Rome (AsiaNews) – “Christmas is celebrated by everyone here now.  It’s the given thing to exchange gifts; department stores have their Christmas trees and decorations and they play carols on end; the streets are ablaze with Christmas lights; there is even a Christmas cake! But most people don’t even know what they are celebrating”.  This is how 48 year-old Father Giorgio Ferrara, Pime missionary, speaks of Japan, where he arrived in 1991 “to help them get to know who they are celebrating at Christmas time”.  His primary commitment is to the parish of Yokosuka, in Yokohama diocese. “Down through these past 17 years – he tells – there has been a crescendo: an increasing number of people have discovered Jesus.  Between the Vigil mass and the Christmas day mass over 700 people come to church, at least 150 of whom aren’t Christian.  There is a real thirst for God in this country”.

 Out of a total population of 128 million, only 0.7% are Christian, at least one and a half million people.  Less then half are Japanese, the rest are foreigners: a tiny minority immersed in a majority Shinto/Buddhist society and nation full of paradoxes.  “When I am asked if Japan is a nation of contradictions I answer: “Its true?” affirms Fr. Ferrara. “It is the most western of Oriental nations, but it ha san Asian soul; it is drenched in technology, but permeated by ancient traditions; the people worship the cult of work and at the same time have a deeply religious sentiment”.

 “If you ask people what there faith is, they will tell you that they don’t practise any religion.  Then at home they will have altars to their ancestors and if you tune into the TV you will often hear the Gospel and prayers cited in their programs”.  “In our parish kindergarten – the priest continues – out of 162 children, only a minimal part is Catholic: this is a sign of respect for and interest in the faith.  If there is one thing that you can say about the Japan of today it’s that there is a great thirst for God”.

 “The crux of the problem with Japanese society today – affirms the Pime missionary –is that it still does not know Christ”. The first Christian missionaries arrived on the island over 500 years ago.  At the end of the XVI century there were already 300 thousand Catholics.  “And yet still today many Japanese use the word yosei to describe the Church, which means something that comes from the West.  This too seems to be paradoxical, but that’s the way it is.  We just need a little patience”.

 Many people find their way to the Church, particularly in the adult stage of life: “One of the many reasons for this is suffering, the fact that a life dominated by work at a certain point is no longer liveable.  Because of work reasons or family reasons there any really a lot of people looking for God, even if they don’t know how to name him: they are looking for salvation, for meaning”.  “One of the most frequent problems – Fr. Ferrara tells – is alcoholism.  One day a woman arrived at our parish, the mother of a family, who had a husband who was always drunk.  She came to the Church because she didn’t know where else to go.  She was looking for help, for something to save her.  So she started coming to the parish, then she followed course in catechism and in the end she was baptised”.

“That woman – he continues – found her salvation, and is now deeply bonded to parish life.  The problem is what’s next! It is difficult to make people understand how to continue living in the faith. You who had an alcoholic husband, found the salvation you sought and now you are happy.  But if you go home and your husband is drunk again, and you shout at him and insult him in front of your children, that is not witnessing the faith”.

On November 24th 188 Japanese martyrs were beatified.  “It was a great event and long awaited – says Fr. Ferrara – it re-launched evangelisation in Japan.  Normal people who gave up their lives for Christ: thinks makes people, Christians and non Christians think, because most Japanese saints are martyrs who witnessed their faith in the most extreme of ways.  Today too we need saints, but we need a different type of saint, people who witness their faith in their daily lives. In Christianity there are many aspects that are revolutionary for Japanese culture: forgiveness, living together in diversity, even with foreigners….”

 The missionary tells of how this year, for the first time a group pf young people from the parish went to summer school in Korea.  Because of past wars and Japanese Imperialism, there is bad blood between Japanese and Koreans.  “It was a long hard work – says Fr. Ferrara – we spent a lot of time preparing it.  In the end, last week together with the Korean teenagers was something really special and our young people were surprised by what they experienced.  That it was nothing more than spending time together sharing experiences.  They came home full of enthusiasm”.  “Over the past couple of years we have done the same with soldiers from the American military base in Yokosuka, and with the Peruvian community: foreigners who, thanks to the faith, have become a familiar presence for our parish community”.