The Nagoya diocese has filed a protest against the arrest of a Brazilian man on the grounds of a Catholic church in a letter that calls
the action “an infringement of the basic human right to freedom of
religion.”
According to the complaint, during Mass on August 11, six or seven officers from the Tsurumae Police Station of the Aichi prefectural police entered the grounds of the a Catholic Church in Nagoya without notice or warrant and arrested the layman for not carrying identification.
The police wanted to investigate the man on suspicion of illegally overstaying in Japan. The pastor of the church wishing not to be named, protested that since they did not have a warrant to conduct an investigation on the church property or an arrest warrant for the individual, they had no right to enter the parish grounds.
Witnesses to the event included many Brazilians, Americans, Filipinos, and Japanese who reported that the investigators were overbearing in their speech and actions. Police threw the man to the floor and one placed his foot on his back as others held him down and cuffed him. The man complied with all instructions and witnesses say the police had no need to treat the man in such a manner.
On August 15, Fr. Shigo Kawakami, Chancellor of the Nagoya Diocese and a lawyer visited the Tsurumae Police station to deliver a letter from Bishop Junichi Nomura expressing his concern over the event.
The letter makes two points, that conducting an investigation and making an arrest on church grounds infringes the fundamental human right to freedom of religion, and that doing so without a warrant violates proper legal procedures and thereby poses a threat to society.
The diocesan complaint demanded an apology for the event as well as a guarantee that police will not enter Church sites illegally to conduct investigations. The bishop also asked that police refrain from directing investigative activities involving immigration toward those visiting churches or near church grounds.
Fr. Kawakami said he expected a written response to the letter, but the police responded that after considering the matter they would decide whether to give a written or verbal response.
The priest said that he got the impression that the police do not think entering Church sites without warrants is illegal.
At a August 17 meeting of the bishops’ conference standing committee, Bishop Nomura reported the incident and said that he is waiting for a response from the police.
Since the Church in Japan has many foreign members, the incident will be on the agenda of the Japan bishops’ plenary assembly that starts on September 9.
According to the complaint, during Mass on August 11, six or seven officers from the Tsurumae Police Station of the Aichi prefectural police entered the grounds of the a Catholic Church in Nagoya without notice or warrant and arrested the layman for not carrying identification.
The police wanted to investigate the man on suspicion of illegally overstaying in Japan. The pastor of the church wishing not to be named, protested that since they did not have a warrant to conduct an investigation on the church property or an arrest warrant for the individual, they had no right to enter the parish grounds.
Witnesses to the event included many Brazilians, Americans, Filipinos, and Japanese who reported that the investigators were overbearing in their speech and actions. Police threw the man to the floor and one placed his foot on his back as others held him down and cuffed him. The man complied with all instructions and witnesses say the police had no need to treat the man in such a manner.
On August 15, Fr. Shigo Kawakami, Chancellor of the Nagoya Diocese and a lawyer visited the Tsurumae Police station to deliver a letter from Bishop Junichi Nomura expressing his concern over the event.
The letter makes two points, that conducting an investigation and making an arrest on church grounds infringes the fundamental human right to freedom of religion, and that doing so without a warrant violates proper legal procedures and thereby poses a threat to society.
The diocesan complaint demanded an apology for the event as well as a guarantee that police will not enter Church sites illegally to conduct investigations. The bishop also asked that police refrain from directing investigative activities involving immigration toward those visiting churches or near church grounds.
Fr. Kawakami said he expected a written response to the letter, but the police responded that after considering the matter they would decide whether to give a written or verbal response.
The priest said that he got the impression that the police do not think entering Church sites without warrants is illegal.
At a August 17 meeting of the bishops’ conference standing committee, Bishop Nomura reported the incident and said that he is waiting for a response from the police.
Since the Church in Japan has many foreign members, the incident will be on the agenda of the Japan bishops’ plenary assembly that starts on September 9.
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