Pope Francis has urged the release of the ousted leader of Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi, and offered her refuge in the Vatican. The Pope’s plea was revealed in a conversation with Jesuits during his trip to Southeast Asia from September 2 to 13. The Italian daily Corriere della Sera published excerpts from these talks Read more
Amid steep inflation and a freefalling economy, Myanmar banks have begun restricting the amounts of cash that can be withdrawn daily, according to residents, a bank branch, and a bank officer who told Radio Free Asia it was to prevent a bank run. “People have experienced more anxiety,” the bank officer said, referring to the Read more
A priest who was shot while celebrating Mass in Myanmar’s Kachin state last Friday is seriously injured. Church sources say two men opened fire on 40-year-old Father Paul Khwi Shane Aung during the early morning service. “They were wearing black clothes and masks and entered the church on a motorcycle to shoot the priest three Read more
Children are affected most when landmines and explosives are used in conflicts, UN children’s agency UNICEF says. A new report from the agency says the landmine and explosive legacy in Myanmar (formerly Burma) killed or maimed at least 210 children last year. Those children represent over 20 percent of last year’s 1,052 civilian casualties in Read more
Civilians, including elderly residents and patients seeking refuge, were compelled to evacuate a Myanmar cathedral as junta soldiers forcibly seized control on November 27. Bishop Celso Ba Shwe of Loikaw and clergy members, alongside a congregation of worshippers, found themselves displaced from Christ the King Cathedral in Loikaw due to the intrusion. “It’s sorrowful to Read more
The Myanmar junta’s Ministry of Health has fired 557 government-employed doctors who left their jobs to protest against the military government, revoking their licences at a time when medical professionals are in short supply, sources in the country’s medical community said on Tuesday, citing an official list. The striking doctors joined other government workers in Read more
Surrounding the church with landmines does not surprise Frank Bird (pictured). The New Zealand priest has just returned from the Myanmar-Thai border. Landmines surround a Catholic church in Myanmar. Before mining it, the military had been using the church as a kitchen. The military junta’s mining of the Mother of God church in Mobye, a Read more
Myanmar’s military junta has burned nearly 30,000 homes, churches and villages during the past 19 months. That’s how long it is since the junta overthrew Myanmar’s democratically elected government. Domestic research group Data for Myanmar says troops had torched 28,434 houses since the military seized power on 1 February 2021. This year in May and Read more
Governments get their legitimacy from service to the people says Cardinal Charles Bo. “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 Read more
On Sunday, May 16, Pope Francis celebrated a Mass in Rome for Myanmar Catholics on the Feast of the Ascension, underlining his religious and diplomatic efforts to promote peace and reconciliation in the troubled Southeast Asian country. Myanmar, once known as Burma, spiralled into violence when military forces took over the country on Feb. 1, Read more