2. The past history of Catholicism in Japan also militates very much against its progress. The people recognize it as the specific form of Christianity that the government, in former times, felt bound, for the sake of its own safety, to persecute to the death. They cannot forget that, although under great provocation, it dared bare its arm against the imperial Japanese government and inaugurate a bitter rebellion. In their work to-day the priests encounter all of these {164} objections, and must satisfactorily explain them away--a difficult task. But, notwithstanding, the Roman Church has enjoyed an equal degree of prosperity with the Protestant Churches since the opening of Japan in 1858. The statistics for the year 1895 show 50,302 adherents--about 10,000 more than the Protestants. But the manner of compiling statistics differs so much that these figures do not fairly represent the numerical strength of the two bodies. The Catholics not only count all baptized children, but all nominal adherents; while Protestants count no nominal adherents, and many of the denominations do not even count baptized children. If the same method of compiling statistics were used by both bodies, their numerical strength would probably appear to be about equal. These 50,302 adherents are comprised in two hundred and fifty congregations. There are one hundred and sixty-nine churches and chapels; one theological seminary, with 46 pupils; two colleges, with 181 pupils; three boarding-schools for girls, with 171 pupils; twenty-six industrial schools, with 764 pupils; and forty-one primary schools, with 2924 pupils. The Catholic Church throughout the East is noted for its splendid charities. It is doing more to care for the helpless, aged, and infirm than all the Protestant bodies combined. It supports in {165} Japan one hospital for lepers that is exceedingly popular with that unfortunate class. The government has one good leper hospital, but it is said that the lepers much prefer going to the Catholic hospital, because there they are treated so much more kindly and considerately. There are 70 lepers in this Catholic hospital. The Catholic Church has also one hospital for the aged, with 31 inmates; and nineteen orphanages, with 2080 children in them. This large number of charitable institutions supported by the Roman Church makes a strong appeal to the Japanese public and does much toward overcoming the prejudice against her. The active working force of the Catholic mission, besides the lay members of the native church, consists of 1 archbishop, 3 bishops, 88 European missionaries, 20 native priests, 304 native catechists, 25 European friars, 85 European sisters, and 42 novices. The archbishop and bishops reside respectively in Nagasaki, Osaka, Tokyo, and Hakodate. _Greek Church_