VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 056
DATE 20-03-2015

Summary:
- The Pope on the importance of the "hidden Christians" of Japan
- Pope Francis: the death penalty is inadmissible
- Press release from the Dean of the College of Cardinals
- Pope's telegram for terrorist attack in Tunisia
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 The Pope on the importance of the "hidden Christians" of Japan
 Vatican City, 20 March 2015 (VIS) - "Though the Catholic community is small,
your local Churches are esteemed by Japanese society for your many
contributions, born of your Christian identity, which serve people regardless
of
religion. I commend your many efforts in the fields of education, healthcare,
service to the elderly, infirm, and handicapped, and your charitable works
which
have been especially important in response to the tragic devastation wrought by
the earthquake and tsunami four years ago. So too I express deep appreciation
for your initiatives in favour of peace, especially your efforts to keep before
the world the immense suffering experienced by the people of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki at the end of the Second World War seventy years ago. In all of these
works, you not only meet the needs of the community, but you also create
opportunities for dialogue between the Church and society".
 The Holy Father thus addressed the prelates of the Catholic Bishops'
Conference
of Japan at the end of their "ad Limina" visit, who this month celebrate the
"discovery" fifty years ago of the "hidden Christians" of Japan, a central
theme
of the written discourse the Pope handed to them this morning.
 He writes, "The Church in Japan has experienced abundant blessings but has
equally known suffering. From those joys and sorrows, your ancestors in the
faith have bequeathed to you a living heritage that adorns the Church today and
encourages her journey toward the future. This heritage is rooted in the
missionaries who first reached your shores and proclaimed the Word of God,
Jesus
Christ. We think especially of Saint Francis Xavier. ... For many of these
missionaries, as well as for some of the first members of the Japanese Catholic
community, their witness to Christ led to the shedding of their blood. ... We
recall especially Saint Paul Miki and companions whose steadfast faith in the
midst of persecution became an encouragement for the small Christian community
to persevere in every trial".
 Another aspect of this rich patrimony is the discovery of the "hidden
Christians" - those who conserved the Christian faith after all the lay
missionaries and priests had been expelled from the country. "The embers of
faith which the Holy Spirit ignited through the preaching of these evangelisers
and sustained by the witness of the martyrs were kept safe, through the care of
the lay faithful who maintained the Catholic community's life of prayer and
catechesis in the midst of great danger and persecution".
 "These two pillars of Catholic history in Japan, missionary activity and the
'hidden Christians',continue to support the life of the Church today, and offer
a guide to living the faith. In every age and land, the Church remains a
missionary Church, seeking to evangelise and make disciples of all nations,
while continually enriching the faith of the community of believers and
instilling in them the responsibility to nurture this faith in the home and
society".
 The work of evangelisation, however, "is not the sole responsibility of those
who leave their homes and go to distant lands to preach the Gospel. In fact, by
our baptism, we are all called to be evangelisers and to witness to the Good
News of Jesus wherever we are. We are called to go forth, to be an evangelising
community, even if that simply means opening the front door of our homes and
stepping out into our own neighbourhoods. ... If our missionary efforts are to
bear fruit, the example of the 'hidden Christians' has much to teach us. Though
small in number and daily facing persecution, these believers were able to
preserve the faith by being attentive to their personal relationship with
Jesus,
a relationship built on a solid prayer life and a sincere commitment to the
welfare of the community. ... The 'hidden Christians' of Japan remind us that
the
work of fostering the life of the Church and of evangelising require the full
and active participation of the lay faithful. Their mission is twofold: to
engage in the life of the parish and local Church, and to permeate the social
order with their Christian witness".
 Through the witness of faith of the Japanese faithful, "the Church expresses
her genuine catholicity and shows the ‘beauty of her varied face'", the Pope
concludes, citing his apostolic exhortation "Evangelii Gaudium". "So often,
when
we find this witness lacking, it is not because the faithful do not want to be
missionary disciples, but rather because they think themselves incapable of the
task. I encourage you as Pastors to instil in them a deep appreciation of their
calling and to offer them concrete expressions of support and guidance so that
they may answer this call with generosity and courage".

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 Pope Francis: the death penalty is inadmissible
 Vatican City, 20 March 2015 (VIS)- This morning the Holy Father received in
audience a delegation from the International Commission against the Death
Penalty. Below we offer extensive extracts from the letter the Pope gave to
Federico Mayor, president of the Commission, to greet and offer his personal
thanks to all the members of the aforementioned International Commission, the
group of countries that lend their support, and all those who collaborate in
its
work.
 "I would like to take this opportunity to share with you some reflections on
what the Church contributes to the humanistic efforts of the Commission. The
Church's Magisterium, based on the Sacred Scripture and the thousand-year
experience of the People of God, defends life from conception to natural end,
and supports full human dignity inasmuch as it represents the image of God.
Human life is sacred as, from its beginning, from the first instant of
conception, it is the fruit of God's creating action".
 "States kill when they apply the death penalty, when they send their people to
war or when they carry out extrajudicial or summary executions. They can also
kill by omission, when they fail to guarantee to their people access to the
bare
essentials for life. ... On some occasions it is necessary to repel an ongoing
assault proportionately to avoid damage caused by the aggressor, and the need
to
neutralise him could lead to his elimination; this is a case of legitimate
defence. However, the presuppositions of personal legitimate defence do not
apply at the social level, without risk of misinterpretation. When the death
penalty is applied, it is not for a current act of aggression, but rather for
an
act committed in the past. It is also applied to persons whose current ability
to cause harm is not current, as it has been neutralised - they are already
deprived of their liberty".
 "Nowadays the death penalty is inadmissible, no matter how serious the crime
committed. It is an offence against the inviolability of life and the dignity
of
the human person, which contradicts God's plan for man and society, and his
merciful justice, and impedes the penalty from fulfilling any just objective.
It
does not render justice to the victims, but rather fosters vengeance".
 "For the rule of law, the death penalty represents a failure, as it obliges
the
state to kill in the name of justice. ... Justice can never be wrought by
killing
a human being. ... With the application of the death penalty, the convict is
denied the possibility of to repent or make amends for the harm caused; the

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