Regarding Dipak Basu's June 7 letter, "What need for missionaries?," which was a response to Catherine Wallace's May 31 letter ("Japan's access to Christianity"): I wholeheartedly agree with Basu. A religious debate has been going on in The Japan Times for some time now; finally someone has hit the nail on the head.
I recall from my university history classes how a concordat was established between Pope Pius XI and Benito Mussolini (Lateran Treaty of 1929). It instructed priests hearing confessions to, among other things, identify parishioners who might hold alternative viewpoints to those of the fascist dictatorship. This treaty still threatens Italians with imprisonment for joking about the pope.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.