Burmese Army Torches Catholic Church and Convent in Burma, Burning Them to the Ground
ROME — The Burmese army torched a historic Catholic church in the Archdiocese of Mandalay this week and also set fire to a convent of religious sisters.
Soldiers burned According to Vatican News, the Church of the Assumption, an ancient church in Chan Thar that was once home to Catholics in the Sagaing area, and the nearby Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary were razed.
The nuns fled They were joined by some 3,000 villagers who lost their homes to the fires of the military.
On Sunday, Pope Francis expressed He expressed his sorrow at the attack and noted that the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption was also being attacked. “one of the oldest and most important places of worship in the country,” Built in 1894.
“I am close to the defenseless civilian population, which is sorely tried in many cities,” The pontiff spoke after his weekly Angelus address. “May God grant that this conflict may soon end and a new time of forgiveness, love and peace may follow.”
File/A protester holding a sign calling for H&M to withdraw from Myanmar. This was outside H&M on Oxford Street, London, England, June 11, 2022. Protesters joined trade unions from Myanmar to demand that international brands such as H&M, Zara, and Primark stop sourcing products from Myanmar. This was due to the brutality of its military junta. (Martin Pope/Getty Images)
The pope concluded by leading the 15,000 gathered in Saint Peter’s Square in the Hail Mary prayer for the intentions of Myanmar.
The ferocity of the attack reflects not only animosity toward the minority Catholic population but also the fact that the area is considered a stronghold of the People’s Defense Forces rebels, who oppose the Burmese military junta currently in power.
Sister Rita, one the religious sisters who was forced to flee her burning convent, said that she and the other sisters encouraged the local residents to leave their homes. “not to oppose the soldiers and not to resist, to avoid massacres and brutality.”
“The soldiers want to crush any resistance from the civilians,” She spoke. “They enter the villages, occupy buildings like schools and churches and camp there. From there, they carry out raids from house to house to flush out the rebels.”
“They stayed in our church for three days and when they left they set fire to the church and our convent,” She continued.
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