Meet Cardinal-elect Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo

By Deborah Castellano Lubov

The Church is one family across the world and we need to support one another...

In a wide-ranging interview with Vatican Media, Cardinal-elect Isao Kikuchi, Archbishop of Tokyo, Japan, who serves as President of Caritas Internationalis, expressed this.

On Sunday, Pope Francis, who visited Tokyo in 2019, announced Archbishop Kikuchi would be among those created Cardinal in the upcoming 8 December 2024 Consistory.

During this conversation, the President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Japan speaks about his reaction to his nomination, how he will advise the Holy Father as Cardinal, as well as his own vocation and spirituality.

Moreover, Cardinal-elect Kikuchi shares what he believes are the most important issues for the Church today and how to best react in a world afflicted by war. Below is a transcript of the conversation.

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Now that the news has sunken in that Pope Francis has named you Cardinal, how do you look forward to counseling the Holy Father? And how do you look forward to counsel him in particular about the Church in Asia?

Actually, as President of Caritas Internationalis [the Vatican's humanitarian arm], I report to the Holy Father what is going on in Caritas. I met the Holy Father a number of times already. Of course, I don't speak Italian. I don't speak Spanish. So I always bring somebody from Caritas to translate for me. But I have been giving him information already, so I will continue what I have been doing.

The Pope has declared a Year of Prayer. We have the Synod and so many other events, but he's declared this a Year of Prayer ahead of the upcoming Jubilee. Could you tell us something about your own spirituality and even how you discovered your own vocation?

My spirituality is complicated, but I was raised by the Swiss missionaries. I was born as the son of a catechist in the northern part of Japan, and I was living in the parish. I was staying with the parish priest, who was a Swiss missionary. He was the one who raised me. He told me how to pray and he told me how to be an altar boy. When I was a small boy, I was already wanting to be a missionary. Because of his connection to the German-speaking people, it was SVD, the Divine Word Missionaries working in neighboring prefecture, I was brought to the minor seminary of the Divine Word Missionaries in Japan and raised as a missionary. Therefore, my spirituality, my belief, is really based on this encounter with the foreign missionary. That's why when I became a priest, I really wanted to be a missionary, so I went to Africa.

Speaking of your missionary experience in Africa, I believe you spent almost a decade in Ghana. How has that influenced you? Is there something that taught you about the Church?

In 1986, I was ordained a priest and immediately I went to Ghana. Then I was sent to a mission station where there is no electricity, no water supply, but the people were very happy. There, I met so many happy people, even though there are so many difficulties. But I was wondering why the people are so happy there. Sickness, poverty, all kinds of difficulties, but the people are happy. Then I found out why. They said that happiness is because they know that when there is a difficulty, somebody will come to help you. You will never be abandoned. You will never be forgotten. That was the experience I had in Ghana. From then on, since I began working for Caritas for many years, that is my principal concept of supporting others: I don't forget you. I will not forget you. I will always support you.'

What do you consider the importance of the Church in Asia, and, considering your time in Africa, also of Africa, in the universal Church today?

I have been talking about that the shift of the center of the Church from Western Churches to the so-called Global South Churches. Asia is a Global South Church. Because the Church in Asia is now producing so many vocations, The Churches are growing and spirituality is deepening. Therefore, it is our duty now to contribute to the universal Church. Now this is Asia's time to contribute to the mission of the Church.

File photo of a meeting between Cardinal-elect Kikuchi and Pope Francis in the Vatican

The fact that at this time, there are wars across the world, and the Holy Father made an appeal for a day of prayer and fasting. In your opinion, what tools should be used to work toward peace?

Nowadays, it is very difficult to talk about peace. The people are, especially after this Covid pandemic, becoming very self-centered, selfish, and talking only about their own safety. And when people are becoming selfish, it is very difficult to talk about peace or the stability in other countries far away. From Japan, the Middle East or the Holy Land are far away. Consequently, it is very difficult for the people to understand that is really our problem. It's not their problem, but it's our problem because we are living as one same family on the same planet. This is the idea. I think the Church has to continue to talk to the people about the fact that we are living as one family.

Cardinal-elect Kikuchi, is there a certain issue or are there certain issues that you believe are most important to focus on in the Catholic Church today?

Migration is one of the biggest problems. In Japan or Korea, it is also the same, the society is aging and we don't have many kids. The birth rate is going down. Naturally, to support or maintain the society, the influx of the migrants are a must. But of course there is a tendency that they don't want to integrate these migrants to the society. There is always a kind of harsh opinion against the migrants. But without migrants we cannot survive. So it's a contradiction. So, given this, the question is raised on how to deal with or how to integrate these migrants into society. It is a main issue for the Catholic Church, because many of them are Catholics, many of them are Christians. Nowadays, like if you go into the parishes in Japan, you see so many migrants, so many migrant Catholics. Given this, the integration of these migrants into society is the main issue which we have to really tackle.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

No.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you.