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In _Vatican Miracle Examiner_ , the main characters are often addressed as
Fathers Roberto and Hiraga. Thus, Roberto is addressed by his personal name,
whereas Hiraga is addressed by his surname. (Hiraga's full name, using
English-style ordering, is Josef Kou Hiraga. Josef seems like a name taken
upon entering the priesthood.)

Why is there such a discrepancy? What I've seen in the past (e.g. in _The
Brothers Karamazov_ ) suggests that at the very least, it's not unusual for
priests to be addressed as Father + $personal_name, and Hiraga's form of
address does not fit that.


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2017-09-09T06:35:51.740
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2018-12-06T00:01:40.270
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question
vatican-miracle-examiner
Why "Father Roberto" but "Father Hiraga"?


It seems this is a highly speculative question.  
From research, I found out that the formal way to speak to a priest is
**Father + Name + Surname**.  
Still, as is, those are not mandatory rules, and the priest might prefer to be
called a specific way and say so to his congregation.

So, the discrepancy between Father Roberto and Father Hiraga could be because
of his personal choice.  
Or because people read his name in the japanese order and see Hiraga as the
first name.  
It also might the decision of the writer to apply japanese adressing etiquette
to the way people call the character.

I don't think a definitive in scenario answer will be possible.


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2017-09-11T15:35:36.807
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2017-09-11T15:35:36.807
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answer