ASIA/MYANMAR - In the war zone, among the Kachin, a life of suffering, displacement and faith

Banmaw (Agenzia Fides) - "There is crying and despair in the diocese of Banmaw folloowing the destruction of St. Patrick's Cathedral, set on fire by the Myanmar army (see Fides, 17/3/2025). I have seen many faithful cry and suffer. We can only take refuge in the Lord. In this time of Lent, people gather in prayer in the forest, the faithful celebrate the Stations of the Cross and hold processions in the mountains, and thus, with faith, they join in the suffering of Christ", a local priest in the Catholic community told Fides, who asks for anonymity for security reasons. The fire at the cathedral is the latest in a long series of Catholic places of worship attacked, damaged, or destroyed by soldiers of the regular Burmese army. "Sometimes the pretext is that they are hiding places for the resistance forces. Other times, buildings are occupied by soldiers and then, once abandoned, they are destroyed out of pure contempt, leaving scorched earth behind," the priest explains. "Tatmadaw soldiers are often young people without education or culture, recruited and manipulated by their commanders. They commit cruel acts and do not understand the gravity of their actions," he adds.
The territory of the diocese of Banmaw, in northern Myanmar, is located in the Kachin State, on the border between Myanmar and China, where the Kachin ethnic minority lives. A people (1.7 million inhabitants) who have been demanding autonomy for over 60 years and have organized an army, the "Kachin Independence Army". In this area, the Catholic Church is organized into two dioceses: Myitkyina (with around 100,000 faithful) and Banmaw (with 40,000 Catholics). The almost entirely mountainous territory is currently a war zone, where the population faces displacement and exodus. Entire communities have been uprooted by the conflict. Families, many of them Catholic, live in refugee camps. Young Kachin people see no hope for the future, with limited or no opportunities for education or employment.
The Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which is fighting for self-determination in the state, is among the best organized ethnic militias, active for decades, and have joined the resistance against the current ruling military junta. In recent weeks, clashes have erupted in the town of Banmaw, where the Catholic cathedral was destroyed and most of the inhabitants fled. "In the last two years," the Fides source tells Fides, "the conflict has affected nine of the thirteen parishes in the diocese, increasing the number of refugees."
In early March, the pastoral center of the St. Michael Catholic Church complex in Nan Hlaing, a rural area of the Diocese of Banmaw, was hit and destroyed by bombing by the Burmese army (see Fides, 5/3/2025). In this situation of precariousness and widespread violence, Bishop Raymond Sumlut Gam is currently transferred to the parish in the city of Leiza, on the border with China, which is firmly in the hands of the Kachin army.
The first traces of faith in the Banmaw area date back to the mid-19th century, with a much-loved missionary bishop, Paul Ambrose Bigandet MEP. The bishop then sent the first French missionaries to the Banmaw area, where they came into contact with the animist Kachin people and began missionary work. Between 1872 and 1939, 31 French priests served the population of the Banmaw area, along with some catechists. In 1936, the Irish missionaries of Saint Columban arrived, reinvigorating evangelization. In 1939, the Holy See officially established the Apostolic Prefecture of Banmaw. After being interrupted by World War II, with the resumption of apostolic activities in 1961, the Apostolic Prefecture became the Diocese of Myitkyina. Banmaw was part of the Diocese of Myitkyina until 2006, when Pope Benedict XVI created the new Diocese of Banmaw, a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Mandalay, appointing Monsignor Raymond Sumlut Gam as the diocese's first bishop. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 20/3/2025)

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