ASIA/MYANMAR - New priests for the Church, hope for the people

Yangon (Agenzia Fides) - “The Church of Myanmar is wounded and displaced. Priests are the hope of the people. They are the refuge of brothers and sisters who suffer. Myanmar needs reconciliation and dialogue: for this reason the priest proclaims the Good News and brings peace": this is what Cardinal Charles Maung Bo said during the priestly ordination mass of 13 deacons, held in recent days in the Cathedral of Saint Mary in Yangon. The candidates for the priesthood came from the dioceses of Yangon, Pyay and Pathein, three of them belonged to the Society of Jesus and two to the Order of Friars Minor, the others are diocesan priests. Cardinal Bo added: "Myanmar follows the way of the cross. Priests stand before the altars and generously offer their lives for the Church and for the nation", since "the Catholic priesthood is about serving, not to exercise authority over others; it is to heal the wounded and weak, not to harm others; it is to seek justice, not to kneel and surrender, but to proclaim that no powerful rules the world, because God is the Almighty". "Priests - he continued - promote human dignity and justice. A priest is Another Christ ("Alter Christus"). Christ is the model, the savior and the guide of priests". "We come together and pray with words and our hearts: there is faith and hope amidst the challenges, tears and blood that flows not only in Myanmar but also in the world", he underlined. "Christ chose the weak for the Church. Priests will surely be filled with the Holy Spirit. Priests will be able to heal, save their neighbors and be witnesses of true freedom", said the Cardinal, adding that "the priest is called to holiness, to be close to God and close to the people". (JZ-PA) (Agenzia Fides, 26/3/2022)

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