日本語要約
広島教区は2026年11月14日・15日、駐日教皇大使フランシスコ・エスカランテ・モリーナ大司教を迎え、新しい司教の選出に向けた集いを広島カトリック会館で開きます。教区の公式案内によると、これは教区の現状や後任司教に求められる資質について意見を聴くための集いで、投票ではありません。
The Diocese of Hiroshima will welcome the Apostolic Nuncio to Japan, Archbishop Francisco Escalante Molina, on 14 and 15 November 2026 (Japan Standard Time, UTC+9) for consultations toward selecting a new bishop. The meetings will be held at Hiroshima Catholic Hall.
In a 22 September 2026 pastoral letter, Bishop Alexis Mitsuru Shirahama said a worsening hearing disability had made his ministry increasingly difficult. After a December 2025 medical examination, and under canon 401 §2, he submitted his resignation as diocesan bishop in March 2026. He wrote that the Nuncio announced at the 21 September Diocese Day Mass that Pope Leo XIV had formally accepted the resignation, and that he will continue in office until a successor is appointed and installed.
A 16 October notice from Vicar General Francisco Xavier Toyoki Harada calls the meetings a first stage of consultation, not an evaluation of the outgoing bishop or a vote on his successor. The appointment of a bishop belongs to the Holy See. The Nuncio is seeking views on the diocese’s situation, its needs, and the qualities most needed in the next bishop. In a 19 August letter, the Archdiocese of Osaka-Takamatsu announced similar consultations for 10–11 October.
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