YANGONA — senior Church official in Myanmar called on the country’s leaders to choose dialogue over violence and reconciliation over revenge and urged the Catholic Church to remain alongside people enduring conflict, displacement, and poverty.
Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon said those with the power to make decisions must have the courage to choose “life over death, dialogue over violence, reconciliation over revenge, and peace over destruction.”
The cardinal made the appeal in his homily on Aug 9, reflecting on the Gospel account of Jesus walking on water and telling his frightened disciples, “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
Bo described Myanmar as a country passing through “storms” of conflict, violence, displacement, poverty, fear, uncertainty, grief, and loss.
He said the crisis has taken away homes, schools, and livelihoods and, in some cases, the lives of loved ones.
“Many people have become tired—not only physically, but emotionally and spiritually,” he said. “Sometimes the storm outside becomes a storm inside the human heart.”
Bo said Myanmar does not need more hatred, revenge, or wounds, but people willing to work for peace and defend human dignity. “Myanmar needs people of courage,” he said.
Christian courage, Bo said, “is not the courage to destroy another person” but the courage to love, forgive, speak the truth without hatred, defend human dignity, and protect the weak.
He said it also requires the courage to say, “Enough suffering,” to sit together, and to find a way toward peace. “It is the courage to choose reconciliation when revenge seems easier,” he said.
Bo also challenged the Church in Myanmar not to remain at a distance from the suffering of the people.“The Church cannot simply stand on the shore and tell people: ‘Have courage.’ The Church must enter the boat with the people,” he said.
He called on parishes to become places of refuge and churches to become places where people experience dignity.
“Our Catholic communities must continue to serve displaced families, the poor, children, the elderly, and those who have lost everything. And the Church must continue to be a voice for peace and reconciliation,” he said.
The prelate also addressed young people whose education, family life, and future have been disrupted.
“Do not surrender your future to hatred. Do not allow the wounds of today to determine the whole story of your life,” he said.
Bo told young people they are “not only victims of history” but can become “builders of a new history” and “builders of peace.”
He said Myanmar needs their talents, courage, and compassion and urged them to become “men and women of conscience.”
Bo warned that focusing only on violence and hatred can shape how people respond to the crisis.
“When we see only violence, we may believe that violence is the only answer. When we see only hatred, we may begin to hate,” he said.
He also pointed to political noise, social media, anger, accusations, rumors, and propaganda, saying they can drown out calls for forgiveness, compassion, and peace.
“Sometimes there is so much noise that we cannot hear the voice of God,” he said.
Bo said the Church shares in the suffering of the people and cannot consider itself separate from the country’s crisis.
“We are not outside the suffering of our people,” he said, adding, “We feel the waves. We hear the cries. We see the tears.”
