Japanese bishops: Vatican mindset doesn't fit Asian church | National Catholic Reporter

Ignorance is bliss for Japanese Catholics, say their bishops in a report to the Vatican.  The Church there is not "obsessed" with sexual matters.  No crisis of conscience over contraception there.  It's the norm.  So get with it, the Japanese bishops say to the Vatican in preparation for the upcoming Synod on the family.  It's going to be an interesting meeting. - GWC
Japanese bishops: Vatican mindset doesn't fit Asian church | National Catholic Reporter:
by Joshua J. McElwee

In response to a question on how Japanese Catholics accept the church's teachings prohibiting artificial contraception, for example, the Japanese [bishops] state: "Contemporary Catholics are either indifferent to or unaware of the teaching of the Church."
"Most Catholics in Japan have not heard of Humanae vitae," the Japanese state, referring to Pope Paul VI's encyclical letter banning the practice. "If they have, they probably do not make it an important part of their lives. Social and cultural values as well as financial considerations are more important."
"There is a big gap between the Vatican and reality," they continue. "Condom use is recommended in sex education classes in schools."
Responding as to whether Japanese Catholics promote so-called natural methods of birth control, the Japanese respond: "There are some attempts to introduce such practices as the Billings Method, but few people know about it. For the most part, the Church in Japan is not obsessed with sexual matters."
In response to a question on couples who live together before marriage, the Japanese say, "The pastoral practice of the Church must begin from the premise that cohabitation and civil marriage outside the church have become the norm."

Update: 
The Japanese bishops are an interesting contrast to the self-righteousness of Robert George - the prominent conservative Catholic lawyer/philosopher at Princeton.  In a post at  Mirror of Justice he states his views on the case of a young teacher at a Montana Catholic school who was fired because she was pregnant and unmarried, giving scandal.  Professor George writes:

“If [the teacher] were repentant, then I, as her fellow sinner, would support keeping her on. I’d even host the baby shower. The example being set for the school children in that case would be one of repentance and forgiveness—loving the sinner, even while rejecting the sin. Of course, if her intention is to flout the Church’s teachings, then it’s a different story. That’s what is going on when a teacher, say, moves in with his or her boyfriend or girlfriend or enters into a civil marriage with a person of his or her own sex—or goes into the strip club business.”

As the Japanese bishops said "The pastoral practice of the Church must begin from the premise that cohabitation and civil marriage outside the church have become the norm.".

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