.
These miniature shrines are carried on the shoulders of dozens of town volunteers, each shouldering a small portion of the very heavy religious object. The transport of mikoshi often brings with it parades, chants, and religious dances.
Mikoshi, too, are strictly banned for Catholics.
The bishops do not see these universally important days in the Japanese calendar as obstacles to evangelization. Instead, they want to break them down and reshape them into something Catholics can use for their own spiritual lives.
And most importantly, it seems that they want to keep Japanese Catholics from being alienated entirely from Japanese life.
“In addition, many parishes have incorporated in their liturgical calendar Japanese customs having no religious character, such as the blessing of children aged 7, 5 and 3,” the archbishop explained.
A few Catholic parishes have even begun to shift their celebrations of the dead, usually reserved for October and November, to August to match with Obon.
“The Church can […] turn such occasions into opportunities for evangelization,” said Archbishop Kikuchi.
Thiruvananthapuram, India, Nov 20, 2019 / 04:03 pm (CNA).- The Catholic Church in Kerala is hoping to help widows in India – who often suffer from social stigmas – through its new matchmaking website.
This fall, the Family Commission of the Kerala Cat… […]
Bangkok, Thailand, Nov 20, 2019 / 12:09 pm (CNA).- Pope Francis’ trip to Thailand is a meaningful moment for the small Catholic community, and marks an important anniversary in the life of the Catholic Church in the southeast Asian country, the s… […]
Tokyo, Japan, Nov 20, 2019 / 04:00 am (CNA).- The Archbishop of Tokyo, Isao Kikuchi, spoke with CNA about the challenge for Japanese Catholic churches to keep Catholics engaged, in the face of ongoing population decline and growing religious apathy from Japanese youth.
“Population decline due to the low birth rate and the aging population is not just a problem for the church but a problem for the entire Japanese society.”
The archbishop’s remarks came shortly before Pope Francis is due to visit Japan Nov. 23-26.
The “birthrate crisis,” as the Japanese call it, is indeed considered one of the most dangerous threats facing Japan’s short-term future.
Each successive generation since the economic bubble has dropped in population, with many Japanese going unmarried or remaining childless. Even among young parents who do conceive, the average amount of children is between one and two.
Families with three children are not very common, and families with more than three are extremely rare.
This ongoing collapse in the national population has negatively affected all sects of Japanese society. Young men and women now face a future in a country with an economy expected to drastically worsen. Elderly generations are finding it difficult to survive on the government’s retirement budget as the gap between the number of elderly retirees and the number of working citizens gradually shrinks.
“For example, when we look at the situation in convenience stores, many of those who work there are either elderly Japanese people or young foreigners,” Archbishop Kikuchi told CNA.
Until recently, foreign convenience store clerks had been a rarity in Japan. Now, close to 60,000 foreigners are employed at convenience stores throughout the country. Many are students seeking part-time work while living abroad.
“The same scenario is reflected in the church today, and since it is no different from the situation of the Japanese society, I do not feel that it is in a dangerous level as it is,” Kikuchi said.
“Rather, since the church is a small community accounting only to less than 1% of the population, I see it as an opportunity for the Good News to be preached everywhere, a potential to yet expand evangelization activities.”
According to the most recent available data, approximately 35% of Japanese claim Buddhism as their religion, while around 3-4% claim strict adherence to Shinto or associated folk religions. Only 1-2% of Japanese claim Christianity as their religion, and only around half of Japanese Christians are Catholic.
“I acknowledge however that the Catholic faith not being passed on by the parents to their children is a big problem. This is due primarily to the collapse of the traditional Japanese family system in the context of our present society.”
The Japanese sense of the “traditional family system” to which the archbishop refer is straightforward: a hard-working father who puts bread on the table; a mother dedicated to keeping the wallet, house, and kids in check; the children, who spend time between the home, school, and community groups such as sports teams; and the grandparents, typically parents of the mother, who help raise the children and maintain the house as best they can.
This style of family has also been called a “multi-generational household,” and is becoming increasingly rare in Japan, especially in major metropolitan areas such as Tokyo.
“The collapse is caused by the situation in the workplace that goes along with the changing Japanese economic situation (non-regular employment, overtime, working parents),” said Archbishop Kikuchi.
“And the excessive activities in the education of children,” the archbishop added, noting that extracurricular activities are held on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, and students are often tied up for extra hours in “cram schools” due to the deterioration of the quality of education.
Japan’s ruthless work culture is hardly unknown. The image of the exhausted salaryman working unpaid overtime deep into the night is a symbol that is recognizably Japanese in countries around the world, and one of the most enduring stereotypes of the Japanese people.
In recent generations, women have also more frequently entered the workforce – willingly or sometimes without a choice due to the economic pressures of raising children.
Less well known, however, are the strict expectations put on middle school and high school students to join and participate in after-school groups with their peers. More than just the competitive sports teams – clubs for music, art, and dance prove to be highly demanding of children’s time.
Just as their parents are burdened with work expectations, children often spend more time out of the house than in it.
“From abroad, we even hear voices pointing out that school and community events held on Saturdays and Sundays are silently persecuting religion,” laments the archbishop.
Many athletic groups demand members to practice on Saturday and Sunday – the time when most families should be going to mass.
“In addition, such a collapse in the traditional Japanese family system has caused marriages to break down, with single mothers raising their children in poverty,” said the archbishop.
“Under such circumstances, it has become difficult to find time to bring children to church on Sundays, and likewise difficult to find time to share the faith at home.”
While club participation isn’t mandatory, it is expected. Failing to join a sports team or interest-based group can severely handicap a student socially.
And while couples are financially rewarded for creating larger families, the government has been unable to give young Japanese a sufficient push to make them comfortable with the traditional idea of family-making.
Free kindergarten and child-care have recently been established after a recent bill passed – the legislation was offered as a way to encourage more children, taking the burden of early care off of the mother and father.
But monthly stipends and free nursery school are not enough to pull the tide of Japanese population decline in the other direction.
“Merely admonishing people to bring back the traditional home is not a solution. The problem concerns not only the church, but must be tackled by the entire society. Should this situation continue on, I am afraid not only the home but also the local community will collapse and disappear from the whole Japanese society.”
© Catholic World Report