Alberto Bottari de Castello

"In Japan, there is in reality a great need for religious values, there are some faithful who practice two different religions. But the Church is not able to satisfy this thirst for religion because its strategy is mistaken: the Church must not limit itself to teaching Catholic doctrine, faith, and traditions, but must find a way to connect these with the culture and everyday problems of the Japanese, avoiding the fracture between the teaching of doctrine and everyday life in Japan. Obviously, this is an extremely difficult task."

"The Japanese by nature struggle to express their feelings, even with the idea of not loading their problems on others. So, in this cultural context, a verbal message and effective closeness and solidarity on behalf of those who do not criticize, but only encourage and pray, has a great value."