Japanese bishops apologize to
those affected by leprosy
The Catholic Bishops of Japan issue an apology to people
affected by Hansen’s disease. Their apology comes on the heels of a similar one
by the Japanese Prime Minister.
By Linda Bordoni
“We, the bishops of the Catholic Church in Japan, apologize
to the people who have recovered from Hansen’s disease, to their families, and
to those who have already been called to heaven,” said the Catholic bishops of
Japan in a statement.
What is Hansen’s Disease?
Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s Disease, is now curable but
many patients were isolated in sanatoriums under the government’s segregation
policy between 1907 and 1996 and their family members suffered from the stigma
of being relatives of leprosy patients.
The bishops acknowledge that they “did not oppose the
isolation and destruction of patients, did not support patients’ rights to
compensation and restoration, did not recognize that [their] failure added to
their suffering, and did not stand with those whose rights needed protection.”
In their statement they explain that: “In 1996, when
the Leprosy Prevention Act was abolished, the government was held responsible
for damages by a decision of the Kumamoto District Court, and compensation was
given in 2001 to former patients. When the Study Council on Hansen’s disease in
its 2005 final report summarized the actual conditions and causes of harm and
the measures for preventing their recurrence, the bishops did not issue an
apology to those who had recovered and their families”.
“Today, we express our remorse that it has taken until today
to make that apology,” they said.
Segretation and stigmatization
The Japanese Bishops’ statement goes on to note that “in
1943, the drug Promin was developed that made Hansen’s disease an easily healed
condition. In 1956, the Rome Declaration on patient protection and
reintegration called for an end to discriminatory laws such as the Leprosy
Prevention Act. Nevertheless, Japan’s national policy did not change until 2001
and patients were kept in isolation throughout their lives”.
“Words do not suffice,” the bishops said, “to express the
deep remorse we feel for adding to the suffering of those patients and their
families,” noting that “now that so many of those patients and their family
members have been admitted to nursing care, their increasing age makes further
delay unforgiveable”.
The bishops concluded their apology saying that as followers
of Jesus Christ they promise never to repeat that sin, to cherish all people
and to never again fail to respect human rights.
Government apology
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Friday offered an apology
to family members of leprosy patients for their suffering, after the government
decided not to appeal a court ruling ordering the state to pay compensation.
In it he acknowledged that they endured “extremely severe prejudice and
discrimination in society.”
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