After a gunman fatally shot former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe during a campaign rally in western Japan on Friday, July 8, Archbishop Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo lamented that “violence kills democracy.”
Japan
New Mexico Archbishop Pushes for Nuclear Disarmament
Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe says he vividly remembers a somber day on a 2017 trip to Japan where he heard the story of school children rushing to their classroom windows on an August day in 1945, attracted by the bright light of an atomic bomb detonating.
Persistence Pays Off: Rower Has Sights Set on Gold in Tokyo 2020 Olympics
After being cut from the U.S. women’s rowing team before the Rio 2016 Olympics, rower Kristine O’Brien wasn’t sure if she should try again for Tokyo in four years’ time. But, after receiving encouragement from her family and coaches, O’Brien decided to devote another four years to training — in hopes of representing the United States in the next Summer Games.
Bishops From Japan, U.S. Call Catholics to Work for Nuclear Disarmament
The path to true peace requires the world to abolish nuclear weapons, an American bishop and a Japanese archbishop said as the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings at the end of World War II approached.
Pope Says Financial Reforms are Working, Wants Anti-Nuke Stance in Catechism
Pope Francis said Tuesday that the latest round of financial scandal at the Vatican is actually a success story, because the situation was revealed thanks to an internal Vatican probe, which he said demonstrates that new controls are working.
In Japan, Pope Calls for End to Nuclear Weapons
Fulfilling a lifelong dream, Pope Francis visited Japan Nov. 23-26 as a “pilgrim of peace. The pontiff visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki to deliver a message against nuclear weapons, calling them “immoral” and urging nations to get rid of them.
Pope Calls Himself a ‘Missionary Pilgrim’ in Japan
Over half a century since joining the Jesuits with the hope of becoming a missionary in Japan, Pope Francis finally fulfilled the dream of visiting this land.
In Thailand, Pope Tells Religions to Work for Peace; Catholic Youth to Hold Firm to Faith
Speaking to people from 18 different religions on Nov. 22, Pope Francis said that the complex challenges of the world today – including globalization, the rapid advances of technology and the persistence of civil conflicts resulting in migration, refugees, famine and war – makes the need for cooperation between religions all the more pressing.
Pope’s Visit to Thailand a ‘Morale Booster’ for Tiny Catholic Flock
Pope Francis arrived in Thailand Wednesday to open a Nov. 20-26 Asia tour that will also take him to Japan. It marks the first time a pope has visited the former kingdom of Siam since St. John Paul II in 1984.
From Child Prostitution to Nuclear Arms, Pope Has a Big Agenda in Asia
When Pope Francis embarks on the thirty-second trip of his pontificate Nov. 19, headed towards Thailand and Japan, he will once again be visiting nations where Catholics are a small minority.