21 November, 2009 A A A | | |
Help AsiaNews | About us | P.I.M.E. |
go to front page




Voli Low Cost Roma
Voli Milano



China | Islam | Economy | Freedom of religion | Vatican
e-mail this to a friend printable version


» 11/24/2008 17:03
JAPAN – VATICAN
In Japan 188 martyrs to quench the thirst for God
The martyrs who were beatified today in Nagasaki are a spur to bear witness to the faith. For the Japanese they are also a possible answer to problems like suicide, youth crime, the crisis of the family and the economy.

Rome (AsiaNews) – At least 30,000 people took part this morning in the beatification of 188 Japanese martyrs in Nagasaki’s Big N-Baseball stadium. They included delegations from the Churches of Korea, Philippines and South-East Asia. The ceremony was led by Card José Saraiva Martins, a representative of Pope Benedict XVI and former Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Under pouring rain Cardinal Saraiva Martins said that martyrdom was an element ever-present in the history of the Church, something that accompanied the lives of the faithful.

The new blessed martyrs died between 1606 and 1639, but anti-Christian persecution lasted for more than two centuries in Japan.

Some of the martyrs died on the cross; others were drowned, burnt or beheaded.

AsiaNews asked Fr Giorgio Ferrari, a PIME missionary in Japan for the past 17 years, a few questions about them.

What value does the Japanese Church place in this beatification?

I explained to my parishioners in Miura (Tokyo) the value of martyrdom and told how important this event was. It is the most important thing for the Japanese Church, second only to John Paul II’s visit in 1981. Catholics are edified and proud of this event.

At times the Japanese Church seems involved more in dialogue with religions and with society, papering over differences. These martyrs remind us that faith and the world can be in conflict . . . .

This is an element that we highlight in our catechesis to parishioners. For their part their raise questions and show wonderment that these martyrs could give their life for Jesus Christ.

Does the beatification resonate with the Japanese population?

Today in Japan people are looking for strong values. Every day they are faced with painful problems like suicide, youth crime, families in crisis, a declining economy . . . . All this tends to undermine old certainties and brings people to seek out values that seem more stable and challenging. People are truly seeking God. The beatification of the martyrs can offer an answer to this desire for the truth in life.


e-mail this to a friend printable version

See also
11/26/2008 JAPAN – VATICAN
Beatification of 188 martyrs embodies the faith in Japan and Asia
by Pino Cazzaniga
02/18/2008 VATICAN
Vatican document calls for greater rigour in beatification process
11/21/2008 VATICAN - JAPAN
The 188 Japanese martyrs, like the martyrs of the early centuries
by Mark Tardiff
07/28/2006 JAPAN
188 Japanese martyrs to be beatified in Nagasaki
01/07/2009 JAPAN
Newly poor find shelter in Hibiya tent city as economic crisis worsens in the land of the Rising Sun
by Pino Cazzaniga

Dossier

Editor's choices
CHINA - VATICAN
Underground bishop: I joined the Patriotic Association for the good of the Church
by Zhen Yuan
Mgr. An Shuxin says he was not pressured by the Vatican for his choice. In front of the division created in the diocese of Baoding, priests and experts are asking the Vatican and China to free the ordinary Bishop Su Zhimin, , in prison for the past 13 years.
PAKISTAN - EU
Blasphemy in Pakistan and the European Court’s attack on the crucifix
by Bernardo Cervellera
Launched today from Rome the European leg (France, Holland, Belgium, Germany) of a campaign to raise awareness in Church and society of the plight and oppression of minorities in Pakistan, particularly the Christian one, due to the blasphemy law. A most unusual unity of purpose joins Islamic fundamentalists and European relativists.
CHINA – VATICAN
In Hebei, underground bishop joins Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association
by Bernardo Cervellera
Mgr Francis An Shuxin spent ten years in police custody. Now he is free but still under surveillance, dragged around to meetings to show the correctness of the government’s religious policy. Three bishops remain in police custody. A priest is arrested whilst two are freed to join the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association. The Vatican is accused of ambiguities.

Copyright © 2003 AsiaNews C.F. 00889190153 All rights reserved. Content on this site is made available for personal, non-commercial use only. You may not reproduce, republish, sell or otherwise distribute the content or any modified or altered versions of it without the express written permission of the editor. Photos on AsiaNews.it are largely taken from the internet and thus considered to be in the public domain. Anyone contrary to their publication need only contact the editorial office which will immediately proceed to remove the photos.