Vatican Secretary comes to Hiroshima and mentions possible visit to A-bombed city by Pope Francis
Jan. 31, 2017
by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Staff Writer
On January 30, H.E. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States of the Vatican (which corresponds to the position of foreign minister), visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for the first time and said that the schedule of Pope Francis may include a visit to the A-bombed city.
Mr. Gallagher met with Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki and Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui at the prefectural government office and city hall, respectively, and both local government leaders asked that Pope Francis visit Hiroshima. After the meetings, Mr. Gallagher toured the Peace Memorial Museum, and, speaking to reporters there, said that he will certainly pass on the invitations by the Hiroshima governor and mayor to the Pope. He added that, at the moment, it was difficult for him to comment on the likelihood of the Pope coming to Hiroshima, but that the Pope would take the people of Hiroshima’s hopes for his visit to their city very seriously.
According to the City of Hiroshima, the only visit by a sitting Pope to Hiroshima was in 1981 by the late Pope John Paul II.
Secretary Gallagher arrived in Japan on January 28 at the invitation of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will stay until February 3. His visit to Hiroshima was arranged at his request. While in the museum, he leaned toward a boy’s charred tricycle and other personal effects of A-bomb victims and looked at them closely. He also offered flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, and then, in English, read out some passages from the Appeal for Peace that Pope John Paul II made during his visit to Hiroshima, such as “everlasting peace.”
(Originally published on January 31)
On January 30, H.E. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States of the Vatican (which corresponds to the position of foreign minister), visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for the first time and said that the schedule of Pope Francis may include a visit to the A-bombed city.
Mr. Gallagher met with Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki and Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui at the prefectural government office and city hall, respectively, and both local government leaders asked that Pope Francis visit Hiroshima. After the meetings, Mr. Gallagher toured the Peace Memorial Museum, and, speaking to reporters there, said that he will certainly pass on the invitations by the Hiroshima governor and mayor to the Pope. He added that, at the moment, it was difficult for him to comment on the likelihood of the Pope coming to Hiroshima, but that the Pope would take the people of Hiroshima’s hopes for his visit to their city very seriously.
According to the City of Hiroshima, the only visit by a sitting Pope to Hiroshima was in 1981 by the late Pope John Paul II.
Secretary Gallagher arrived in Japan on January 28 at the invitation of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and will stay until February 3. His visit to Hiroshima was arranged at his request. While in the museum, he leaned toward a boy’s charred tricycle and other personal effects of A-bomb victims and looked at them closely. He also offered flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims, and then, in English, read out some passages from the Appeal for Peace that Pope John Paul II made during his visit to Hiroshima, such as “everlasting peace.”
(Originally published on January 31)
