ASIA/PHILIPPINES - Special Day of Prayer for Myanmar: "Peace is possible"

Saturday, 29 May 2021 human rights prayer solidarity peace

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Manila (Agenzia Fides) - On Sunday May 30th, the Catholic communities in the Philippines will offer a special prayer for Myanmar. The chairman of the Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Archbishop Romulo G. Valles of Davao, invited his confreres in the episcopate as well as all priests, religious and lay people in the country to pray intensely for the good of the Church in Myanmar.
"Since the military coup in Myanmar on February 1, 2021, we have been following the very sad development of the suffering of the people in Myanmar on the news. Since then, every day has been a day of violence and misery for the nation", wrote the Archbishop in a special pastoral letter, sent for the occasion.
Already on February 6, Archbishop Valles, on behalf of the Philippine Church, sent a letter to Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon Myanmar and president of the Burmese Bishops' Conference (CBCM), assuring him prayers and solidarity in these difficult times.
Bishop Valles and all the bishops were particularly impressed by Cardinal Bo's message on the suffering of the people in Myanmar after the attack on Pentecost Sunday 23 May on the Sacred Heart Church in Kayanthayar near Loikaw in eastern Myanmar, in which four people died and many were wounded (See Fides, 26/5/2021).
"This message from Cardinal Bo regarding this particular terrible act of violence committed against people gathered in a place of worship vividly and painfully describes the ongoing suffering of the people of Myanmar", notes Archbishop Valles.
Archbishop Valles launched an appeal to all the faithful so that on the solemnity of the Holy Trinity, on May 30, also celebrated as Sunday of the Ecclesial Base Communities, in all masses in the parishes, a special prayer for the suffering is included with an explicit reference to the citizens of Myanmar and to the Church in Myanmar.
"We implore the Lord to put an end to this violence and that everyone involved be led to build peace. Cardinal Bo said in his letter: Peace is possible; Peace is the only way", concluded Archbishop Valles. (SD-PA) (Agenzia Fides, 29/5/2021)