Papa Francis' Leaving Ideological Marks on the Church

Bishop Taiji Katsuya was, technically, never supposed to be bishop, but was made bishop of Sapporo in 2013:

When I was in the course of pastoral formation for the priesthood, there were two paths: One was a baccalaureate course and one was a master's course. If I chose the master's course, that would mean I would not be on the track to become a pastor. And church law says that a bishop needs an advanced degree. So without such a degree, it is impossible to become a bishop.

So that's why I decided to pursue the baccalaureate course, because it was a pastoral course and I really wanted to be a pastor. So that's why I've been a pastor for 30 years. But suddenly that all changed when Pope Francis named me a bishop!

So, apparently Papa Francis ignored the rules. Now, I don't necessarily think a rule that a bishop must have a master's degree is a good rule. Far better would it be for him to have those same years in a monastery. But, nonetheless, those rules exist, probably to enforce the ever leftward tilt of bureaucratic leadership. But, Papa is, at heart, an anarcho-tyrant, so he flouts the rules when he realizes he can get what he wants faster.

This particular bishop is the chair of something called the Japan Catholic Council for Justice and Peace:

Our top priorities are opposition to proposed changes to the Japanese Constitution, especially to Article 9 [often known as the pacifist article of the Constitution]; environmental issues and in particular opposition to nuclear power; and opposition to the death penalty [which is legal in Japan].

Now, sane Japanese people want an end to Article 9 so that they can build up a military sufficient enough to defend themselves from China. Unfortunately for them, it might be too late. Not that China is necessarily going to start anything, especially with Russian military at the northern end of Japan, and the U.S. in Okinawa, but that might be changing. And you can guess the the rest- standard leftist crap. Even a interest in foreign workers in Japan, which, if leftist trends are universal, is inordinant in someone charged with a particular flock in a particular place:

We have many people from overseas and we give them training. But, in reality, they work at the very lowest jobs and they cannot change their jobs. And it's even getting worse.

And so we say it's a kind of slave labor. We use those people, the government uses them, the government welcomes them because of what in effect is a slavery system.

Not much of a mention of the tax burden on the good people of Sapporo, especially estate taxes, which reduce the power of families- not to mention churches, which tend to get enriched through the generations by strong, wealthy families. Japan's family formation is worse than America's, this guy probably should be spending money trying to get the few he has married and in some sort of functioning local business. But no, that would be for a church with a sense of self-preservation.