TOKYO (UCAN) – The Japanese magazine Yomiuri Weekly reported on July 20 the number of priests in Japan dropped about 82 percent from 1970 to 2005.

When that period began, the country had about 1.6 million priests, but now only about 300,000. The article goes on to mention that 30 percent of priests now serve multiple communities, some ministering to as many as seven or eight.

Since Japan is home to fewer than 440,000 Japanese Catholics, the numbers obviously do not refer to Catholic priests.

The article, entitled Otera ga naku naru! (The temples are disappearing!), shows how the decline in the number of Buddhist priests in Japan is leading to the closing of temples throughout the country. It cites figures from the government’s Agency for Cultural Affairs showing that the number of Buddhist temples has dropped from 96,000 to 86,000. As aging priests die or retire, the rate of decline will grow even steeper since there are few younger priests to succeed them. The New York Times (July 14, 2008) carried an article with the even more dire title, In Japan, Buddhism May Be Dying Out.

We are used to hearing and worrying about the Catholic clergy shortage. In the same 35-year period mentioned in the Yomiuri Weekly article, the Catholic Church in Japan experienced a 20-percent decline in the number of priests — from 1,926 to 1,542. So, by some measures, we actually are better off than the major traditional religion of Japan, though this is not much comfort in the face of our own problems.

What Buddhism faces in Japan puts our Catholic situation, and some of the proposed responses, into a new perspective.

Two solutions offered for the Church’s shortage of priests are a married clergy and better inculturation. The situation of Buddhism indicates that those suggestions, while valid for other reasons, will not solve our problems.

One unusual feature of Buddhism in Japan is that its priests are married. In fact, caring for a temple is usually a “family business,” with responsibility passing from father to son. Part of the reason for the decline in temple priests is the reluctance of priests’ sons to follow in their fathers’ footsteps, especially in rural areas where the young have left for life in the city and temple affiliation is dropping below 300 families, considered the minimum to support a temple, its priest and his family.

Powerful trends in society that cannot be countered by having a married clergy are at work. It is unlikely that simply having a married Catholic clergy will be any more successful than Buddhism in facing those trends.

Much of the talk of inculturation for the Church in Japan presents Buddhist meditation, liturgy, architecture, etc. as models for what we should be doing. While there are certainly reasons to de-Westernize Catholicism, it is not so clear that adopting Buddhist styles and practices will achieve much for us. After all, they are not working for Buddhism itself, as more and more people, especially in the cities, lose interest in what for more than a millennium has helped define traditional Japanese culture.

When I returned to Japan after some years away and was wondering in what sort of activities to engage, a Japanese Catholic told me, “Whatever you do, don’t get into religious archeology, caught up in Zen and other ancient religious forms. Look at Japan as it is today and find ways to proclaim the Gospel in this day and age.” His point, confirmed by the Yomiuri and Times articles, was that the days of Buddhism as an expression of Japan are ending as the nation becomes increasingly post-religious.

The decline of Buddhism is partly due to its failure to take bold steps to present itself to Japanese society as it actually exists today. Perhaps complacency based on being the traditional religion and a sense that, for the most part, there was no other option for people, kept Buddhism from responding soon enough to a changing world.

This sounds similar to the situation of Christianity in Europe, including those parts that have been traditionally Catholic. The situation in Asia is not significantly different. Even here, we seem to hold on to old institutions, styles and structures that, quite frankly, are not very successful in the present and will be even less so in the future.

Can we find a way to be Church that is not archeology, but which actually presents the Gospel in a way that answers the search of men and women in the 21st century and which, by doing so, will call forth ministers for that Gospel proclamation?

Finding a solution is not easy, but it is impossible if we do not grasp the problem. The way to find it is to step away from our institutions, prejudices and “comfort zones” to immerse ourselves in the hopes, fears and doubts of people around us. Laity, in particular, must develop the spiritual and intellectual tools to understand and respond, and the clergy must aid them in that development.

Buddhism may have lost its chance to speak to the hearts of Japanese in the 21st century. Will the Church be ready to take up that challenge?
——
Maryknoll Father William Grimm is editor-in-chief of Katorikku Shimbun, Japan’s Catholic weekly

On August 7, 1814 Pope Pius VII issued the Papal Bull, “Solicitudo omnium ecclesiarum,” which restored the Society of Jesus to existence, reversing the decision of his predecessor, Clement XIV, 41 years earlier to suppress the Jesuits. Pius had resolved to restore the Society during his captivity in France; and after his return to Rome he issued the Bull which gave Father Thaddeus Brzozowski, the superior general in Russia, universal jurisdiction. From a small remnant of men in Russia, the Jesuits began a slow process of restablishing their pastoral and educational service to the Church. Antiiclerical governments in Europe remained hostile to the Jesuits who began returning to earlier mission fields, such as India and China, and re-establishing new ones in Australia, North Africa, Japan and North America.

DHAKA (UCAN) — The Bangladeshi Church wants Catholics to focus on reading the Bible and becoming life witnesses to people of other faiths during the Pauline Year.

Pope Benedict XVI declared June 29, 2008, to June 29, 2009, a Pauline Year to mark the 2,000th birth anniversary of Saint Paul the Apostle.

It held the official opening celebration on Aug. 1, as the bishops were busy after returning from their June ad limina visits to the Vatican. Archbishop Paulinus Costa of Dhaka led the inaugural Mass for Dhaka archdiocese at Tejgaon Church. About 1,000 Catholics attended.

Father Kamal Corraya, coordinator of the Dhaka Pastoral Assembly, which is implementing Pauline Year programs in the archdiocese, admitted to UCA News “there are certain limits to what we can do in this Muslim-majority country,” according to Diocesan.

Father Corraya, who also directs the bishops’ national communications center in Dhaka, acknowledged proclamation of Christianity in the country is difficult because of possible threats from Islamic extremists.

“We have hidden pressure not to proclaim Christianity openly because in the past we saw that several Protestant preachers were killed in Faridpur, Mymensingh and Jamalpur,” he said on Aug. 3. “Therefore, in the light of Pauline Year, we want our Catholics to become life witnesses to people of other religions.”

According to Father Corraya, the Church is asking them to read the Bible more and lead their life accordingly. It wants to encourage Catholics to follow Saint Paul’s example of perseverance amid adversity in overcoming the challenges they may face in proclaiming Christianity, he said.

The bishops of the country are taking special initiatives at the diocesan level, with the core emphasis on proclaiming the Good News through life witness, in effect leading a good Christian life, Father Corraya reported.

“Given the present reality, we need life witness on Christianity,” the priest said. “And our bishops are emphasizing that our Catholics who run educational institutions and other organizations strictly maintain Christian values and idealism.”

The year-long celebration will include seminars and special homilies on the life of Saint Paul and creation of more Basic Ecclesial Communities.

It formally began at 4 p.m. on Aug. 1, when Archbishop Costa, as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh, and Apostolic Nuncio to Bangladesh Archbishop Joseph Marino uncovered a large picture of Saint Paul on the Tejgaon church’s front wall.

The two archbishops, along with Holy Cross Bishop Theotonius Gomes, auxiliary of Dhaka archdiocese, retired Holy Cross Bishop Michael D’ Rozario of Khulna, and retired Jesuit Bishop Linus Nirmol Gomes of Baruipur, India and more than 50 priests and 50 nuns then joined laypeople in watching a half-hour video documentary on the life of Saint Paul in the bishops’ communications center.

In his homily during the concluding grand Mass, Archbishop Costa called upon people to proclaim the Good News to others following the example of Saint Paul.

Noyontara Rozario, 70, who participated in the event, told UCA News such events focusing on important personalities in faith history are important.

“We need to organize such events more for the young generation so they can strengthen their Christian faith,” he said. “Through Saint Paul, they will be able to reflect on practicing a real Christian life.”

OLD GOA, India (UCAN) — Church people in Goa have taken a cautious stand on a government proposal to protect Old Goa, the onetime Portuguese colonial base and center of Catholic mission in Asia.

Government officials of this western Indian state discussed a new master plan for Old Goa at a July 17 meeting. It reportedly aims to check encroachment in the vicinity of Old Goa’s church complex. The proposal would ban new construction within two kilometers of the complex and restrict construction within a wider radius.

Father Francis Caldeira, who heads the Diocesan Center for Social Communication Media, spoke with UCA News on July 25. He said archdiocesan officials had discussed the plan with Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao of Goa and Daman, but the Church has no comment on the plan “for the moment.”

Even so, Father Caldeira, who represented the Church at the July 17 meeting of 40 officials from 23 government departments, termed the government effort “honest.”

The priest said the Church wants to see how the government draws up the plan, which he described as still in the initial stage. The government has promised “that all stakeholders will be considered” in drawing up the plan, “so let’s wait and see,” he added.

The Portuguese heritage of Goa and Daman archdiocese, which covers this tiny coastal state, includes several centuries-old church buildings in the Old Goa complex, an area with a radius of about 750 meters.

The Portuguese conquered Goa in 1510 and made Old Goa their colonial capital in India. Later, it became the center of Catholic mission. Jesuit Saint Francis Xavier was among the missioners who made Goa the base for their work in Asia.

State tourism director Elvis Gomes, whose agency is overseeing the new plan, told UCA News a new master plan for Old Goa is needed urgently.

Jesuit Father Savio Barreto, rector of the 16th-century Basilica of Bom Jesu within the Old Goa complex, said a plan to stop indiscriminate construction activity in the vicinity, including mega-projects, “was long overdue”.

The priest said that just 200 meters from the basilica, which houses the bodily relic of Saint Francis Xavier, a housing complex is being constructed, violating the heritage norms. The authorities now fear the complex will be removed from the list of World Heritage sites, he said, adding that this “would be a great shame.”

Father Barreto said some “powerful people” have acquired land that once belonged to the Jesuits within the complex. “How they came in possession of this land is a mystery,” said the priest, who charged a Hindu minister-turned-land developer is “a prime violator” in the area.

The priest also noted a shipyard has also been allowed to construct within the heritage zone, despite objections he made to various authorities.

OUR HOPE CAN ONLY BE GOD!

Anyone who does not know God, even though he may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without hope, without the great hope that sustains the whole of life (cf. Eph. 2:12). Man’s great, true hope which holds firm in spite of all disappointments can only be God – God who has loved us and who continues to love us “to the end,” until all “is accomplished” (cf. Jn. 13:1 and 19:30). Whoever is moved by love begins to perceive what “life” really is. He begins to perceive the meaning of the word of hope that we encountered in the Baptismal Rite: from faith I await “eternal life” – the true life which, whole and unthreatened, in all its fullness, is simply life. Jesus, who said that he had come so that we might have life and have it in its fullness, in abundance (cf. Jn. 10:10), has also explained to us what “life” means: “this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn. 17:3). Life in its true sense is not something we have; exclusively in or from ourselves: it is a relationship. And life in its totality is a relationship with him who is the source of life. If we are in relation with him who does not die, who is Life itself and Love itself, then we are in life. Then we “live”.

Pope Benedict XVI
Spe Salvi (#27)

For more features please click here

OUR HOPE CAN ONLY BE GOD!

Anyone who does not know God, even though he may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without hope, without the great hope that sustains the whole of life (cf. Eph. 2:12). Man’s great, true hope which holds firm in spite of all disappointments can only be God – God who has loved us and who continues to love us “to the end,” until all “is accomplished” (cf. Jn. 13:1 and 19:30). Whoever is moved by love begins to perceive what “life” really is. He begins to perceive the meaning of the word of hope that we encountered in the Baptismal Rite: from faith I await “eternal life” – the true life which, whole and unthreatened, in all its fullness, is simply life. Jesus, who said that he had come so that we might have life and have it in its fullness, in abundance (cf. Jn. 10:10), has also explained to us what “life” means: “this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (Jn. 17:3). Life in its true sense is not something we have; exclusively in or from ourselves: it is a relationship. And life in its totality is a relationship with him who is the source of life. If we are in relation with him who does not die, who is Life itself and Love itself, then we are in life. Then we “live”.

Pope Benedict XVI
Spe Salvi (#27)

For more features please click here

APPOINTMENTS 

Father General has appointed Father Jean-Jacques Guillemot, age 63, Vice-Provincial of France. He replaces Fathers Henri Aubert (Vice-Provincial of North France) and Antoine Kerhuel (Vice-Provincial of South France).

Father Luis Javier Sarralde Delgado, age 40, of the Province of Colombia, has been appointed Assistant to the Procurator General. He replaces Father Urbano Valero.

The Holy Father has appointed Father Luis Ladaria, of the Province of Aragon, as the Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. His Episcopal ordination will take place on 26 July at the Church of Saint John of Lateran. Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, will be the principal celebrant.

CURIA

ACTA ROMANA
Part V of volume XXIII, covering the year 2007, has been printed and is being shipped. This edition includes also the indexes of the entire volume (2003-2007).

SECRETARIAT OF IGNATIAN SPIRITUALITY
The latest issue of the Review of Ignatian Spirituality is devoted to Jesuits in parish ministry. From the Director’s presentation we have gleaned some interesting data:
-Number of parishes entrusted to the Society: approximately 2,000
-Jesuits working in parish apostolate: more than 3,000 or 15% of the total membership.
-Individual countries and regions:
United States: 77 parishes with 170 Jesuits; 112 Jesuits work in non-Jesuit parishes.
Latin America: 197 parishes with more than 382 Jesuits.
Spain: 30 parishes with 50 Jesuits; 30 Jesuits work in non-Jesuit parishes.
South Asia: 257 parishes (mainly in India); 11 in Sri Lanka, 2 in Nepal.
Africa: all the missionary work is centered around parishes. There are 13 parishes in the Democratic Republic of Congo in which 50 Jesuits work.

FROM THE PROVINCES
 

Near East
In response to a request regarding the health of Father Kolvenbach, the Provincial of the Near East informs us that after the intervention to clean clogged arteries, Father Kolvenbach is in good health. In fact he has traveled to Syria during the month of July to give some talks and direct the Spiritual Exercises of young Jesuits.
Father Fadel Sidarouss notes: “Father Kolvenbach is happy here, working at the Armenian Section of the Oriental Library and in the Arab-Christian Center. We are very happy to have him with us, with his proverbial simplicity and availability.”

Brazil
Msgr. Jose Carlos de Lima Vaz, S.J., retired Bishop of Petropolis, passed away on 9 July. With his death, there are 91 Jesuits Bishops, five of whom are Cardinals. The total number of Jesuit Cardinals is 10: among them two have voting rights in a Papal Conclave.

(18 July 08 – RV) Before watching the Way of the Cross in the streets of Sydney, Pope Benedict met for lunch with a small group of youth in Sydney for World Youth Day. He later met with young people participating in a rehabilitation programme in the city. Charles Collins has this report…

HONG KONG (UCAN) — The bishop responsible for youth ministry in Taiwan hopes local delegates to the World Youth Day (WYD) events in Australia return energized to witness courageously to God and their faith.

Taiwan youths could learn much, “through the help of the Holy Spirit, from other participants about how to live out a vivid faith life and how to spread the Gospel,” Bishop Thomas Chung An-zu of Chiayi told UCA News in late June.

Bishop Chung, who heads the Youth Desk of the Catholic bishops’ conference in Taiwan, said this is particularly important because of this year’s WYD theme: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8).

The international celebration for the 23rd WYD is scheduled July 15-20 in Sydney, southeastern Australia.

Bishop Chung, who served as chaplain of Fu Jen Catholic University outside Taipei from 2003 until 2006, stressed that the 400 Taiwan participants must be “prepared spiritually and have an understanding of this international event before departure.”

Toward that end, the local Church has held two formation programs for the participants, one May 3-4 and the other on June 28. Besides the 84-member official delegation, the other participants joined through 10 Church groups.

According to the bishop, both programs featured Masses in English to help prepare group members to follow the WYD liturgies, since local Chinese Catholics seldom attend English Mass.

Teresa Wang Shih-chien, coordinator of the WYD preparatory team, told UCA News on June 30 that the second program was a final preparation to enable participants to understand the WYD program and get to know each other better.

Each participant received a small package with two T-shirts, a diary, a badge and a light jacket. They were also given an introduction to some sightseeing attractions in Australia and a brief account of the Taiwan Church that they could share with young people from other countries.

About 200 participants joined the one-day formation program held in Taipei archdiocese. Due to travel distances, Wang explained, others joined training activities held simultaneously in their own diocese or for their local group.

The formation program in May concentrated on introducing the theme of this year’s WYD and Pope Benedict XVI’s message to the youth, continued Wang, a member of the official delegation. Organizers also explained the meaning of pilgrimages and the history of the WYD, the youth worker added.

Since participants will see Pope Benedict in Sydney, Bishop Chung said they must understand the pope’s message. The 55-year-old prelate also has encouraged them to read materials the organizers provided about the three-day WYD catechetical program July 16-18, particularly the content about the Holy Spirit.

The prelate believes his participation and learning together with the youth will be a good opportunity to understand them better and helpful to his ministry with them.

Carmelite Father James Yeh Yuan-liang told UCA News on July 2 that the 36 members in his Bethany group of Hsinchu diocese would leave early for Sydney, on July 6, for an exchange with aboriginal Catholics in Australia. He pointed out his WYD contingent includes two members of aboriginal groups, which account for one-third of the 300,000 Catholics in Taiwan. Hsinchu diocese is based about 60 kilometers southwest of Taipei.

The Carmelite priest expects the faith and cultural exchange in Australia to broaden the vision of the Taiwan youth and inspire them to be more active in evangelization.

Wang said they will arrange for the 400 WYD participants to share about their experience with those who could not join the international event when the local Church holds its annual youth day later this year.

She said various Church groups would also have follow-up plans for the young people to serve or develop in their organizations or parishes.

HONG KONG (UCAN) — The bishop responsible for youth ministry in Taiwan hopes local delegates to the World Youth Day (WYD) events in Australia return energized to witness courageously to God and their faith.

Taiwan youths could learn much, “through the help of the Holy Spirit, from other participants about how to live out a vivid faith life and how to spread the Gospel,” Bishop Thomas Chung An-zu of Chiayi told UCA News in late June.

Bishop Chung, who heads the Youth Desk of the Catholic bishops’ conference in Taiwan, said this is particularly important because of this year’s WYD theme: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8).

The international celebration for the 23rd WYD is scheduled July 15-20 in Sydney, southeastern Australia.

Bishop Chung, who served as chaplain of Fu Jen Catholic University outside Taipei from 2003 until 2006, stressed that the 400 Taiwan participants must be “prepared spiritually and have an understanding of this international event before departure.”

Toward that end, the local Church has held two formation programs for the participants, one May 3-4 and the other on June 28. Besides the 84-member official delegation, the other participants joined through 10 Church groups.

According to the bishop, both programs featured Masses in English to help prepare group members to follow the WYD liturgies, since local Chinese Catholics seldom attend English Mass.

Teresa Wang Shih-chien, coordinator of the WYD preparatory team, told UCA News on June 30 that the second program was a final preparation to enable participants to understand the WYD program and get to know each other better.

Each participant received a small package with two T-shirts, a diary, a badge and a light jacket. They were also given an introduction to some sightseeing attractions in Australia and a brief account of the Taiwan Church that they could share with young people from other countries.

About 200 participants joined the one-day formation program held in Taipei archdiocese. Due to travel distances, Wang explained, others joined training activities held simultaneously in their own diocese or for their local group.

The formation program in May concentrated on introducing the theme of this year’s WYD and Pope Benedict XVI’s message to the youth, continued Wang, a member of the official delegation. Organizers also explained the meaning of pilgrimages and the history of the WYD, the youth worker added.

Since participants will see Pope Benedict in Sydney, Bishop Chung said they must understand the pope’s message. The 55-year-old prelate also has encouraged them to read materials the organizers provided about the three-day WYD catechetical program July 16-18, particularly the content about the Holy Spirit.

The prelate believes his participation and learning together with the youth will be a good opportunity to understand them better and helpful to his ministry with them.

Carmelite Father James Yeh Yuan-liang told UCA News on July 2 that the 36 members in his Bethany group of Hsinchu diocese would leave early for Sydney, on July 6, for an exchange with aboriginal Catholics in Australia. He pointed out his WYD contingent includes two members of aboriginal groups, which account for one-third of the 300,000 Catholics in Taiwan. Hsinchu diocese is based about 60 kilometers southwest of Taipei.

The Carmelite priest expects the faith and cultural exchange in Australia to broaden the vision of the Taiwan youth and inspire them to be more active in evangelization.

Wang said they will arrange for the 400 WYD participants to share about their experience with those who could not join the international event when the local Church holds its annual youth day later this year.

She said various Church groups would also have follow-up plans for the young people to serve or develop in their organizations or parishes.