The "Bangkok Document" released by the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) highlights refugees, migrants, indigenous peoples, climate change, family matters, women, and youth.

The 40-page document was presented by the federation's leaders during an online ceremony on March 15, following their general conference in Bangkok last October.

The document will be presented during the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican next year.

Bishop Allwyn D'Silva, Auxiliary Bishop of Bombay and FABC 50 General Conference Adjunct Secretary, hosted an online event on Wednesday. "This document is going to make a difference to the Church of Asia," he began, "and the Church of Asia can offer this document to the universal Church."

The meeting drew Church leaders and delegates from approximately 29 countries, marking the federation's golden jubilee. The Asian Continental Synod Assembly was held from 24-26 February after the gathering.

Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, president of the Federation, said the document highlights the Asian Church's "journey together by responding to the call of ideality, reflecting on the various emerging realities confronting the Church in Asia, and envisioning new pathways for the future".

The beginning of the journey

The former president of the Federation, Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay (pictured), added that the document is not a "finished product [but] the beginning of [the] journey" and should be approached as "a spiritual document".

The "Bangkok Document" is divided into five parts based on the biblical narrative of the three Magi: journeying together, looking, discerning, offering gifts, and making new pathways. The document is expected to give a fuller expression and affirmation to FABC's longstanding affirmation to triple-dialogue, particularly with religion, culture, and the poor of Asia.

The document aims to articulate the new directions that the Federation feels it is called to undertake in the wider dynamics of the life and mission of the Church in Asia.

The Asian Bishops "Bangkok Document" will be distributed throughout all dioceses and parishes in Asia and is open to further improvements, according to FABC officials. The continental synod's report provides a roadmap for Asian churches to tackle issues that are prevalent in their societies and contribute to the wider Church.

Sources

UCA News

Vatican News

Villagers said the homes were torched on Nov 24 during a raid on Mon Hla village, where Catholics and Buddhists have lived in harmony for decades.

The exact number of houses destroyed remains unclear, and it is not known whether St Michael Church, the convent and the priest's house in the village were set on fire.

"It's my native village, and my heart is also burning when I see the flames come out of the village," a priest from Mandalay archdiocese wrote on Facebook.

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"Real power, as Pope Francis often cited, comes from service. Not imposing power on the innocents," the Myanmar cardinal said recently in a homily.

"For any government, in any just country, the government is not above the people.

"The government is one eye, the people the other eye. Two eyes and one vision.

"A nation built on justice. Anything else is idolatry."

The cardinal mourns Mynmar, which was born with the great dream of peace and prosperity for all.

"Yet powerful people diluted this ideal. Created their own idols: power, possessions, extreme wealth at any cost, economic injustice, environmental injustice," he said.

"For the last seven decades, idol worshippers have robbed the ideal of a nation built on peace and prosperity for all.

"A dream became a nightmare."

Bo also spoke of the agony of the 1000-plus civilian deaths in the coup-hit country during the last six months.

"We have seen the selfish interests of a few, seeking the bread that perishes, [... robbing] millions of their bread of peace, their bread of life, their bread of prosperity."

His comments highlight the background of turmoil besetting Myanmar since Aung San Suu Kyi's administration was ousted in a February coup. Her removal has sparked huge pro-democracy protests and a bloody military crackdown.

Last Friday a Myanmar shadow government began working to overthrow the junta by launching a daily radio programme; first steps seeking to battle military-backed media for supremacy over the airwaves.

The twice-daily 30-minute radio programme went on air providing Covid-19 updates, details of alleged military atrocities and reading out letters from democracy supporters.

Another section was dedicated to local self-defence forces that have sprung up across Myanmar to battle junta forces — often using hunting rifles or weapons manufactured at makeshift jungle factories.

Security forces have killed more than 1,000 civilians since the February putsch, a monitoring group said Wednesday.

Source:

• UCANews

At least 875 people have been killed by Myanmar security forces since the February coup. Those killed have been primarily anti-coup protesters.

Opposition to the military has gone from peaceful demonstrations to an active self-defence movement with civil resistance groups emerging across the country.

Hundreds of young people from cities have gone to ethnic areas controlled by rebels to receive military training.

According to a state-run television report, a clash on June 22 between the military and the People's Defense Force (PDF) in Mandalay left at least eight dead. The presenter labeled the PDF "terrorists."

Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon urged people to be steadfast in faith and hope. He asked them to pray for a new Myanmar of peace and justice.

"Guns will never solve this country's problems. Only a change of hearts can heal this long-suffering nation," the prelate said.

The cardinal has also called for prayers for the army, "for every soldier who holds a gun," so that their hearts melt. We pray they understand that "their violence is not against an enemy nation but against our own people."

On June 20, Pope Francis renewed his call for peace in the conflict-torn country. Myanmar is mired in political turmoil and fighting that has led to thousands of people being displaced.

The pope expressed support for the Myanmar bishops' appeal. He called the world's attention to the "heart-rending experience of thousands of people in that country who are displaced and have been dying of hunger."

"May the heart of Christ touch the hearts of everyone, bringing peace to Myanmar," the pope said.

Archbishop Marco Tin Win of Mandalay expressed the gratitude of the people of his country for Pope Francis for his closeness and support to them since the military coup.

"When the Pontiff speaks, the people of Myanmar feel very encouraged and moved. Not only Catholics but also people of other religions. It is a very important support for all of us, in this tragedy," said the Archbishop.

Sources

UCA News

Vatican News

Myanmar's leading Catholic Church figure has vehemently condemned the military shelling saying the country's "great humanitarian tragedy needs to stop."

"It is with immense pain that we express our concern over the attack on innocent civilians who took refuge in the Church of the Sacred Heart on the night of May 23," said Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon in an appeal on behalf of the country's Catholic bishops.

"The violent acts, including continuous shelling, using heavy weaponry on a frightened group of largely women and children, resulted in tragic death of four people and wounding more than eight," he said.

All those killed or wounded were Catholics.

Sacred Heart Church near Loikaw, the capital city of Kayah state, a Catholic area, was the target of the attack late night on May 23. It is the sixth Catholic structure affected by attacks or incursions by the army.

The Irrawaddy News said the military immediately removed the dead bodies. The roof, ceiling and cross of the church were damaged.

Local sources say more than 300 people from at least 60 families had taken refuge in the church compound. Their move was due to fighting over the weekend between the military and a local anti-coup resistance group known as the Karenni People's Defense Force (PDF).

Father Soe Naing, a spokesperson for Loikaw Diocese, said all those sheltering in the church had fled by the time church officials checked the damaged building on May 24 morning. He said thousands of people have taken refuge at churches, priests' centers and nuns' convents because they thought they were safe.

The attack is even more heinous because unarmed people took shelter in the church to protect their families.

"Every heart in this country weeps for the death of the innocent people," Cardinal Bo said. "Now, hundreds die; thousands become refugees and displaced. More than 20,000 have been displaced in the recent conflict in Loikaw," he lamented.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the Feb. 1 military coup that ousted the elected government and detained its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Protests and a civil disobedience campaign of strikes against the coup have paralyzed parts of the economy.

Sources

Vatican News

Agenzia Fides

The scene was reminiscent of the 1989 images of a lone man blocking a path of tanks in Beijing. It followed the Chinese government violently suppressed pro-democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.

Sister Ann Nu Thawng, a member of the Missionaries of St. Francis Saverio of Myitkyina, knelt in tears before a row of police officers and security forces vehicles. She pleaded with them to stop the violence.

Since Myanmar's military coup began Feb. 1, the streets of the country have been lined with protesters. They have been asking for the reinstatement of their State Counsellor, Aung San Suu Kyi, and her National League for Democracy party.

In 2015, Myanmar, held its first free election in decades, resulting in Suu Kyi's victory. Many hailed her election as a step toward establishing a solid democratic system in Myanmar. The country was under military rule from 1962-2011.

The military defended its coup, accusing Suu Kyi and her party of failing to investigate voter fraud allegations in national elections. The NLD party won the November 2020 election in a landslide.

Cardinal Charles Bo, the archbishop of Yangon, posted several photos of the incident to Twitter, saying in a tweet, "About 100 protesters could escape from police" because of Nu Thawng's intervention in the Myanmar ‘Tiananmen moment.'"

Bo, who has been documenting the coup and the protests from his Twitter account from the beginning, sent several other tweets describing the situation on the ground. He tweeted in one post accompanied by striking photos of the protests that, "This is not the movie scene. This is reality in Myanmar today."

"The police used tear gas to divide the protesting crowd. They are young people fighting against the most brutal military dictatorship. Young people risk their lives to save other lives," he said in the tweet.

Representatives of the Catholic Church in Myanmar, which has been outspoken in pleading for Suu Kyi's reinstatement and a return to democracy, have also been active participants in the protests, with groups of priests and nuns marching through the streets carrying signs saying, "Save Myanmar," "Peace in Myanmar," and "Say No to Military Coup."

Myanmar's bishops have consistently advocated for peace and a refrain from violent measures since the coup began.

Sources

Crux Now

AJU News

Hundreds of thousands of members of the Muslim minority have fled principally Buddhist Myanmar, where the military is conducting a "clearance operation."

The head of the Catholic Church in Myanmar, Archbishop of Yangon Cardinal Charles Bo, said he expects more from Aung San Suu Kyi.

"The world looks at Aung San Suu Kyi with the same lens with which it looked at her during her struggle for democracy," Bo told Time magazine. "Now she is part of the government, she is a political leader. Surely she should have spoken out."

However, he warned against "stigmatizing" Suu Kyi, saying that if the army retakes power, it would cause "the end of any dream of democracy."

Suu Kyi's position, is challenging because democracy in Myanmar remains fragile, Bo says.

Even though Suu Kyi was elected in a landmark democratic election in 2015, the military still controls key government ministries including Defence, Home Affairs and Border Affairs.

"Aung San Suu Kyi is walking a tightrope," Bo says.

"Already dark forces are clamouring for return to army rule."

Cardinal Patrick D'Rozario, the Archbishop of the Dhaka, told Crux he planned on visiting the camps personally to assess the situation.

D'Rozario said the church in the country is active in the humanitarian relief work being provided, despite the fact Catholics make up only about 0.2 percent of the population.

"Bangladesh Caritas is involved in relief work in the camps providing relief initially to fourteen thousand families," he told Crux, adding that Caritas Internationalis is the only international NGO approved by the government to work in the area.

James Romen Boiragi is the Bishop of Khulna, Bangladesh's third largest city. He said the situation with the Rohingya refugees is "very bad."

"We condemn this kind of military operation," the bishop told Crux. "This is an act against humanity and a violation of human rights. So many people are living inhuman lives. Lot of children are struggling to

Pakistani Bishop Joseph Arshad once served in the Vatican embassy to Bangladesh, and now heads the Pakistan Bishops' National Commission for Justice & Peace.

He told Crux the current crisis transcends ethnicity, religion, and nationality.

"We cannot remain silent. It's a humanitarian suffering and the Catholic Church in Pakistan stands strong with Rohingya people," Arshad said.

Sources

• Crux
• Time
• Image: Fortune