5th Evangelii Summit Japan
“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6)
– The Return of Christ the King”
ZOOM Online Conference – November 25-26, 2023.
(Marking the Feast Day of Christ the King, November 26)
ESJ-5 N0002
Press Release
February 21, 2023
The aim of this Summit, Evangelii Summit Japan 2023, is to highlight the vital need for Christ to be the center of our lives and our society at large. With the onslaught of extreme secular beliefs, materialistic values and ideological untruths, the erosion of Christ as center in the lives of people has, in recent years, dramatically grown. This Summit aims to underline the need for people and society to have God and Christ the King at the center of our lives.
The Tyranny of Relativism
Throughout the world today, there has been a steady rise in persecution of Christians. Pope Benedict XVI warned of ‘The Tyranny of Relativism’, which, in recent times, has manifested into divisive ideologies such as ‘Woke culture’, attacks on the traditional nuclear family, the undermining of the role of man and woman as husband and wife and the cheapening of the value of life from the unborn to the elderly.
Rampant materialism, the pervasive use of social media and smartphones, and excessively busy lifestyles can create an environment of spiritual desserts and emptiness prompting people to seek temporary comforts devoid of nourishment, addictive harmful habits and activities and a hopelessness regarding the meaning of life, leading to despair. In Japan, we see high rates of suicide, the slow erosion of traditional family values, ill-health from overwork and harassment of all kinds, and increasing efforts to import foreign ‘woke’ culture, pointing to a spiritual void and lack of hope in the lives of people.
The Fortitude of the Hidden Christians of Japan
The Hidden Christians waited for the return of Christ throughout the 250 years of persecution in Japan so by taking their example, we can be inspired by their steadfast faith, hope and belief that Christ would return to them. Why did these courageous Christians want to persevere under such dreadful conditions? They knew that Christ was and is ‘the Way, the Truth, and the Life’, that true joy, liberty, meaning of life, and salvation was found by following and believing in Christ. That Christ was their ‘Joy of the Gospel’ and that Christ was their King. This story of perseverance in the midst of so much sacrifice and suffering can be a lesson for us today.
The Hidden Christians of Japan and the Irish
Throughout the history of the Church, whenever the Church and its people were under severe threat and persecution, this was followed by the explosion of graces from God and the healing power of the Holy Spirit that led to a new blossoming of growth, goodness, and revitalization of the Church. This phenomenon can be seen, from the time of the early Christians who overcame persecution in the Roman Empire, to the Irish, for example, who despite severe persecution from the 17th to 19th century, successfully clung to their Catholic Faith, seeded to them by St. Patrick, since the 5th century. The similarity between the experience and re-emergence of the Faith of the persecuted Japanese and Irish Christians is uncanny.
We see this truth in the long-suffering of the ‘Hidden Christians’ of Japan that patiently believed in the Return of Christ the King, which finally came for them, uncannily again, on March 17th, (St. Patrick’s Day) 1865. This was the day when a French missionary priest, Father Bernard Petitjean, who was inside a Catholic church in the area (Oura Cathedral, Nagasaki, the oldest Catholic church in Japan, designated as a national treasure and since 2018, has been registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site), was met by a hesitant group of Japanese Christians who had emerged from hiding, seeking signs that Christ had indeed returned to Japan. “We are of one heart with you.”, they claimed as they timidly approached a startled Fr. Petitjean. The news of this incredible discovery went out throughout an astonished world. A statue of Our Blessed Mother was created and installed in Oura Cathedral, marking this special date of ‘St. Patrick’s Day’, known as ‘Our Lady of the Discovery of Japanese Christians’.
The Summit is a Prayer
Today, as in Ireland, not only Christians but everyone in Japan is facing another kind of persecution, namely, the ill-effects of extreme materialism, progressive secularism and ideologies that lead to despair and emptiness. And as in the past, as the Hidden Christians of Japan and the Irish have shown, their prayers, fortitude and adherence to the Faith was indeed rewarded by the Return of Christ the King. This Summit is a prayer for the resurrection of the Christian Faith in Japan, for the Return of Christ the King to us, His people, and to society at large.
About Evangelii Summit Japan
The Evangelii Summit Japan is a grassroots annual event, organized by a lay-Catholic group,
Evangelii Network Japan, which consists of volunteers from the parish of St. Ignatius Church,
Tokyo, and other parishes.
Evangelii Network Japan
Email: enjsummit@gmail.com
