JPIC corner(Shiki May-June 2009)
“Peace Maintenance”
The Celebration of Constitution Day in Himeji
by Ludo Goossens

The Harima (area) Meeting for Protection of the Constitution started its activities in 1979 in Himeji church and ever since it staged events to mark Japan’s Constitution Day every year. This time the organizers took the risk to rent the great hall of the Himeji City Cultural Center at a considerable expense. However, unexpectedly around 1,400 people who paid a \1,000 entrance ticket showed up on Saturday May 2 from noon on. In the lobby various exhibits were set up, a. o. colorful woodblock prints cunningly glorifying the military feats of the Imperial Army in China during the Meiji era, and war propaganda leaflets in newspaper format which were distributed in 1932 by the Himeji office of civil defense.

A straightforward man called me to his desk where he sold DVDs he had produced himself by editing all kinds of documentary materials related to World War II. He succeeded in convincing me in view of Mother’s Day to acquire Mubôbi Chiiki Sengen (Declaring a Locality as Defenseless), a DVD of 26 minutes featuring senator Yamauchi Tokunobu, the former mayor of Kunitachi Uehara, and bishop Matsuura who explain the history of outlawing war, the movement to create arms-free areas and the action to have towns refuse any collaboration with war, especially with military bases.

The program proper started with an ear-deafening percussion in Korean style. The 44 performers from Himeji were squatted in front of a huge reproduction of Pablo Picasso’s Guernica painting, commissioned by the Spanish Republican government for the Paris World Fair in July 1937, only five days after 28 bombers of the Nazi Luftwaffe indiscriminately bombed the cultural capital of the Basque people though it did not have any strategic value as military target. Moreover, some 20 Messerschmitt and Fiat fighter planes machine-gunned people out on the streets for the market day. The village burnt for three days. The raid destroyed 70% of the town and killed or gravely wounded 1,600 persons, mainly women and children. The all-out air attack was ordered on (Catholic) general Franco's behalf to break the spirited Basque resistance to Nationalist forces. Guernica served as a testing ground for the new Nazi military tactic - blanket-bombing a civilian population to demoralize the enemy. The carnage sparked a worldwide outrage and Picasso’s painting drew attention to the horrors of the Spanish civil war. The Guernica painting which measures 3.5 m by 7.8 m depicts the destruction of war on innocent lives and has become a potent anti-war symbol.

Thereupon followed a PowerPoint presentation about how almost 8,000 Article 9 Groups spread in order to safeguard the war renouncing article 9 of the Constitution. It is precisely when premier Koizumi succeeded in convincing 70% of the people that the Constitution had to be updated and only 23% were found to be against any revision, that this grassroots movement took off all over the country. (In the same vein bishop Matsuura Gorô urged the Catholics to form Peace 9 Groups of 3 to 5 people; in Jan. ‘09 1,107 groups were registered.) In five years time they succeeded in completely reversing the nefarious trend. According to the most recent survey conducted by the Asahi Shimbun more than 70% now want to keep Article 9, while only 26% wish to abandon it. On the other hand, the 52% who are in favor of amending the Constitution, want to do so only in view of adding new rights, such as the right to a clean environment, voting age at 18, etc.

The great guest of the day was composer Prof. Ikebe Shinichirô, known for the scores of Kurozawa’s movies Kagemusha and Dreams and for the music of several NHK documentaries and Taiga Drâma. He is a spirited talker too and in a live interview with the humorous leader Tanaka of the Choir of Kobe City Hall Center he pleaded for maintaining the momentum of the peace movement, because not a few people like the influential former newscaster Sakurai Yoshiko, former defense minister Koike Yuriko and The Yomiuri Shimbun editorials （”Diet should start review of Constitution ASAP”）continue to call for changing the Constitution. Moreover, Ikebe labeled the politicians who say that it is time to change after 60 years as incompetent, for genuine statesmen use a much longer time span to evaluate historic achievements. The articles of Japan’s peace Constitution, he added, are formulated broadly enough to cover such new aspects as ecology and gender equality and thus are able to inspire Japan and the world for many more decades.

Professor Ikebe declared that his way of fostering the peace movement is through music and he urged everyone to promote peace with his or her talents in the situation he or she is living in. According to Harrie Quaadvliet who participated in the choir assembled ad hoc, their singing improved immensely after strenuous rehearsals the evening before and the whole morning of the performance day under the rigorous direction of maestro Ikebe who composed all the arrangements. Accompanied by professional pianist Ooue the choir gave heart moving renditions (in Japanese) of Amazing Grace, Deep River, The Hymn of the Republic, Tanigawa Shuntarô’s poem 平和、それは … (Peace, that is …) and the Hispanic American Kim Rosario’s translated anti-war song私たちが進み続ける理由 (The reason why we will overcome), both splendidly set to music by Ikebe himself.

At the end of the three hour long event a 23 year old laid off temporary IT worker from Kakogawa proclaimed the draft of a Constitution Day’s Appeal. It pointed out that “the missile launching by North Korea had again strengthened the voices in Japan calling for rearmament. However, restraint was urged and diplomatic ways to solve the problem must be pursued in view of reducing tension in Asia. … While people’s livelihood is based on peace, it has been encroached upon by the deregulation of the stipulations of the labor law thus causing nonregulatory workers to end up as working poor. Therefore, the right to a decent livelihood as guaranteed by Article 25 needs to be reconfirmed and this ideal should be put widely into practice when building society.” The assembly adopted this appeal with a thunderous applause.

For the encore, director Ikebe had chosen Amazing Grace, so that the whole performance (on purpose?) received an amazing inclusion, namely that only God’s shalôm saves the ‘wretched’ warmongers we all potentially are …

Under Construction
January 2010

Under Construction

Under Construction

CICM-JP New Interns

In September 2009, Japan Province was blessed by the arrival of three young missionaries.

They are bros. Armando Romero (Filipino), Frederic Khonde Ntoto (Congolese) and Justin Lukusa Mende (Congolese). After graduting from Maryhill School of Theology (MST) in Manila, they came as interns to do their 3 year-internship program in the country. At the moment, they live in Kongo Formation Community (c/o Kongo Catholic Church) while doing their Japanese Language Study in Osaka.


Frederic, Armando, Harnoko and Justin.

Himeji City is well-known because of its magnificent castle, Himeji Castle (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) surrounded by beautiful Japanese gardens. Himeji is the second largest city of Hyogo Prefecture after Kobe. It is in this beautiful city where CICM missionaries pitched their permanent tent for the first time (1948). For us, CICM-Japan Himeji has become our mother house, our birth-place.

District of Himeji consists of several communities, namely confreres working in Parishes around Himeji, in the School, in the Provincial House and in the Nibuno Residence.

Confreres working in Parishes:

 Fr. Ludo Goossens
 working for Himeji Middle Bloc (team ministry and JPIC)
 residing in Himeji Church ( Honmachi 68. Himeji City. 670-0012 Japan. Tel/fax:079-222-0043 )
 Fr. Michael Dulnuan
 working for Kakogawa Bloc (team ministry and migrant workers)
 residing in Takasago Church ( Hataraku Hito no Ie. Hasuike 2-12-8. Arai-cho, Takasago. 676-0013 Japan. Tel/fax:079-442-2500 )
 Fr. Raymond Van Der Vijver
 working for Toyooka Parish (parish priest)
 residing in Toyooka Church ( Myorakuji 28. Toyooka City. 668-0804 Japan. Tel/Fax:0796-22-2018 )

Fr. Raymond and his visitors

50 year-anniversary of Ikuno Church

Confreres working in the School and Provincial House:

 Fr. Edgar Gacutan
 working as Provincial Superior of CICM-Japan (involved in Young Christian Workers)
 residing in the Provincial House
 Fr. Toon Margot
 working for Junshin School (principal)
 residing in (c/o) the Provincial House

Confreres living in Nibuno:
 Nibuno Residence (retired): Frs. Jos Van Brussel, Minoru Kokage, Frans Sercu, Jan Schreurs,Gilbert De Schampheleere and Andre Bogaert(Rector).

Nibuno Residence
Nibuno 900. Himeji City. 670-0801 Japan.
Tel/fax: 079-264-1140

 Catholic Nibuno Villa (retired): Frs. Jacques Van Assche and Daniel Van Kerkhove.

Catholic Nibuno Villa
Nibuno 900. Himeji City. 670-0801 Japan.
Tel/fax: 079-265-3100


Fr. Andre our pianist.

Confreres enjoying the summer-vacation.

Fr. Cyril Smet with his smile..


Fr. Van de Walle who likes opera-style singing very much...



Fr. Gerardus Rekdak is stationed at the sea-port Kure.



While working as an assistant parish priest in Fukuyama, Fr. Garry Gestoveo is always engaged in the apostolate for the seafarer (AOS)

Ordination to the Priesthood

Fr.Patrick Castroverde, cicm

May 16, 2009
at the Immaculate Conception Parish, Oslob Cebu, the Philippines

by Mgr. Julito Cortes,D.D.

Titular Bishop of Severiana and Auxiliary Bishop of Cebu



The Oslob Catholic Church


Together with the bishop and priests


Celebrating the Mass


With his dear family

Our district of Osaka is located within the territory of Archdiocese of Osaka. However, since geographically speaking it is too big to be one district, it has been set to be 2 districts, namely Osaka and Himeji.

While making our communications and relationship more effective and closed, the district has its regular gathering from one community to the other.


In the northern part of Osaka, we can find Frs. Andre Broekaert (Parish Priest of Senri New Town Church),and Paul Schrurs (living in Senri CICM Residence).

Senri Catholic Church.
Kamishinden 2-13-2. Toyonaka City. 560-0085 Japan (tel; 06-6832-1111/fax: 06-6833-6505)
Senri Residence.
Kamishinden 1-5-23. Toyonaka City. 560-0085 Japan (tel: 06-6832-0030)


In the southern part of Osaka, we are involved in the Parish Team Ministry of Sakai Block. Our confrere who is working in this team is Fr. Constantin Konyi (residing in Kongo Church). In this team we have been working closely with Japanese diocesan priests and sisters..
This Sakai team covers 4 churches, namely Sakai, Senboku, Kongo, and Hashimoto.


Fr.Konyi Constantin together with other members of the Sakai Team.

Kongo Catholic Church / CICM Formation Community
Kunokidai 2-4-10. Tondabayashi City. 584-0074 Japan.
Tel: 0721-29-3120 Fax: 0721-29-3351

In another block, namely Abeno-Hirano Block our confreres Frs. Daniel Kuenji and Dieudonne Ntumba are working together with a cooperative Japanese priests ( Salesian ) and Japanese Sisters. Our two confreres are residing in Abeno Catholic Church.

Abeno Catholic Church
Abeno-ku. Matsuzaki-cho 3-6-25. Osaka City. 545-0053 Japan. Tel: 06-6621-6024
Fax: 06-6621-6070

From April 2009, another young confrere, Fr. Anice Elomata is assigned with a Japanese Priest in Kawachi Bloc (Fuse, Yao and Hiraoka Churches).

Fuse Catholic Church
Eiwa 1-10-10. Higashi Osaka City 577-0809 Japan. Tel:06-6721-6214

Our young confreres, namely the Interns are part of this district. They are at the moment living in our Kongo Formation Community while taking up the Japanese Language Study. (see Newly Arrived Missionaries)

CICM Japan Website Renewal
in January 2010