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Opinion

Interview with Cardinal Maeda on significance of Pope’s visit to Hiroshima and using A-bombed city to call for nuclear abolition

by Daiki Hisayuku, Staff Writer

Pope’s visit an impetus to undertake activities to convey A-bomb experiences

Pope Francis, 82, the top figure at the Vatican and the worldwide head of the Roman Catholic Church, will visit the A-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in November to call for the abolition of nuclear weapons. The pontiff’s visit will be the first visit to Japan by a Pope in 38 years since the late John Paul II’s visit in 1981. The Chugoku Shimbun interviewed Manyo Maeda, 70, the Archbishop of Osaka. He was formerly the bishop of Hiroshima before becoming a cardinal, the highest position in the Catholic church after the Pope. The Chugoku Shinbun asked him about the significance of the Pope’s visit to the A-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

For some time you have asked the Pope to visit the A-bombed cities. Could you explain why?
I have asked him to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki to help increase the momentum for the abolition of nuclear weapons, because messages of peace sent from Hiroshima and Nagasaki are far more powerful than those sent from anywhere else in the world. Although some people say that the realization of a nuclear-weapon-free world is impossible, I don’t think that we should ever give up.

Moreover, the Pope’s messages will surely empower the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to hand down their history — a history that should never be forgotten — to the generations that follow. After the late John Paul II visited Hiroshima, some Catholic A-bomb survivors became more active in talking about their A-bomb experiences. Because the A-bomb survivors are aging, the Pope’s visit will serve as a significant impetus in helping to convey the A-bomb survivors’ experiences to future generations.

The Pope’s visit will create momentum for action

Attention is now focused on what the Pope will say during his visit because he has repeatedly called for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Thirty-eight years ago, the world was in the Cold War era. A number of countries were developing nuclear weapons and pressing ahead with a build-up of their military arsenals. Today, the world faces the threat of North Korea’s nuclear development efforts and issues involving Iran’s nuclear development program. In addition, the efforts being made by the United States and Russia for nuclear disarmament, as well as the NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons) regime, which will hold its review conference next year, are hanging in the balance.

When the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted at the United Nations in 2017, the Vatican ratified the treaty with extraordinary speed. The Vatican believes that not only using but also producing nuclear weapons is immoral. I imagine that the Pope will probably mention the unethical nature of nuclear weapons and the role that politics should play. I hope that the Pope’s speech will serve as an impetus for everyone in the world to start working toward the realization of a nuclear-weapon-free world.

What does the Pope think about peace?
Environmental issues, poverty, and various other problems are intricately intertwined, and they are threats to peace. Not only must we eradicate the threat of nuclear weapons, we must also ensure that all of the world’s people can prosper in all aspects of their lives. We must create an open world where no one is excluded.

The Pope, who is a native of Argentina, always listens to the voices of the weak, moves among the poor, and preaches the faith. He often visits countries and regions which face human rights issues. He is also concerned about Japan’s current problems including the lonely death of elderly people and the increase in the number of young people who commit suicide.

Communication that transcends religion

Will there be an opportunity for the Pope to meet with Buddhist monks and other religious figures?
Pope Francis is now putting a great deal of effort into communicating with Muslims and believers of other religions by transcending religious beliefs.

In 2014, when I was the bishop of Hiroshima, I served as the president of the Hiroshima prefectural religious union comprising Shintoism, Buddhism, and Christianity. Most of the people of Hiroshima share a common foundation of longing for world peace, and collaboratively working toward a common goal beyond the lines of religions and religious sects. The representatives of various religions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki have strongly urged the Pope to visit their cities. Although it all depends on the Pope’s schedule, I hope there will be an opportunity for dialogue and communication to take place between the pontiff and various religious figures.

You are a second-generation A-bomb survivor whose ancestors were Christians who had to hide in the Goto Islands of Nagasaki Prefecture.
At the beginning of the Meiji era (1868-1912), when Christianity was banned in Japan, many Christians, including my great-grandfather, were persecuted, and his three younger sisters died for their faith. I have often heard of the history of the believers who risked their lives to protect their Christian religion. My mother was exposed to the atomic bomb in Nagasaki when she was 19 years old. After that, she continuously suffered from swollen legs and stiff fingers.

Since 2011, when I was assigned to the Hiroshima district, I have prayed to mourn the atomic bomb victims each August 6. This is because I hope to send out a message that conveys the preciousness of life and the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation, as well as to help advance the goal of peace in the world.

Profile

Manyo Maeda
Born in Shinkamigoto-cho, Nagasaki Prefecture in 1949, he graduated from Saint-Sulpice Major Seminary in Fukuoka. After serving as the parish priest of several churches in various parts of Nagasaki prefecture, he was the secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan. He later became bishop of the Hiroshima district and archbishop of the Osaka district. In June 2018, he became the sixth Japanese cardinal. The cardinal is an advisor to the Pope and there are some 230 cardinals throughout the world. Those who are less than 80 years old have a vote in the conclave.

Keywords

Pope’s visit to Hiroshima
In February 1981, the late John Paul II visited Japan for the first time as Pope and mourned the A-bomb victims in the A-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, the Pope delivered the “Appeal for Peace from Hiroshima,” in which he said, “War is the work of man.” The current pope, Pope Francis, who became pontiff in 2013, has been distributing cards which show a photo of a boy carrying his dead brother on his back. The photo was reportedly taken in Nagasaki after the dropping of the atomic bomb, and the Pope created the cards based on the photo. Pope Francis expressed his desire to visit Japan when he met with Cardinal Maeda last December. The Pope will be in Japan from November 23 to 26 and will visit the cities of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki on November 24.

(Originally published on August 12, 2019)

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