The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1917-08-25
CATHOLICISM In JAPAN
THE CHURCH WAS PROPAGATED
IN THAT LAND CENTURIES AGO
ST. FRANCIS XAVIER WAS
THE GREAT PIONEER.

In response to a question an ex-
change gives the following account Of
early Christianity in Japan.
Catholicity was brought to Japan by
st. Francis Xavier in the year 1549,
almost 400. years ago. When he set
out to evangelize China two years
later he left after him a Catholic COM
munity of 5000 souls. Twenty years
later the number of Catholics was
$50. Catholicism continued to grow
without much serious opposition until
the year 1914, when an edict of de-
struction was issued against Christians
and the persecution thus inaugurated
continued without any cessation.
When some 80 years later four Portu-
guese ambassadors went from Macao
to Nagasaki they were asked to apos-
tatize and upon refusal to do so were
put to death. Their thirteen followers
we're sent back to Macao with this
| warning:
While the sun warns the earth
| let no Christian be SO bold as to ven
ture into Japan. Even if it was the
King of Spain in person or the God
of. the Christians, or the great Buddah
himself, whosoever shall disobey this
prohibition shall pay for it with his
head" So Japan was closed to the
world and remained closed from that
year, 1910, until the year 1858 when a
treaty was signed and ratified be-
| tween Japan and France. During
these two centuries both Jesuit and
Dominican missionaries endeavored
to work in Japan but in every case
were detected and put to death after
treaty between Japan and France was
that French Catholic missionaries
were free to reside in open ports of
Japan and there to build a church
for the service of foreigners. In the
year 1865 one of these missionaries,
Father Petitjean, was told by fifteen
Japanese that they were Catholics and
that there were about $4,000 Catholics
| in all Japan. This was wonderful
revelation after two centuries cut off
from Occidental civilization. In 1867
a new persecution was inaugurated
by the government but this time it
/ took the form of exile rather than
death. This persecution lasted about
six years and about 10 years later,
Ii. e., in 1884, an official decree stated
| that there was no state religion and
! finally in 1889, the new constitution of
the Empire was promulgated and re-
ligious liberty granted. Since the
edict of religious liberty the zeal of
the Japanese for religion has decreas-
| ed and conversions are less frequent.
/ Especially since they have COM
menced to imbibe Western ideas and
measures whole attention Of the
average Japanese is to place his coun-
try. in position of commercial, finan-
cial and military supremacy or at
least independence to the rest of the
world. The lax standards of morality
prevalent amongst them and the athe-
ism of the upper classes are grave
obstacles to the acceptance of Chris
tianity. However, the work of the
Catholic Church goes on in the Island
opposed and thwarted as is always
the case by the efforts of Protestant
missionaries who arrived in Japan for
the first time in the year 1853, over
200 years after st. Francis had
drought Catholicism to the Japanese.
THE present relations between the
Japanese Government and the Holy
See are very amicable, due largely to
the tact and diplomacy of Mgr. Pet
| relli, delegate to the Philippine Is
lands.