杏MAP导航

by Philippa Hitchen

杏MAP导航 Francis had an action-packed afternoon in Myanmar on Wednesday, meeting with the nation鈥檚  and with the country鈥檚  where he鈥檚 staying. He also managed to squeeze in an unscheduled encounter with the local Jesuit community there, as he likes to do on every foreign journey.

Philippa Hitchen is in Yangon and reports that the focus of the day鈥檚 events was on the role of all religions in shaping society through the shared values of justice, dignity and peace.

The  was a very formal affair, with a row of barefoot monks, wrapped in their maroon or rust coloured robes, seated in stiff backed chairs opposite the pope and the rest of the Vatican delegation. An occasion for official speeches rather than animated interfaith discussions.

Nevertheless, the pope spoke emphatically about the need to strengthen friendships between believers of different faiths, promoting that culture of encounter that can 鈥渟urmount all forms of misunderstanding, intolerance, prejudice and hatred鈥�. He quoted from a famous collection of Buddha鈥檚 verses and encouraged recent efforts by religious leaders to meet together and discuss increased cooperation.

Weaving peaceful interfaith relations

In a similar way, with  later in the day, the pope returned to the theme of both interfaith and ecumenical relations, a pivotal part of the Church鈥檚 life here, where Catholics are a small minority within both the Christian and the wider Buddhist community.

He talked about weaving peaceful relations among people of different faiths, reminding me of the delicate designs I鈥檝e seen woven into the brightly coloured clothes of the many different ethnic groups here.

Bishops must be prophetic voice

He told the bishops they must be healers, helping to overcome the scars of conflicts that continue to impede peace and development. He urged them to accompany their people, like shepherds who 鈥渂ear the smell of the sheep鈥�, going out into the fields and villages, rather than staying inside the sacristies of their churches.

Finally, he urged the bishops to be a prophetic voice within their rapidly changing society, asking them to focus especially on the environment, taking care of this nation鈥檚 鈥渞ich natural resources for the benefit of future generations鈥�. 

Priority of environmental protection

I only wish he had time, as I did last week, to visit the new Holy Cross church, built at the foot of a mountain in the spectacular Kachin National Park. Located at the source of the Irrawaddy river which runs the length of the country, the church is managed by La Salette Father Jerome Eiphan, whose dream is to develop a centre for environmental protection. Funding is scarce and the challenges are many, yet it鈥檚 a good example of how the Church here is quietly promoting those values of justice and peace that the pope was talking about today.