APRIL 2018 : Shinmeizan Diary

APRIL 2018 – Main activities of interreligious dialogue at Shinmeizan

The most important news from Shinmeizan this month is the arrival of Mr. Taichi and Mrs.Mariko Shinohara, husband and wife, who have been our friends for many years and now, after retirement from work, have joined our small community to live and… work with us!

April 8th –  Like in the past years, on the occasion of Hanamatsuri  (the commemoration of the birth of the Buddha, which in Japan is held on April 8th),  we have forwarded to our Buddhist partners in dialogue, the message sent to them on this occasion by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, accompanying it with a letter.  We have sent the same message also to all the Pastors of the Fukuoka Diocese, with the suggestion that they bring it to some Buddhist Temples in their respective Parishes. Fr. Franco carried the message personally to the Seimeizan-Schweitzer Temple of Tamana, with which Shinmeizan is bound by special bonds of friendship. 

April 8th –   Fr. Franco leads the Kumamoto group for Interreligious Dialogue in a visit to the Nichikan Temple (Nichiren Buddhism) in Nagasu (Kumamoto Pref.),  Here the group was welcomed by the Ven. Buddhist Nun Wako, with whom we enjoyed some hours of friendly and interesting conversation.

 "Paying a visit to Nichikan Temple, April 8, 2018"

April 10th –  A group of 18 Catholics of the Musashigaoka Parish in Kumamoto, led by their Pastor, Fr. Denny Wahyudi, SX, visits Shinmeizan to learn about its spirituality and activity of interreligious dialogue.

"The Parishoners of Musashigaoka Church visiting Shinmeizan"

April 13th – Sr. Maria, while continuing her academic activities at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, presents a paper at a “roundtable” held at the same University, on the missiological theme of “A Church with open doors”.

April 27th –  A group of 14 elderly people of our village (Heboura) comes to spend a day at Shinmeizan. On the occasion of this annual event we inform the people of our village, about our activities of interreligious dialogue.