The big story of the past seven days

✣ Archbishop: I’d go to jail over confessional seal

What happened?
In a long-expected announcement, the Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis will visit Burma and Bangladesh this autumn. Francis will arrive in Burma (the first pope to do so) on November 27, then go to Bangladesh from November 30 to December 2. The visit has immediately become politicised, especially around the issue of
the Rohingya, a 1.1 mill­ion-strong Muslim minority group. On Sunday the Pope denounced “the persecution of our Rohingya brothers and sisters”.

What Australian media are saying
The New York Times noted that “hard-line Buddhist nationalists” have already begun claiming that the Pope is misinformed. The paper quoted Ashin Wirathu, an ultra-nationalist Buddhist monk, as saying: “There is no Rohingya ethnic group in our country, but the Pope believes they are originally from here. That’s false.” According to Wirathu and others, the Rohingya are from Bangladesh – though, as the Times said, “Rohingya families have lived in the country for generations.”

The Guardian observed that the Rohingya question had “emerged as the biggest challenge for national leader Aung San Suu Kyi”. Suu Kyi, a former winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, has “been accused by some Western critics of not speaking out” for the “long-persecuted” minority.

What Catholics are saying
Human rights activist and Catholic convert Benedict Rogers told the New York Times: “The Pope, as a world religious and spiritual leader, has the potential to speak well in this situation.” He could win the trust of both Buddhist nationalists and members of the Rohingya community, Rogers said. But he added: “There is a potential for a negative action from groups like [Buddhist nationalists] Ma Ba Tha. And what scale that will be really remains to be seen.”

Catholic website cruxnow.com quoted Mark Farmaner, the director of Burma Campaign UK, as saying that Burmese Christians in the cities “generally face little prejudice”, but “in ethnic areas” they are sometimes “refused permission to build churches or crosses and can have buildings torn down by authorities”.

✣ Medjugorje visions ‘could be approved this year’

What happened?
The papal delegate to Medjugorje has said that the visions at the site could be recognised as genuine. Archbishop Henryk Hoser, appointed by Pope Francis to study pastoral care at the site, told the KAI news agency: “I think it’s possible to recognise the authenticity of the first [seven] apparitions.” It could happen “as early as this year”, he said.

Why was it under-reported?
The country’s terrifying descent into lawlessness has not yet become a story for the British press. The BBC failed to cover the crisis last week despite Stephen O’Brien, UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs, saying he saw “early signs of genocide” in the country. Fr Kpangou’s plea, too, is no exaggeration. Militants have already killed 30 people in Zemio, according to Fr Jean-Alain Zembi, who, also writing on Facebook, accused UN forces of “deliberating abandoning” the town to its fate. “I will hold you responsible for all those dead,” he wrote.

What will happen next?
The omens for the future are not good. Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga of Bangui told curxnowcom last month that, “outside the capital Bangui, power rests in the hands of armed groups … They control everything.” The last peace deal, signed in June between 13 armed groups, was immediately ignored.

The UN’s Stephen O’Brien told Associated Press: “We’re looking at things which we haven’t heard about for a long time. There’s a very deep ethnic-cleansing approach.”

✣ The week ahead

On Sunday Scotland will be consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The act of consecration will be carried out by the country’s bishops at the Marian shrine at Carfin. Bishop John Keenan of Paisley, who called for “intense spiritual preparation” ahead of the event, said that reparation and consecration may be the “only path to the renewal of the Church we all crave”.

Cardinal Raymond Burke (pictured) will celebrate a pontifical high Mass at the Immaculate Heart of Mary church in Balornock, Glasgow, at noon on Saturday. The traditionalist group Una Voce will be holding a reception after the Mass.

Pope Francis will depart for Colombia on Wednesday. The trip, comes after a long-awaited peace deal. On Friday he will beatify Bishop Jesús Emilio Jaramillo Monsalvé, who was shot dead by Marxist guerrillas in 1989, and Fr Pedro Maria Ramirez, who was lynched by leftists in 1948.