Japan's cardinal in Rome anticipates Pope Benedict XVI will soon approve a decree for the beatification of 188 Japanese martyrs, and he expects the ceremony will take place in Japan, probably in November.Cardinal Stephen Fumio Hamao, who headed the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants from 1998 to 2006 and still resides in Rome, expressed this hope recently.
On Feb. 6, Cardinal Hamao, 77, played a central role at a decisive meeting of 20 cardinals and archbishops at the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints to discuss the cause (official process) for the 188 Japanese martyrs.
The cardinal, the only Asian in attendance, presented a compelling case for their beatification. Reading from a prepared text, he explained to his fellow prelates that "they were put to death not for political reasons, not because they were political opponents, but by reason of their Christian faith."
His discourse stressed that "though many were samurai and knew how to fight, they nevertheless chose the path of non-violent resistance, and that is also very significant for people today." The cardinal said the Vatican officials responded favorably, and "voted unanimously in favor of their beatification."
The Tokyo-born prelate is particularly pleased that the 188 martyrs will soon be beatified because it marks "the first time the Japanese bishops have promoted a cause." He noted that Religious orders, not bishops, presented the several beatified and canonized martyrs that the Church in Japan already has.
The expected beatification "is a direct consequence of John Paul II's visit to Japan in 1981," he said. The cardinal, then bishop of Yokohama, recalled that "when John Paul II heard about the martyrs, he encouraged us to propose more causes for beatification, so we started the process after his visit."
According to Cardinal Hamao, it is "highly significant" that all 188 are Japanese and all but four are laypeople – mostly women but also many children. The other four are priests, he said, and a Jesuit among them, Peter Kibe, heads the list.
"Kibe was ordained in Rome but chose to return to Japan, though he knew the persecution had begun," he said. "He worked in the Nagasaki and Edo (now Tokyo) areas for some years before he was arrested and killed."
In his view, the beatification will be important for all Japanese, not just Catholics, because it highlights the fact that "the right to believe in a religion is a fundamental human right." At the time of the martyrs in the 17th century, "it was not so, and the government persecuted people for this."
Today in Japan, he continued, "we have complete freedom to believe" and this fundamental human right is guaranteed by law. "But this right is not so much recognized by the people. They do not think it is a fundamental human right because religion belongs to the family."
"Religion in Japan is seen as a question of family tradition, not personal conviction," Cardinal Hamao further explained, "but to be Christian is a matter of personal conviction, and this causes a certain tension in society."
"In Japan, many people have two religions, Buddhism and Shintoism," he also explained, and this leads to a certain "indifference" to religion. Cardinal Hamao said he understands this quite well because "my own family belonged to Shintoism ... at home, we had a small temple of Shintoism and a small temple of Buddhism, the former for the national feasts and the first day of the year, the latter for fasts (undertaken on behalf of) the ancestors."
His mother was the first in his family to become Christian, he said.
As a young girl, she had attended a Catholic girls' school. Later on, during the war, as a widow with four children, she went to the Catholic Church to be instructed and was baptized in 1942.
His sister was baptized in 1945, while his brother and he were baptized in 1946, when the cardinal was 16.
His brother went on to become chamberlain to Japan's emperor and "was tutor of the emperor when he was crown prince." When the future cardinal decided to enter the seminary, "my uncles, aunts, almost everyone was against my mother," he said.
"They did not understand what being a priest means and thought I was becoming a bonze, to retire from the world to live in a convent because I lost my girl or lover, so they were against my mother. She suffered a lot."
However, people later accepted his decision, he said. When John Paul II made him a cardinal, Cardinal Hamao added with a laugh, many people thought "becoming a cardinal means to become rich, materialistic!"
The beatification could also help Japanese understand a little more about Christianity, Cardinal Hamao added. "If it is given publicity by the media in Japan, perhaps it could help people to think Christianity is very good. Today, many people in Japan think Christianity is very good, but also very strict."
For example, he pointed out, Catholics are expected to go to Church every Sunday, but Buddhists only go to the temple once a year.
Even so, he said, "Christians are respected in Japan, and many people, even if they do not believe in anything, want to send their children to Catholic schools."
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