Nippon Kirisuto Seikoukai

Perhaps someone would be able to answer the following question, received from a reader after an appeal by Fr J.P.Y. on the blog today?

… could you give us any information about the Nippon Kirisuto Seikoukai? Are there any plan to join the Australian Ordinariate for instance?

Japan.

I suspect the Ordinary of the Australian Ordinariate, the Very Rev Harry Entwistle, however would be the best person to ask (and answer). Zenit (Jan 2011):

The new ordinariate will include a group of former Anglicans in Japan who are led by a retired prelate.

Or perhaps Fr Lawrence Wheeler, come to think of it?

So was the Nippon Kirisuto Seikoukai not once (or still) part of the The Traditional Anglican Communion in Japan?

Well, I had to go back into the mouldy archives (also 2011) of (the now defunct) The Anglo-Catholic blog to jolt the memory. (Go down to the comments section.) But still, I’m none the wiser… 

Former TAC Bishop to be the Head of the New Australian Ordinariate

Still more news. Note the last paragraph.

Washington, DC (Catholic Online) – On Friday, June 15, 2012 the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith officially announced the establishment of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross for Australia. That was expected.

However, just one hour before his ordination as a Catholic Priest on that same day, former Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) bishop Harry Entwistle was informed that he had been named as the first Ordinary by Pope Benedict XVI.

Father Entwistle, 72, was as an Anglican priest who immigrated to Australia in 1988. He joined the TAC in 2006 and was later consecrated as the bishop for Western Australia. The new Ordinary, who was ordained at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Perth is married and has two grown children.

The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross is the third Ordinariate established by the Holy Father. The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham for England and Wales was announced in January of 2011 and the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter for the United States was announced January 1st of this year.

Monsignor Jeffrey N. Steenson, Ordinary of the U.S.-based Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, welcomed the appointment of Fr. Entwistle saying, “I welcome the news of the new Ordinariate in Australia and the appointment of Rev. Harry Entwistle as Ordinary.

“I offer my support to him as he begins the important work of raising a home for Anglicans in Australia who have been called by God to full communion with the Catholic Church and the rock from which we were hewn. The prayers of the Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter are with him. May God bless Fr. Entwistle as he launches this new endeavor in the vast lands of ‘down under.’”

Monsignor Keith Newton, the Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, joined Msgr. Steenson in offering his congratulations. “I’m very pleased to hear of this encouraging appointment. Fr Entwistle has a wealth of experience from his Anglican ministry in England and in Australia, and I look forward to working with him closely as we seek to articulate the vision of Anglicanorum coetibus.”

Anglicanorum coetibus, issued on November 4, 2009, is the Apostolic Constitution of Pope Benedict XVI that authorizes the establishment of “Personal Ordinariates” for those of the Anglican heritage entering full communion with the Catholic Church while maintaining distinctive elements of their theological, spiritual, and liturgical patrimony.

Just as the U.S. Ordinariate is currently covering Canada for the time being, reports are indicating that the Australian Ordinariate will also cover Japan.

 

Japan: Scientists Synthesize Meat from Human Faeces

This is the kind of thing that makes me so glad that I opted for vegetarianism!

It’s being called the “poop burger”. Japanese scientists have found a way to create artificial meat from sewage containing human feces.

Somehow this feels like a Vonnegut plotline: population boom equals food shortage. Solution? Synthesize food from human waste matter. Absurd yes, but Japanese scientists have actually discovered a way to create edible steaks from human feces.

Mitsuyuki Ikeda, a researcher from the Okayama Laboratory, has developed steaks based on proteins from human excrement. Tokyo Sewage approached the scientist because of an overabundance of sewage mud. They asked him to explore the possible uses of the sewage and Ikeda found that the mud contained a great deal of protein because of all the bacteria.

The researchers then extracted those proteins, combined them with a reaction enhancer and put it in an exploder which created the artificial steak. The “meat” is 63% proteins, 25% carbohydrates, 3% lipids and 9% minerals. The researchers color the poop meat red with food coloring and enhance the flavor with soy protein. Initial tests have people saying it even tastes like beef…

Good grief!

There’s more here.

This world is certifiably mad…

Pensioners Come Forth for Fukushima

High levels of radiation and uncertainty as to how long it might take to get the reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi stabilized mean that the health of workers and people in the area is becoming an increasingly important concern. 

The authorities are already finding it difficult to find enough people who are willing to go into the contaminated area and carry out necessary construction and decontamination work…

“My acquaintances and I talked very intensively about the accident and about how we could help contain the disaster,” explained 72-year-old Yasuteru Yamada who came up with the idea.

 ”A functioning cooling system is indispensable,” he pointed out. “But who is supposed to build it? Only people can do it. So why not us? Since we don’t have such a long future ahead?” 

Yamada is a former engineer who studied metallurgy. He set up “Qualified Veterans for Fukushima Nuclear Plant No. 1″ as a registered charity to convince the authorities of its seriousness…

Yamada and his friends have now contacted 2,500 people in Tokyo and the surroundings. Some 450 people have already offered their help and 90 of them – all in their 60s – have agreed to work in the plant itself. He says they are “worried about what’s coming. But should we not do anything just because we are worried?”

“I’m worried especially because I can’t yet picture it all,” Kazuko Sasaki, another volunteer, agreed. “But I sympathize with the young people who have to work there in such terrible conditions – people who still have their lives ahead. That’s why I really want to help.”

The above and more is here.

Sacrifices are being made…

Earthquake: Japan Hit Again!

A powerful 7.4-magnitude earthquake hit northeastern Japan late Thursday, seismologists said, prompting Japanese authorities to issue a localised tsunami alert.

Times Live:

The quake, which hit at 11:32 pm local time (1432 GMT), had a magnitude of 7.4, according to the US Geological Survey, which said it struck 66 kilometres (40 miles) east of Sendai. 

Japan’s weather bureau issued a tsunami alert for the Pacific coast, saying that waves of up to two metres could hit the shoreline. 

In a statement on its website the Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said it did not expect a Pacific-wide tsunami. 

The quake had a depth of 25.6 kilometres (15.9 miles), the USGS said. 

Although the epicentre was at a distance of 333 kilometres (207 miles) from Tokyo, it caused buildings to shake in the Japanese capital. 

“Please do not hesitate to leave for higher ground, nor try to return to the coast line. Please do not try to check the status of the coastline,” broadcaster NHK said repeatedly. 

Its advise not to go to the coastline was supposedly addressed to fishermen worried about their boats.

According to the Telegraph, emergency workers at the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant have been ordered to evacuate.

Still More Heartbreak Out of Japan: Dogs

Here’s the English translation of the exchange between the two reporters in the clip (translation courtesy of Toshiyuki Kitamura):

We are in Arahama area. Looks like there is a dog. There is a dog. He looks tired and dirty. He must have been caught in the tsunami. He looks very dirty.

He has a collar. He must be someone’s pet. He has a silver collar. He is shaking. He seems very afraid.

Oh, there is another dog. I wonder if he is dead.

Where?

Right there. There is another dog right next to the one sitting down. He is not moving. I wonder. I wonder if he is alright.

The dog is protecting him.

Yes. He is protecting the dog. That is why he did not want us to approach them. He was trying to keep us at bay.

I can’t watch this. This is a very difficult to watch.

Oh. Look. He is moving. He is alive. I am so happy to see that he is alive.

Yes! Yes! He is alive.

He looks to be weakened. We need to them to be rescued soon. We really want them rescued soon.

Oh good. He’s getting up.

It is amazing how they survived the tremendous earthquake and tsunami. It’s just amazing that they survived through this all.

Americans Stock Up On ‘Radiation Pills’

Or, potassium iodide:

Fears of radiation sickness stemming from the unfolding nuclear crisis in Japan have prompted a surge in US sales of potassium iodide.

Potassium iodide (KI), a salt, floods the thyroid gland with non-radioactive iodine which lessens the amount of radiation the gland can absorb.

Pharmacies do not generally carry KI, but several manufacturers have reported being out of stock.

The US government has a stockpile on hand in case of emergencies.

Online retailer nukepills.com said via its Twitter feed that it had sold out of KI pills on Tuesday.

It received 3,800 orders in 18 hours on Sunday and has shipped 50,000 pills to Tokyo, with the help of Harvard Medical School.

Debby Fleming Wurdack, co-owner of Fleming Pharmaceuticals, which produces a KI solution on demand, told the BBC the firm would be out of stock by the end of the day.

“This is insanity,” Ms Fleming Wurdack said.

The company received more than 350 calls with orders from clients ranging from housewives to state governments on Tuesday, she said.

It also received orders from companies intending to send KI to their employees in Japan.

Ms Fleming Wurdack told the BBC that her company had ordered additional raw materials to manufacture more KI solution.

She expects the orders will continue for months…

Insanity indeed! Paranoid hysteria…

The Wall Street Journal also has the news.

Cartoon: Nuclear Sumo

Religion and Tragedy in Japan

@ Get Religion.org.

An interesting summary of Japan and religion in the face of tragedy.

Japan Nuclear Plant: Just How Bad Is It?

The nuclear crisis at Japan’s Fukushima plant is already considered the second worst nuclear accident in history, behind Chernobyl.

The Telegraph(UK) reports:

French experts now rate it as a six on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s seven-point scale, despite the Japanese insisting it remains a four.

The International Nuclear Events scale (INES) was introduced in 1990 by the IAEA to aid public understanding on the significance of such events.

The scale is designed so incidents classified at one level are 10 times more severe than those at the level below. Here is our guide:

Level seven
A major accident which releases radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects. The 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine is the only level seven incident to have taken place.

Level six
A serious accident with the likely release of significant amounts of radioactive material.

Level five
An accident with wider consequences, and several expected deaths.

Level four
An accident with local consequences and at least one death.

Level three
A serious incident in which exposure exceeds ten times the statutory annual limit for workers.

Level two
An incident in which a member of the public or a worker is exposed to a certain level and level one is an anomaly involving minor problems with safety components.

Just keep praying…