AmericanPapist Comments
Cool.
If wikipedia is accurate, Aso might not be the first Catholic Japanese PM: see Hara Takashi
What is a "bluff conservative"? Is it similar to a RINO?
There's a lecture by Taro Aso, where he indicates that he was born a Catholic.
Lest it be forgotten, Aso’s youngest sister married into the Imperial Household and is now Princess Nobuko. Another interesting fact- Taro Aso is roman catholic, due to the influence of his grandmother (whose influence also led to Shigeru Yoshida converting just prior to his death - Yoshida had a roman catholic funeral as well as a state funeral along more traditional Japanese lines), and his younger sister went to a finishing school in Kent with roman catholic ties….
http://fukumimi.wordpress.com/20...e-and-post-abe/
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that he had been born Catholic -- read Shusaku Endo ... Japan is one of the only Asian countries where Catholicism has made significant in-roads.
I wonder, though, whether he has any connections to Opus Dei, since OD has a strong presence there.
It sure would be cool if there was an old family tie to Maximilian Kolbe too...but that's like asking... "Oh you're from New York, I met a guy from there once. Do you know..."
Seriously? wow.
This is pretty neat.
From the link Momof8 provided:
In Japanese mythology, gods are workers, and they love what they do. What a difference, really, between the Japanese mythology and some of the cultures where the single almighty God punishes humans by forcing them to work.Everything was going well until that point. Oh well.
*glee* So cool!
(BTW-- the blonde guy in the cathnews picture is the main character for Bleach. Bless my YF husband. *grin*)
According to the leading German newspaper, FAZ, his family has been Catholic for four generations. However, he recently "left it open" whether he is practicing or not.
Yeah Im still trying to figure out exactly how Catholic he is. Is he like a Joe Biden Catholic or someone who actually lives out his faith... I havent heard anything being discussed in the J media about his religion. I have a hunch that if he is elected as the next PM that he wont actually do anything really Catholic like advance pro life policies. Of course it would be nice if he did but I doubt it will happen.
Anon wrote;
I wonder, though, whether he has any connections to Opus Dei, since OD has a strong presence there.
Opud Dei has a strong presence here tell me more!
Taro Aso was born in Fukuoka, in the South of Japan, where the Catholic presence have always been stronger than in other parts of the country.
(Nagasaki and Hiroshima have a big catholic communities)...
Manga are not comics. Manga is the reading material of the common Joe in Japan -- that would help him gain acceptance with the every day crowd or what is commonly referred to as "salarymen".
Manga *is* comics.
It's just not all kid stuff.
The stuffy way of translating it would be "graphic novels."
"Now, here's my question: presuming he wasn't born Catholic (which would surprise me), when/how did he convert?"
Actually ... no one who ever lived was "born Catholic." Everyone becomes Catholic at Baptism, not at birth (including everyone whose parents are protestants or Orthodox). Careful, careful with the language, folks!
Commenting by HaloScan
