The junta demolished the homes on Monday on Mandalay's Ma Kha Yar street and on 49th street the following day, claiming that the structures had "encroached on land owned by the state."

According to rights organisations, the junta has forcibly evicted people living in informal settlements as part of a bid to increase its land holdings.

The United Nations estimated in December that the junta had evicted more than 50,000 people since the February 2021 coup, and burned or destroyed 38,000 homes, leading to the displacement of over 1.1 million people.

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Accustomed to discretion, all three know that a word against the army would endanger them and their Catholic people.

Archbishop Marco Tin Win, Bishop Noel Saw Naw Aye and Bishop Lucas Dau Ze Jeimphaung were speaking in Paris on their way to Lourdes and the Vatican.

Since the military coup of February 1, 2021, a large civil disobedience movement has been pushing for a return to democracy.

"The resistance to the coup has been commensurate with the hopes of the people, who voted overwhelmingly in November 2020 for the party that they believed would bring them freedom," emphasised Archbishop Marco Tin Win, 62, of Mandalay.

The 2020 parliamentary elections were won by the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

The win put the NLD in a position to challenge the military junta's many privileges guaranteed in the 2008 Constitution.

However, the army staged a coup to preserve its power and took control of the country. Since then, the military has used force to control the population, including firing on protesting civilians.

In July, the junta executed four political prisoners, sending a clear message to its opponents.

"Although everyone is now a victim of the military, the younger generation is particularly targeted," said Noel Saw Naw Aye, 53. He is an auxiliary bishop and right-hand man of Cardinal Charles Bo in Yangon, the country's economic capital.

"The army is afraid of their talents, especially their mastery of new technologies and of their zeal," added Bishop Tin Win.

While in the past, the junta fought in particular against Christian ethnic minorities on the border territories, "fires and murders are now taking place everywhere, including in the big cities like Yangon," said Bishop Saw Naw Aye.

"Most victims of military cruelty are Buddhists. But Christians, who have been persecuted with general indifference in remote areas in the past, are now included," he added.

On April 8, a few days before Holy Week, the army invaded the Mandalay Cathedral to search the premises.

"They were looking for evidence that we were passing on information about the bombings and killings in Christian villages," explained Bishop Tin Win.

The Christian community, particularly religious, is very involved in helping the civilian population.

"The nuns, with the help of volunteers, are organising clandestine clinics because the hospitals are empty," explained the archbishop of Mandalay.

"Medical personnel have joined the civil protest movement en masse and are being persecuted and arrested by the army. The villagers who flee when the army arrives only have us. Church compounds are becoming refugee centres," he said.

"Children are the first victims of this civil war," pointed out Bishop Lucas Dau Ze Jeimphaung of Lashio - the largest city in the northern part of Shan State in the east.

"They have not been to school for three years. We have organised informal classes so that everyone has a chance to study!" said Bishop Jeimphaung.

The three bishops will continue to speak out; they are convinced that "in this darkness, God can bring light!"

Sources

La Croix International

UCA News

Approximately 40 soldiers entered Sacred Heart Cathedral before a Lenten prayer service on Friday, April 8. They refused to allow worshipers to leave. The soldiers also occupied other buildings on the compound.

Archbishop Marco Tin Win and employees of the Archdiocese of Mandalay were herded into the building and forced to sit in the pews along with the worshipers.

The worshipers eventually were allowed to leave, and about 30 officers remained in the cathedral overnight.

"I was so afraid," one elderly Sacred Heart Cathedral parishioner, who did not give her name for safety reasons, told CNA.

"The military was always crazy, but they never acted like this before. We ran home as soon as we were allowed out of the church."

"The soldiers kept demanding to know where the gold and money and weapons were hidden," explained her nephew, who also asked for anonymity. "I told them there was none. Any money collected is for the relief of poor families."

Archbishop Win Tin, Vicar General Monsignor Domenic Kyo Du, their respective staff and approximately 20 diocesan priests are still under house arrest.

Four other local archdiocesan priests said they privately have solicited prayers amongst their parishioners for the archbishop and his staff. However, they are barred from even mentioning the crisis publicly during Mass.

"I don't know what to do on a practical level," explained one priest. "I'm praying. We're all praying, but this is too far. We expected this considering the evils these people are committing in many provinces. They are slaughtering Christians everywhere in Myanmar."

Since the coup, more than 12,000 people have been arrested. An estimated 1,600 have been killed in the conflict, including 50 children. According to media reports, the military junta has deliberately targeted churches, other institutions and civilians.

Sources

Catholic News Agency

Catholic World Report