ACN News: Tuesday, 28th November 2017 – BURMA (MYANMAR)

Papal visit “will have great impact on peace process”

By Murcadha O Flaherty


Looking forward to the first papal visit to Burma – which began yesterday (Mon, 27 Nov) – Bishop John Hsane Hgyi of Pathein told the Catholic charity Aid to the Church that he had high hopes regarding the four-day trip. In his interview with ACN, he said: “The theme of the Pope’s visit is love and peace.The whole country is expecting peace and reconciliation in this transition time for the country, which finds itself in the process of democratisation, of building a new nation of Myanmar.” He added: “The visit of Pope Francis will have a great impact on the peace process undertaken by the government, the religious leaders and civil society organisations.”


(Bishop John Hsane Hgyi of Pathein (far left) with fellow bishops at a press conference about Pope Francis’ visit to Burma © Aid to the Church in Need)

More than 300,000 Catholics representing all of Burma’s 16 dioceses are expected to attend the Pope’s Mass on Wednesday (29th Nov) in Kyaikkasan Stadium, Yangon (Rangoon). Bishop Hygi said: “[Not only] the Catholic Church in Myanmar but also the whole nation is seized with surprise and excitement at the choice of Myanmar for the apostolic visit.”

The bishop described the Church’s efforts to ease tensions after nearly 50 years of military rule. He said: “In some areas there is still armed conflict, which is still unresolved, and to provide pastoral care to people in these circumstances is always a challenge.”

Bishop Hgyi, who was President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar until 2014, said Christians are about five percent of Burma’s total population, which is 51 million. He added: “Though small in percentage terms, the Christian presence in Myanmar is dynamic, with solid structures and institutions.”

Bishop Hgyi added: “The majority of our Catholic faithful are living in rural and remote areas… [They are] deprived of adequate means of transportation. The development of rural areas needs to be tackled with collective efforts. Faith formation and serious pastoral care for Catholics can be difficult.”

Referring to education and food shortages, he said: “Many young children drop out of school and there is a lack of access to schooling and quality education. Because of this, there are problems of food insecurity… unsafe migration and human trafficking.”

The bishop said that, despite these challenges, the Church in Burma is vibrant: “Though struggling with many difficulties, the Church is growing in number and currently the Catholic population is about 700,000. On the day that news of the official announcement of Pope Francis’ visit was received, [prayer cards for the Pope’s visit to Burma were distributed] in all the parishes, the religious houses and the formation house in the diocese of Pathein. They all started praying, both individually and in community, with much emotion.”

Last year ACN supported the Church in Burma with more than $1.7 million (€1.1 million) for projects including the construction of churches, the training of priests and Christian education and formation.


Editor’s Notes

Directly under the Holy See, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. ACN is a Catholic charity – helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action.
The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the initiative’s launch in 1979, Aid to the Church in Need’s Child’s Bible – God Speaks to his Children has been translated into 172 languages and 50 million copies have been distributed all over the world.
While ACN gives full permission for the media to freely make use of the charity’s press releases, please acknowledge ACN as the source of stories when using the material.

For more information or to make a donation to help the work of Aid to the Church in Need, please contact the Australian office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 7246 Baulkham Hills NSW 2153.

On Line donations can be made at www.aidtochurch.org