An unupublished manuscript of Juan Bautista Poza, SJ: Apology for the martyrs of Japan (1557-1628)

Abstract

This essay aims to present the treatise, at present almost unknown, En defensa de nuestros Mártires de Japón (1628), and its author, the Biscayan Jesuit Juan Bautista Poza. The codex is a critical writing, as it is typical in the works of the polygraph, which provides information and quotes from theologians and moralists. This work analyzes, first of all, the attitude to be taken by Jesuits during the persecutions while the evangelization of Japan in the late sixteenth century. Specifically, the treatise is a proposal that the Holy See recognizes the beatification of the martyrs of Japan, and begins from the requirements expressed by the missionaries. Some of them were boldly exposed to death, others went into hiding in order to continue evangelizing and Christianizing the Japanese gentiles. Poza urges the ecclesiastical authorities to support a proper and thorough evaluation of each European martyr who left his life for the faith and Christianity in the Land of the Rising Sun.