August 2024

   On August 3-4 Shinmeizan has welcomed, the Bishop of Fukuoka (the diocese Shinmeizan belongs to) for his annual visit, which Shinmeizan appreciates very much and for which we are very thankful to our Bishop.

On August 4-6 and 18-20 Shinmeizan held two courses for students of the University of Industrial Medicine of Kitakyushu on the meaning and value of human life from a religious point of view. These curses have been held at Shinmeizan every year since 2001, on suggestion of Prof. Fujino of the same University, as a part of his course on “General Introduction to the Science of Medicine”.

In the field of interreligious dialogue, of special importance have been the following activities of Sr. Maria De Giorgi:

• On August 4, the participation, upon invitation, in the annual “Summit of Religions” held on Mount Hiei (Kyoto). This meeting of the representatives of all the major world religions praying for peace is convened in declared continuity with the first such event held in Assisi in 1986 on the initiative of Pope Saint John Paul II.  

• On August 12, Sr. Maria was invited to join, with a message, in the large meeting held in the Catholic Cathedral of Fukuoka on the theme “Thinking of a peace possible right from tomorrow”, held within the context of the special week of prayer and action for peace in the world called by the Catholic Church in Japan.

• On August 29-30, Sr. Maria has been invited to take part in the international conference called by the “Studies in Inter-Religious Relations in Plural Societies (SRP) Programme” and the “Asia Research Institute (ARI) of Singapore, on the theme “The Vatican and Inter-Religious Diplomacy”, in preparation to the visit in September by the Holy Father Francis to four Countries of South East Asia, among which Singapore. The paper delivered by Sr. Maria dealt with “Christian-Buddhist relations in Japan Today: A contribution to Social Harmony and Dialogue.”