Eight priests, nuns and teachers have been expelled from Myanmar’s northern Shan state. China-backed ethnic minority Wa State Army have ordered them to leave the Wa Hills, which border China. They were only allowed to take what they could carry. Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Myanmar’
Christians forced to pledge they will pray only at home
Thursday, October 11th, 2018
Ethnic-minority Wa and Lahu Christians near Myanmar’s border with China have been detained and ordered by a China-backed militia group to pledge that they would pray only in their homes and not in churches. Rev. Lazarus, general secretary of the Lahu Baptist Convention in Kyaing Tong, eastern Shan State, said that about 100 Wa Christians were Read more
Stateless Thai cave survivors may get citizenship
Monday, July 16th, 2018
Thailand’s Interior Ministry and the Children and Youth Department have, on Thursday, promised to find a way to bestow citizenship on three stateless people rescued from a flooded cave in northern Thailand. Coach Ekkapol Chantawong and two of the boys, Pornchai Kamluang and Adul Sam-on, will be receiving legal assistance in the nationality verification process. However, on Friday Read more
Myanmar threat to Christian leaders over rebels
Monday, July 2nd, 2018The commander in chief of the Burmese troops of the north has ordered Christian religious leaders to stop communications with the rebels of the Kachin Independence Army or risk penal consequences. Read more
70-year-old heads off to work with refugees in Thailand
Monday, May 28th, 2018
70-year-old Brother Denis O’Brien was farewelled from Ōtaki last weekend. He has been there only for a short time but now he is off on a mission to Thailand. He is planning to stay in Thailand for two years and then he will come back to New Zealand. O’Brien celebrates his 50th Jubilee of Marist Religious Read more
Suffering, faith and humanity: Pope speaks out
Thursday, December 7th, 2017Suffering is an essential ingredient of our faith and humanity. One who doesn’t suffer with suffering brothers . . . must question himself on the sincerity of his faith and of his humanity, Pope Francis says. His comments were made in the context of the Rohingya minority, who are persecuted in Myanmar. Read more
Rohingya refugees – Pope appeals for international help
Monday, December 4th, 2017
Pope Francis wants the international community to take “decisive measures” to resolve the problems causing hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims to flee Myanmar. He also says it is “imperative” for world governments to immediately provide assistance to help the Bangladeshi government cope with Asia’s worst refugee crisis in decades. Bangladesh has opened its borders Read more
Myanmar’s human trafficking and the Catholic Church
Thursday, November 30th, 2017The Catholic Church is working to combat Myanmar’s human trafficking problem through the newly founded Myanmar branch of Talitha Kum. Talith Kum is an international network of religious working to eradicate human trafficking. Read more
Interfaith dialogue features in Pope’s trip
Thursday, November 30th, 2017Interfaith dialogue has been a special feature of Pope Francis’s recent trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh. He is striving to have “the wealth of our differences” to be part of the conversations between religions. Read more
Rohingya: stories of loss and forced migration
Monday, October 30th, 2017
If there’s anything positive about the sprawling Rohingya refugee camps near Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh, it’s that the residents – despite their appalling recent experiences and obvious deprivation – are at least safe here from Myanmar’s military. I’ve been visiting Rohingya refugee camps close to the Bangladesh/Myanmar border, and the scale of the forced migration is Read more