HIROSHIMA, Japan, APRIL 8, 2003 (Zenit.org).- The first Latin-Japanese ecclesiastical dictionary has been published, a volume that includes about 5,000 words.
Father Juan Vicente Catret of Valencia, Spain, a missionary in Japan since 1962, published the work. The dictionary includes «all terms referring to Gregorian and sacred music.»
It is already on sale in specialized bookstores in Japan, Avan agency reported.
According to Father Catret, the shorter version makes the dictionary «practical and especially useful for people beginning studies in ecclesiological subjects at Japanese universities.»
The six schools of theology in Japan are administered by various religious congregations and also by members of the Neocatechumenal Way.
Father Juan Vicente Catret has been a professor of philosophy, anthropology, Latin and Scripture at the University of Hiroshima since 1980.
He has written about 40 books in Japanese on spirituality, lives of saints, and moral philosophy, among other subjects.
Although only 0.5% of the Japanese are baptized, 14% «have a Christian mentality and base their thinking on Christian values,» said Father Catret.
Moreover, the percentage of Christians is increasing, «given the great number of emigrated Japanese descendents to Latin American countries, primarily Brazil and Peru, who now return to their homeland and are Catholics,» he said.
