Pope Francis meets pilgrims from Crema diocese during an audience at the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican on April 15. During the audience, the pope again called for peace in war-ravaged Myanmar following a deadly airstrike that killed at least 168 people. (Photo: AFP)
Pope Francis has again pleaded for peace in strife-torn Myanmar in the aftermath of a recent junta airstrike that killed at least 168 lives, including 35 children.
“As you know, [Myanmar] is a tormented land… which I carry in my heart for which I invited you to pray, imploring of God the gift of peace,” the pope said on April 15 during a meeting with the faithful from the Italian diocese of Crema, the birthplace of Blessed Alfredo Cremonsi, who was martyred in Myanmar after a 28-year missionary life in the Southeast Asian nation in 1953.
The latest papal call for peace followed the deadly airstrike on the village of Pa Zi Gyi in the Sagaing region in central Myanmar on April 11 just two days after Easter Sunday.
In another incident on the same day, hundreds of people fled their homes when the military raided a historic Catholic village — Chaung Yoe — also in the Sagaing region.
Other Christians in conflict-affected areas could not attend Easter services due to fighting, while thousands had their Easter services in makeshift camps, according to Church sources.
The new round of military attacks against rebels has drawn strong condemnation from the world community. However, the United Nations Security Council has failed to condemn it due to objections from Russia and neighboring China.
The meeting between the pope and the faithful from Crema diocese was scheduled to take place after Blessed Cremonsi’s beatification in 2019 but was delayed due to the pandemic, Vatican News reported on April 15.
Blessed Cremonesi, a missionary of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME), became a victim of a conflict between government troops and Karen rebels. Blessed Cemonesi was murdered in the mountain village of Donokù by government soldiers for allegedly aiding rebels fighting for independence.
Pope Francis has spoken several times about the crisis in Myanmar, a country he regards with much affection, after visiting there in November 2017.
In his traditional Urbi et Orbi (to the city and to the world) Easter message on April 9, the pope repeated his call for “peace.” On many occasions, he has urged the military to stop violence, release all detained people and pursue dialogue to seek peace and reconciliation.
Myanmar has an estimated 53.5 million people and 87.9 percent of them are Buddhists. Of the 6.2 percent who are Christians, Catholics make up 1.24 percent, organized into 16 dioceses, including three archdioceses. Four dioceses — Loikaw, Pekhon, Hakha, and Kalay — and Mandalay archdiocese in central Myanmar have been severely affected by the ongoing civil war, which was exacerbated after the military toppled the civilian government in Feb. 2021.
