The Catholic Church in Myanmar (also known as Burma) is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome. There are around 750,000 Catholics in Burma – approximately 1% of the total population. The country is divided into sixteen dioceses including three archdioceses.

Catholicism has never been easy in Myanmar. The Church first arrived in 1514, but failed to find enduring success.  When Portuguese mercenaries settled in the Kingdoms of Ava and Pegu, they protected the fledging missions.  However they destroyed sacred Buddist temples and artifacts angering the people of the kingdoms.  Thus, their power lasted only a couple decades. The Portuguese-Burmese community had grown to between 4,000 and 5,000 people. With the expulsion of the mercenaries, these people were taken prisoner, exiled and massacred.  Under a new King, they were allowed to integrate, and were given land to live.

 The actual work of evangelizing Ava and Pegu began under the pontificate of Innocent XIII who, in 1722, sent Father Sigismond de Calchi, a Barnabite, and Father Vittoni, of the same order, to Burma. In 1741, Benedict XIV definitely established the mission, appointing Father Galizia as the Vicar Apostolic, and placing the Barnabites in charge of the work.  The Vicar Apostolic, Monsignor Giovanni Ceretti, was appointed in 1845.  About this time, (the year 1845) Catholics of the two kingdoms numbered 2500. Monsignor Giovanni Balma (+ April 5, 1881) succeeded as Vicar Apostolic in 1848, but the war with the British rendered his labours ineffectual, and the mission was abandoned around 1852.

The British had begun to assume control of Burma in 1824. After 60 years of war and struggle they succeeded in establishing it as a British Empire possession.  The Congregation of the Oblates of the Virgin Mary having withdrawn from the mission, the vicariate was placed under the control of the Vicar Apostolic of Siam in 1855. At this date the kingdoms of Ava and Pegu contained 11 priests and 5320 Catholics. 

Myanmar officially received independence in 1948. Ever since, internecine warfare between the ruling government and ethnic minorities (who often consist of Christians) has plagued the country.  Catholicism is rare among the majority of Burmese ethnic group. Conversion from Buddhism to Catholicism is very difficult in Myanmar, where the Buddhist faith is heavily integrated into Burmese nationalism. Basically, if you convert then “you betray your nationality.”   Of Myanmar’s overall population, slightly more than 1 percent are Catholic, and most of them belong to marginalized ethnic minorities. Economically disadvantaged even by Burmese standards, their faith further estranges them from mainstream society. And yet this faith has endured through hunger, hardship, and a succession of largely-repressive governments.  Not until 2017 did the Vatican finally manage to establish formal diplomatic relations with Myanmar.  In November of that year, Pope Francis made a pilgrimage to the country.

“The future of Myanmar must be peace, a peace based on respect for the dignity and rights of each member of society, respect for each ethnic group and its identity,” the pope said as he stood next to Myanmar’s civilian leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate whose own reputation has suffered for failing to speak out against the killings. Francis said that respect for rule of law and the democratic order “enables each individual and every group — none excluded — to offer its legitimate contribution to the common good.”

On Feb. 1, 2021, the Burmese military (also known as the Tatmadaw) seized power in a coup d’état, arresting both state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and president Win Myint.  Catholics who demonstrated against the coup have been closely watched by the military. Additionally, Catholics inhabiting regions with a history of armed resistance now find themselves in a “seriously life-threatening” predicament. Recent months have seen the military attack both Catholic and Protestant churches with lethal force.

The Catholic Bishops of Myanmar have been pleading for a “humanitarian corridor,” so that many thousands of displaced persons can receive shelter and food. Officials from the United Nations have said that mass death from starvation is a potential outcome.

In more stable times, the foremost service the Church in Myanmar provides is education, including the education of disabled children. Among additional services, the Church also looks after many disabled adults, particularly those who were maimed by landmines during the nation’s protracted conflict which some have called the “world’s longest-running civil war.”

RESOURCES

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/250920/burmese-soldiers-invade-catholic-cathedral-detain-archbishop 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_Church_in_Myanmar

Reflection for the Second Week of Advent

Month for Peace: Myanmar

Isaiah’s vision of the peaceable kingdom is a veritable litany of promises. Impossible things will happen to those who are faithful, to those who believe. What are we to make of these glorious promises when our brothers and sisters in Myanmar are mired in suffering? Their agony challenges the imagination of those of us who live in safety, those of us who have plenty – more than enough – to eat and drink, those of us who sleep in warm, soft beds every night, comforted by the quiet. 

Can we let go of our stereotypes of human and beast who have always lived as traditional enemies? Picture a wolf and a lamb, a leopard and a kid, a calf and a young lion, a cow and a bear. Visualize these traditional enemies enjoying – not just tolerating – but enjoying each other’s company. 

Can you see a little child, a little, innocent child walking among these beasts, petting them, talking to them, taking sheer delight in them with absolutely no fear or apprehension? This is God’s dream for God’s family.

This peaceable kingdom promised by the prophet Isaiah is the Reign of Justice. “If you want peace, work for justice.” This was the simple but profound declaration of Pope Paul VI in his message for the Celebration of the Day of Peace in 1972. It holds true even more today.

The people of Myanmar know the struggle of dealing with traditional enemies. They are being tortured and terrorized and killed by forces that threaten them constantly. Their needs are overwhelming – not just physical, but spiritual, emotional and psychological. 

We, the international Dominican Family, embrace them as our brothers and sisters. They are kin to us and we to them. Where do we begin to work for justice? We begin within ourselves, each one of us. Can we name and claim the wild beasts within our souls: envy, violence, anger, revenge?  On the other hand, that isn’t all there is within us, any more than only wild beasts dominate our land. We have inside the deepest core of who we are, the gentle ones: compassion, generosity, love, gratitude. They’re all together in each human being. How do they get along with each other? Do they truly enjoy the company of one another? That depends on the presence of that innocent child, the Christ, whom we invite into our inner world to walk among the creatures that vie for our attention.

Each one of us is a microcosm of the planet we inhabit. Each one of us holds the power to create or to destroy, reach out or to invite in. Each of us is called to work for a justice that gives birth to peace.

Our family in Myanmar needs us and we need them. They need our awareness of their situation. They need our funds to rebuild their lives and most of all they need our fervent prayers to sustain them in this crisis.

Can we dedicate this Advent Season to the restoration of both the Reign within and the Reign outside? Can we claim our place in the Family of God?

by Mary Ellen Green, OP
Dominican Sisters of Sinsinawa

A: An Expectant Waiting

1st Reading                     Isaiah 2:1-5

Responsorial Psalm       Psalms 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9

2nd Reading                   Romans 13:11-14

Alleluia                            Psalms 85:8

Gospel                              Matthew 24:37-44

The four weeks of Advent constitute a season of expectant waiting and preparation for the nativity of Christ and His return at Parousia. Waiting is a sign of hope. Hope for healing to a broken world that needs fixing. The world is broken because it abhors waiting preferring quick fix solutions to issues that bedevil it. These quick fix solutions eventually fail hurting the world even more.

The expected Messiah gives hope because he is the only one who is able to fix our broken world. He is able to mend and repair it.

The Prince of Peace

The first reading from Isaiah draws our attention to a peaceful coexistence. “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; one nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again.” Peace therefore can neither be achieved through wars nor by building walls. It is a gift from God as we find in John 14:27 New Catholic Bible (NCB). However, humanity is at liberty to elect either to embrace this gift or not to. More often than not, peace is not chosen yet the fruits of not embracing this invaluable gift of peace are conflicts, violence, wars, discrimination and their attendant outcomes. Myanmar suffers due to failure to choose peace. Some leaders in this beautiful country refused to embrace peace. They have refused to allow coexistence resulting to untold suffering. Displacement of masses, homelessness, maiming, emotional disturbance and death are the results of this war in Myanmar.

Prophet Isaiah speaks to this situation. He tells nations and governments including Myanmar to turn their swords into ploughshares, their spears into pruning hooks, their military budgets into development budgets and hatred into love. Although it may sound difficult, this transformation is possible through the grace of the Messiah, the Prince of peace. Christ is the Prince of Peace in contradistinction to many world leaders who inflict suffering on those they lead due to selfish motives.

Keep watch as you wait

Matthew in the Gospel directs our thoughts towards ‘keeping watch’ as we approach Parousia because the Lord will come at a time we do not expect. We therefore have to keep watch and prepare. This can seem to be a long wait tempting humanity to deviate, a dangerous path to take; a path that many nations have taken. A path that Myanmar has taken. A way of conflict. A way that seems right in the sight of its leaders “There is a way which seems right unto a man; But the end thereof are the ways of death.” Proverbs 14:12.

A ready and expectant spirit inspires careful observation of the times. Preparedness and watchfulness is accomplished through prayer. Those who are not watching are not praying, and those who are not praying are not watching. Prayer is dialogue with God. Constant communication with God keeps a person hopeful while at the same time maintaining a relationship with Him. If the world faithfully keeps watch through prayer, hope will replace despair and fear. Through prayer, tolerance, cohesion and coexistence can abound. This is possible in Myanmar. This is possible in the world and in all nations that are rocked by violent conflicts and wars.

The wars we witness in the world are reminiscent of a desperate world; a world that lacks the preparedness for the Savior, a world full of fear, a world devoid of patience and tolerance, a world that courts an attitude of self-sufficiency and locks the Messiah out of its matrix. This attitude tries to nip hope at the bud casting humanity to the mercy of fear and despair.

The time of Advent is therefore a time to stop war, discrimination and conflicts so that is can embrace the all-encompassing Christ. We are all called to wait for Christ who heals our broken world because waiting is not a waste of time but the price we pay for our healing (John 5:3-New Catholic Bible).

We are hopeful as we wait to celebrate the birth of the Messiah that Myanmar and other parts of the world that witness wars will welcome the Prince of Peace and that they will know peace.

Have an expectant waiting for the Messiah during this Advent Season, wont you!

A Reflection by fr. Emmanuel Mulu, OP
Vicariate of Eastern Africa-Kenya
Promoter for Justice and Peace for Dominicans in Africa
Vatican Representative to the United Nations in Kenya