ローマ教皇、日本に感謝　「今後も記憶」帰国の途に

　フランシスコ・ローマ教皇は２６日午前、東京都千代田区の上智大で学生らに向けて演説し「すべての日本の人に訪問中に受けた心のこもった温かい歓迎に感謝する。これからも祈りの中で皆さんのことを思い出す」と述べた。この後、２３日からの訪日日程を終え、帰国のため羽田空港を出発した。
　教皇は「滞在は短かったが、密度が濃かった」と総括。日本は宣教師フランシスコ・ザビエルに影響を与え、キリシタン弾圧を受けた殉教者が信仰を貫いた国だと指摘した。

　次世代を担う学生らへのメッセージとして、学問の自主性と自由を保持するよう訴えた。その上で「どんな複雑な状況でも、自己の行動において、公正で人間的であり、責任を持ち、決然とし、弱者を擁護する誠実な者になってほしい」と願った。（2019/11/26-11:51）

Pope Francis expressed his gratitude to Japan in a speech he delivered at Sophia University in Tokyo on Tuesday, the final day of his first visit to Japan.
   "My stay in Japan was short, but very dense and fulfilling," the pope said of his four-day trip to the nation. "I thank...everyone in Japan who had given me the most welcome and hospitality," he said. "I will always remember you in my prayer."
   The pope noted that Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier, who was one of the founders of the Society of Jesus and spread Christianity in Japan in the 16th century, was influenced by the country, and that many Japanese Christian martyrs upheld their faith through times of suppression.
   Pope Francis called on students to preserve academic autonomy and freedom, and said, "In a given situation, however complex it might be, one should be fair, humanistic, an exemplar and responsible in one's behavior, in good faith, always protecting the weak."
   After the speech, Sophia University third-grader Ryusuke Suzuki, 21, and others presented Pope Francis with a statue of Mary that is believed to have been treasured by hidden Christians in Nagasaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan, or in the Amakusa region in neighboring Kumamoto Prefecture at a time when Christianity was banned in Japan. The statue had been kept at the university.