Cardinal-elect Kikuchi urges Asian Church to pursue self-reliance, sees appointment as Vatican's expression of love for Asia, Japan

The Asian Catholic church should be self-reliant and do its share in the mission of the worldwide church, said Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, SVD, of Tokyo.

 As the Asian church, “we shouldn’t continue thinking that we are a receiving church… that we need help from other countries,” he said in an interview with Fr. Kasmir Nema, of Radio Veritas Asia. “We have to be self-independent. We should also contribute to the mission of the worldwide church.”

Kikuchi also views his appointment as a new cardinal and the recent papal visit to Asia as a message of love from the pope for the church in the continent.

“It clearly shows us that the Holy Father considers Asia as a very important center of the Catholic church,” he said.

Asia is no anymore at the periphery of the church, but now a center, like Africa and Latin America, he added 

Kikuchi also said the interfaith dialogue with Shintoists, Buddhists, and Muslims in Japan would continue.

“We have been cooperating with the Buddhist groups, Shintoist groups, other Christians, and the Muslims in Japan,” Tarsisio said. “We have been doing inter-religious dialogue and cooperation for a long time. We will continue, by all means.”

“The Japanese church is getting international,” he said. “We have maybe half a million Catholic Japanese and another half a million Catholic migrants in Japan.

The integration of different cultures and diversity is “very important” in the Catholic church in Japan, he noted.

“Like in Tokyo we have quite a lot of foreign nationals as members of the Catholic Church,” Kikuchi said. “Integration together with the Japanese community with the migrant community is very important right now. So I want to contribute to that aspect.”

He observed Filipinos, Indians, Vietnamese, and other Asian nationalities migrating to Japan to work or have a family.

“For Asia, this international cooperation and intercultural dialogue, and then we are looking into the possibility of unity in diversity is a must and very important,” he said.

He also currently serves as the president of Caritas Internationale.

“I will continue what I have been doing,” he said. “The charitable activities of Caritas Internationale are very important for the Catholic church.

Kikuchi is one of the three cardinals the SVD has produced since its foundation by the German-Dutch Saint Arnold Janssen in 1785.

Kikuchi also said his appointment would have a “meaning” for the Japanese government and its people.

The pope’s move to elect him as a cardinal was also the pope’s message that he cares about the Japanese people, he said.