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Japanese Christians beatified in large ceremony
By JAY ALABASTER,Associated Press Writer AP - Tuesday, November 25
TOKYO - Tens of thousands attended a beatification ceremony Monday for 188 Japanese martyrs who hundreds of years ago were brutally tortured and murdered but refused to renounce their Christian beliefs.
An estimated 30,000 worshippers packed a large open-air baseball stadium in Nagasaki for the ceremony, the first of its kind in Japan. Beatification bestows honors from the Roman Catholic Church that are one step short of sainthood.
The martyred Japanese honored in the ceremony included samurai warriors, women and children killed for their beliefs in the 1600s.
Cardinal Peter Seiichi Shirayangi, who led the proceedings, said the martyrs had sent a message that was still pertinent today.
"They wish for us to pray and work to create a world where are all people are seen as precious and treated with respect so that they can live in a humane manner," he said.
A massive golden mural with images of the martyrs was unveiled when the beatification was made official. The thousands in attendance prayed and sang hymns, ignoring the rain that fell on and off throughout the afternoon.
Organizers say the ceremony was meant to be a celebration and show of strength for Christianity in Japan, where Buddhism and Shintoism are dominant. Only 1 percent of Japanese are Christians, but Japan now has its first Catholic prime minister in Taro Aso.
It also highlights a little-known chapter in Japan's history, when powerful shoguns wary of foreign influence attempted to stamp out Christianity in the country. Records show 4,000 or 5,000 Japanese were killed for refusing to give up their faith, but religious officials say the number could be much higher.
There are 42 Japanese who have been canonized, or reached sainthood.
Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, who attended Monday's ceremony on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI, told those in attendance that giving up one's life for faith is "is the biggest expression of freedom."
Those beatified were killed across Japan from 1603 to 1639.
Among them were believers who were beheaded and whose relatives were then crucified, families of believers who were burned alive and others who were mutilated and branded with crosses.
Nagasaki is on the southern Japanese island of Kyushu, 610 miles (980 kilometers) southwest of Tokyo.
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