The Hoon Dok Hae was followed by our usual testimonies and the orientation and briefing for the day. We were again divided in several different groups, some staying in Osaka, while others would go to other places such as Kobe and Kyoto.

I spent the morning in Abiko to do office work and develop my most recent pictures. I also helped Chantal Robertson make ultimate corrections to her speech. Meanwhile, our driver was preparing the itinerary for the appointments of the afternoon and Sachiko Nishimoto prepared spiritually.

Our sister Sachiko Nishimoto took much time to pray and prepare spiritually before going. She had been a missionary to France in the years 1994-1998, and I was very happy to work with her as well as with Elizabeth.

We had decided to visit two churches in the afternoon, and we had prepared a good plan with the driver. As we were about to go, Elizabeth Kang suddenly worried whether it was wise to visit Christian ministers the day before the inauguration of IIPC in Osaka. Some Christian circles have done a lot of damage to our movement in Japan and have caused great difficulty for the Providence. Even though I did not have such a concern, I thought that we should first seek Reverend Kang’s opinion. His answer was not clearly yes or no. I think he trusted us to act with maturity and a strong sense of responsibility.

We surely did well to be cautious before going. It made us more prayerful and humble. Before ringing at the door of the house of the Bishop of the Anglican church, we took a long moment to pray in the bus.

When we rang, a thin Japanese man appeared. He was surprised to see us. We never understood whether or not an appointment had been made with him on the phone. But the man asked us to enter his house and sit down in the living room, where his wife brought a delicious tea, Very soon, we understood that we were being received by the Bishop of the Anglican Church of Osaka!!!!

We had decided to introduce the IIPC and then ask him many questions, so that he would feel that he was the centre, not us. His attitude towards the founding of IIPC was excellent. He welcomed this idea with joy and satisfaction. It is his conviction that Christians in Japan should not seek their own benefit, but should try to address the real issues of the society; and they should do so with other spiritual leaders. He was also deeply impressed by the process in Jerusalem and looked attentively at our press release in Japanese.

We then asked many questions, and he was apparently deeply moved to be able to express his heart to respectful Westerners who showed their sympathy for the Christian minority of Japan. Asked how he had become a Christian, he said that at the age of 15, he got the tuberculosis. He was a student in an Anglican college, and he felt that Jesus might save his life. He prayed for two years and was cured completely. This motivated him to give his life to Jesus and become a priest. He studied theology and was ordained in the Anglican church.

He answered many other questions that we asked him, and we became very close. He explained that the Japanese society is seeking peace through consensus, but people do not always have the courage to express their opinion. In the case of the war in Iraq, he disagreed with Prime Minister Koizumi and issued a communiqué where he criticised the war from a Biblical viewpoint. His communiqué is available on the internet.

He also exposed his worry at the moral situation of the youth in Japan. The government is not doing enough to consult with spiritual authorities about this matter.

At the end of the meeting, we asked Bishop Uno to pray, and he prayed very sincerely that God would bless the IIPC. He greeted the three of us with great sympathy. We felt how much God loved this man of God.

We then went to the Cathedral of Osaka, where a wedding had just been celebrated. A nun went to seek a priest for us, and Father Mitake soon appeared. He was beaming with peace and joy. We discussed with him in the church, and despite the fact that we had no appointment, he was so happy to talk with us. Father Mitake has been a priest for 30 years.

He spoke of the Catholic church concern for the refugees or immigrants who have chosen Japan to start a new life. He was particularly referring to Vietnamese and Filipino people who are Catholic and who seek the protection of the church to settle their legal and social situation in Japan. According to Father Mitake, the law of love of the Catholic church enters into contradiction with the political and legal system of Japan.

"Do you feel that Japan has a mission to share its blessings with other people? - You can see it this way, he replied. Japan is a nation of abundance now, and Catholics see it as a manifestation of God’s Blessing as you just put it. But Japanese people are more and more secularised and see wealth as the fruit of the human effort only."

He welcomed the idea of the IIPC and was greatly impressed by the Jerusalem march. He expressed the same concern as Bishop Uno for the Japanese youth. He said that the rate of divorce is now quite high in Japan, even among the Catholics. Several pastoral programs aim at guiding the couples but the problem is that young people are no longer attracted by the church. I explained to him that service activities are good to motivate the young people. When they serve and meet difficulties caused by sin, they become more thirsty spiritually and start to search for God. He said it was a good idea. We felt that he was quite lonely in this huge Cathedral, and overwhelmed by our love and sympathy for him. He took all the documents with great joy.

When we left, we meditated deeply before the statues of Takayama Ukon and Donna Gratia Hosokawa, the two great saints of Japan. We felt how much the Christians have suffered in Japan and gone the way of martyrdom with a pure heart.

After two days of visiting Christian leaders in Osaka, I wrote the following reflections:

1. Japan is the Eve nation, in the position of the bride

When we consider the situation of Christianity in Japan, we should maintain a vertical attitude and keep the vertical axis. It does not matter that Christians are only 0,7 % of the Japanese population. Moreover, the negative attitude of the Christians of Japan against our church can never be a pretext for ignoring them.

What matters in general is that Christians are the salt of the earth and the light of this world, even when they are a minority. They represent the central Providence for the second coming. What matters for the Japan case is that God has anointed Japan as the Mother nation, or Eve nation, instead of United Kingdom. In 1992, True Mother started her world tour on the foundation of the WFWP, which was born in Japan, and this tour was to restore the position of Christianity as the world-wide bride. This was foundational to proclaim the Completed Testament Era. From this viewpoint, the WFWP, which was born in Japan, can be seen as the embodiment of the Christian values which ushers in the era of heart and attendance following the era of faith in Jesus.

Because of True Parents love, the Satanic nation of Japan, which has rejected Christianity, which worships the female Goddess and which did horrible things against Korean Christians, was declared the Bride nation. This is the only thing that should concern us.

One Japanese member could understand very deeply what Japan should do. After hearing the Principle, he realised that all Christians should become the bride of Christ. In the last days, the Lord will bless those virgin men and women who have dedicated their life to Heaven by becoming priests and nuns. With such a deep understanding, this brother asked his central figures if he could become a priest of the Catholic church and receive the Blessing as such. At first, they thought he had a spiritual problem, but many Japanese leaders understood his deep and sincere motivation. After 6 years, he was about to become a priest when he was denounced by his Jesuit Superior as a Moonie, and he could not be ordained. Father blessed him with an Ukrainian sister, saying that he was the real priest of God worthy of God’s Blessing.

Reverends Kamiyama, Ken Sudo and Oyamada all come from a Christian background. This is very meaningful.

The internet shows that a certain number of American pastors working in Japan have Japanese wives. We met one of them on November 14. There are several others. In the meantime, if we see what is going on in the United States, it appears that Father has blessed Bishop Stallings with a Japanese wife, and several other ministers as well.

I suggest that we reflect on the meaning of these facts.

Laurent Ladouce

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