The Asian nation’s first cardinal on persecuted minorities, democracy’s rebirth and his small but growing flock
Until recently, Burma seemed to be emerging from decades of international isolation. The opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was freed from house arrest and became the country’s state counsellor (equivalent to prime minister). She then travelled to the Vatican to meet Pope Francis.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Church in Burma – which has 750,000 faithful (out of a population of 52 million) – gained its first cardinal, Charles Bo. Last November, Francis became the first pope to visit the South East Asian nation.
But all was not well in Burma (officially known as the Republic of the Union of Myanmar). Last August, hundreds of thousands of members of the Rohingya ethnic minority fled over the border into Bangladesh. A UN report concluded that senior Burmese military officials should be investigated for genocide in Rakhine state, which has a sizeable population of Rohingya Muslims, and for crimes against humanity elsewhere.
But when I meet Cardinal Bo in the capital, Rangoon, he seems cautiously optimistic. He notes that, thanks to international pressure, Burma and Bangladesh are working together to ensure that Rohingya refugees can return home.
“The events of last year are definitely a very sad humanitarian crisis,” he says. “We are glad that all stakeholders seek peaceful solutions.”
The cardinal explains that the Church was not on the front line of clashes between the armed forces and the Rohingya. “But we have a Caritas network in the Pyay Diocese, which includes Rakhine state, where the Rohingya are located.
We have reached out discreetly to the victims. We are expanding our Caritas involvement currently. The Pope has shown compassion towards all the suffering people of Myanmar. We reach out in our capacity as neutral agents.
“Myanmar is having the second birth in democracy. The first democracy died young. For 60 years the ruling class was addicted to junta-type totalitarianism. Daw [Ms] Aung San Suu Kyi maintained a peace offensive through non-violent methods to give birth to the second democracy. Most of us are careful that this second birth does not meet the fate of the first one. We need to engage all actors, especially the nation’s powerful army.”
The cardinal continues: “That is the whole picture the world needs to see. Myanmar is a wounded nation. The Rohingya issue is a big wound. But the Christian Kachins have been attacked for six decades and thousands of them are refugees or internally displaced. The status of all minorities needs to be addressed.
“The country was ruled with an iron fist trying to enforce a unitary concept of nation. These wounds will not heal as long as diversity is denied and federal solutions are looked on with suspicion.”
The cardinal, a 69-year-old member of the Salesians, argues that the Rohingya issue is driven by a “decolonisation discourse”.
“The Myanmar government takes the view that those who came with, or were brought by, British colonial masters should return to their country of origin,” he says. “This is preposterous since they were brought when British India spread from Afghanistan to Myanmar. To me, the only durable solution is strengthening our democracy and injecting vibrancy into the political process. Democracy in Myanmar continues to be truncated, with the army holding the keys to everything.”
Cardinal Bo turns to the precarious situation of “underground” Catholics in China, which has a 1,300-mile border with Burma.
Speaking before this month’s “provisional agreement” between China and the Holy See, he says: “We will be very glad to see the relationship between China and the Vatican go smoothly. China is one of the fastest-growing Christian communities in the world. The Christians of Burma especially understand the agony and the anguish of being underground Catholics. It’s best that their historical suffering be taken into consideration before any deal is struck with a communist and a market economy government.
“There are many still in prison for their witness and faithfulness to one Catholic Church. We need to address their situation. We have Catholic communities in the border villages who share the same ethnicity [as the Chinese]. So we’re interested and watching with prayers that the talks will yield healing to the underground Church.”
The cardinal suggests that China’s Catholics could learn from the Church’s experience in Burma. The first Catholic missionary to arrive in the country – which then consisted of the kingdoms of Ava and Pegu – was St Francis Xavier in 1548.
“Our Church was persecuted in the past,” he says. “However, we not only survived but thrived. We were disempowered through the confiscation of all properties and our schools and hospitals. We carried the Gospel with empty hands like the Apostles and thus, we thrived. We were even able to send missionaries to other countries.
“Our Church is a colourful mosaic of 120 ethnic groups, and Indians and Chinese. We are a rainbow Church. Of our 16 dioceses, 14 are made of such ethnic communities.
We have plans in the works. Last year as a Church we come together to plan not only for our welfare. We want to actively be involved in nation-building through five sectors: education, integral human development, women’s development, environmental justice and the promotion of peace.”
Despite these ambitious goals, Cardinal Bo insists Burmese Catholics belong to a “simple Church”. “Poverty, persecution and privation could not destroy us,” he says. “In the second half of the 20th century, many South East Asian countries tried to strangle the Church, and persecution continues even to this day. The Myanmar Church refused to kneel in front of insolent, heartless, secular might. We accompanied the poor pastorally and we struggled mightily. But the Lord made this seed to give a hundredfold. We grow slowly but steadily.”
The cardinal outlines a strikingly upbeat vision of the Church in Burma. “We have many dreams,” he says. “We want to make our youth well educated and give them the opportunities they deserve.
“We want to help in human development. Generations of youngsters were denied opportunities for growth during the junta years. When the church schools disappeared, the quality of education in Myanmar suffered greatly. Millions fled as unsafe migrants. Taking the schools away from the Church was a huge mistake that destroyed the dreams of millions of youngsters. In many ethnic areas, conflict ensued. It’s very sad.
“We want to make the Church an organisation dedicated to working towards integral human development, the empowerment of women, the protection of nature and the promotion of peace. With God, we can contribute towards a new Myanmar of peace and prosperity. We have a good and respectful working relationship with the government and even the army. We shall use our offices to reach out to all in peacemaking.”
The cardinal is also confident about the Church’s interfaith relationships, especially in light of the Pope’s recent visit. This is significant because hardline Buddhist nationalists have been fomenting divisions. One nationalist leader, a monk called Wirathu, has called for boycotts of Muslim businesses and told Buddhist women it was better to marry dogs than Muslims.
“As to the Buddhists,” he says, “we always had a good relationship with the high-level monks. Pope Francis’s visit cemented this relationship. The Buddhist community was happy to see a man of peace and reconciliation. The majority of Buddhists welcomed the Holy Father with great warmth and appreciated his message of love and peace. Peace is one of the central tenets of the Buddhist faith and the Pope’s message was well received.
“Muslims had mixed feelings for the Pope. They had known him for his advocacy of migrants especially from countries like Syria. They also know about his sentiments about the plight of Rohingyas. They came to understand the constraints of the official visit and his public statements. As a part of the interreligious group, Muslim leaders met the Pope and were happy for the encounter.”
Although Burma is overwhelmingly Buddhist, the Church does more than merely survive in the country. Conversions certainly come – more of a trickle than a torrent – but the Catholic population is increasing, so we must be doing something right there.
Angelo Stagnaro is an author, journalist and stage magician
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