Burmese Catholics seek Pope's prayer

Mae Sot, Myanmar, Dec.19,2007 (CINS/AsiaNews) - We ask the Pope that with the arrival of Christmas, he "continue to pray" for the Burmese people, and that with his words he "help keep the world from forgetting the sufferings of our country". This is the moving appeal sent to AsiaNews by some Catholics in Myanmar, who remain anonymous for obvious reasons of safety. The same desire to keep attention focused on the fate of the country formerly known as Burma is expressed by some Buddhist exiles in Thailand. They speak of the cruelty of a military regime that for over 40 years has thrown the once-flourishing country into misery, ignorance, and fear; of the massive exploitation of a people purely for economic gain; of the paralysis of a generation of disillusioned and distrustful young people who flee to other countries in the vain hope of finding a better future. But they ask the world not to forget the tragedy that is raging within their country. Kyaw Lin Aung, aged 35, from Yangon, and Nay Zey Tun, aged 40, from Mandalay, took refuge in Mae Sot after the wave of anti-government protests in late September. They recount the violence of the soldiers against the peaceful movement of the Buddhist monks in the town squares, as also in the prisons. And they warn: "The repression has never stopped!"

Kyaw Lin Aung is unable to forget what he has seen and heard from friends and relatives: "The shots fired against the monks reciting prayers of love and piety in Pakokku, the burning of monasteries that aligned themselves against the government, but also the stories of the corpses of demonstrators that were burned in crematorium ovens or buried in haste in order to distort the true extent of the repression".

Even the apparent willingness of the Naypydaw regime to accept the requests of the international community on respect for human rights conceals only a ferocious cruelty. "Spies disguised as monks roam around the country, contributing to the arrest of young activists and Buddhist monks", Kyaw recounts. "In the prisons, they are tortured an denied medical assistance. This happened even after pressure from the UN and the United States to free the detainees - before freeing them, the prison guards had them infected with lethal viruses, so that they would die after returning home and leave [the government] free from criticism or responsibility".

By this and other means, Burma's military junta has chosen to silence those in the country who, beginning this summer, dared to rise up and protest against policies that have brought the country to its knees, handing over its riches to the great powers in the region.

When he speaks of his country, Nay Zey Tun depicts a nation on its knees, almost without any hope left. The crisis unfolds beginning with the basic services: health and education. "The state hospitals are completely lacking in any form of assistance", Nay recounts. "Sometimes it is difficult even to find a bandage, and the personnel do not work. A few months ago, I helped my father, who was hospitalised for a week, and I found myself acting as a nurse for the other patients: there was a woman who was supposed to give birth, and no one was helping her. Later it was discovered that her baby had already been dead for ten days, and no one had noticed. They operated on her, and then I had to talk to the lead physician, who didn't know anything. Not to mention the operating rooms . . . we say that it is better to die at home, rather than to go seek care in the hospital".

Education is also sinking into deep crisis. "With the nationalisation of the schools in 1962, and the expulsion of the missionaries from the country", Kyaw recalls, "education suffered a serious wound. The military government prohibited the teaching of English until 1985. Many of the university texts are in English, and now the young teachers can't even read them. A widespread ignorance reigns, and the people know longer know what freedom is, nor do they understand the value of life. Even the young people who want to rebel don't know exactly what to ask for: although they assemble in the squares, they are waiting for someone to lead them, to become the spokesman for their sufferings and the sufferings of their families". To this ignorance is added a deep depression: "In the villages, electricity id available only seven hours a day," Nay explains, "and even water is not distributed regularly; one now works solely to keep hunger at bay, without being able to save any money, and so the people no longer think about politics, and wait for the outside world to do something in order to change things".

The feeling among the Burmese is that the international community is seeking a compromise in order to avoid doing too much harm to the interests of the great regional powers in the former Burma. This means India and Russia, but above all, China. "For ten years", Nay denounces, "Beijing has practically been colonising our land: the Chinese companies are outsourcing their business to Myanmar, because manual labour costs even less than in China. Moreover, they are exploiting our country indiscriminately, appropriating our energy resources and basic materials. In the morning, around Yangdon one can see lines of trucks full of labourers being taken to the Chinese factories like animals to the slaughter".

Paralysis, the conviction of being unable to change things is increasingly driving the young people to leave the country. "The airport", Kyaw recounts, "is full of young people leaving the country to find work elsewhere. They are uprooted, not knowing where to go, and they think that by emigrating they will be able to earn more. Most of them end up in very menial jobs in Malaysia or Dubai". "But in order to pay for their travel", Nay emphasises, "they often sell the land and homes of their elderly parents, who remain in Myanmar without anything left to live on. I have read the lyrics of some songs written by medical students, which go more or less like this: 'My children sell my field and depart: remember your parents, who cannot even grow rice, and send them at least a little money to buy soup'". 

Vatican’s meeting with Israel fails, Pope's visit to Holy land abandoned

Vatican City, Dec.18,2007 (CINS/Cathnews) -  The Vatican spokesman has said Pope Benedict will not visit the Holy Land next year after a Vatican meeting with Israel failed to resolve outstanding issues including Church property taxes and visas for clergy.

DPA reports Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said while the Pope had expressed on several occasions his desire to visit the Holy Land, a "condition of general peace" and "local realities" need to be considered before the Pontiff accepts the standing invitation by Israeli President Shimon Perez.

Last week, a meeting between the Holy See and the Israeli government, was supposed to have agreed to an accord which would finalise legal and financial status of the Church in Israel.

Since its signing in 1993, ratification of the accord "which must be complemented by juridical and economic agreements to come into effect" has been repeatedly delayed.

Congregation for the Oriental Churches secretary Archbishop Antonio Maria Veglio - who participated in the 13 December talks - said most sticking points with Israel remained unresolved.

"As long as we talk about God, about peace, the promotion of the rights of women and other human rights, it is easy to reach agreement," Archbishop Veglio said.

"But when we start discussing the details, and I refer in particular to the issue of taxes, then differences emerge," he said.

The next round of Vatican-Israel talks are set to take place in Rome in May 2008.

Pope receives postulators of the causes of saints

Pope at Angelus: Christmas joy can be wrong if we are not anticipating Saviours' birth

Vatican City, Dec.16, 2007 (CINS/AsiaNews) – Even Christmas joy can be “wrong” if it is a joy which originates in a culture where “happiness is an idol”, instead of that joy of hope found in the Saviours’ birth.

This Sunday is known as “gaudete” Sunday” or the Sunday of “rejoicing” and it offered Benedict XVI the opportunity to reflect on the Christian sense of the season leading up to Christmas.

“The mystery of Bethlehem – the Pope told the 30 thousand people present in St Peter’s square for the Angelus prayer – reveals God –among-us–, the God who is near to us, not only in the sense of time or place; he is near to us because he “married” our humanity; he took our condition on, choosing to be like us in every way, except in sin, so that we could become like Him. Christian joy therefore, lies in this certainty: God is at hand, is with me, in joy and sorrow, in sickness and in health, like a friend and faithful spouse. This joy remains even in the face of trials and sorrow, but not only on the surface, it is a joy that lies in the deepest innermost heart of he person who entrusts himself to God and confides in Him”.

“Some – he continued – ask themselves: but is this joy still possible today? The answer is given, with their very lives, by men and women of every age and social condition, happy to consecrate their existence to others. Was blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta not perhaps the best example of this true evangelical joy, in our times? She lived in daily contact with misery, human degradation, death. Her soul knew the trial of the dark nights of the faith, and yet she gifted God’s smile to all”. Benedict XVI then quoted a phrase of Mother Theresa, where she used to say: “We wait impatiently for Heaven, where God is, but it is in our power to know heaven even here on earth in this very moment. Being happy with God means: loving like Him, helping like Him, giving like Him, and serving like Him”.

“Joy – repeated the Pope – enters the hearts of those who put themselves at the service of the smallest and poorest. God resides in those who love in this way, and he animates them with joy. If instead happiness is made an idol, then the road to true joy, the joy of which Christ speaks, is impossible to find. Unfortunately this is the proposition of cultures which place individual happiness in the place of God, a mentality which finds its emblematic effects in the search for pleasure at all costs, in the spreading of the use of drugs as an escape, a refuge in an artificial paradise, which reveals it to be just an illusion. Dear brothers and sisters, even at Christmas you can make a wrong turn, and mistake the real feast with that which does not open hearts to the joy of Christ”.

Benedict XVI had already spoken of the meaning of Christmas earlier Sunday morning, when he paid a special visit to a parish in Rome, Our Lady of the Rosary of the Portuensi Martyrs, in Magliana a suburb in the west of the Rome diocese. “The Advent liturgy - he had said – constantly repeats to us that we have to wake ourselves up from the sleepiness of habit and mediocrity, we must shake off sadness and discouragement; we have to replenish our hearts because ‘the Lord is at hand’”.

Inspired by the presence close by of the Generosa catacombs, where some of the martyrs lie buried, the Pope commented that “even today, if in a different way, Christ’s salvific message is being contrasted and Christians, no less than before, are being called to give the reasons for their hope, and offer the world witness of the Truth of the only One who saves and redeems”.

The joyful cheers of the numerous children present in St Peter’s square greeted the end of the Angelus prayer. In fact today saw the Roman tradition of the “Blessing of the Infant Jesus” in which children from across the city bring the figure from their nativity scenes to be blessed by the Pope. “So many of you have come despite the cold!” Benedict XVI thanked them, referring to the sunny but decidedly wintery weather.

Address of Pope Benedict XVI

To the Bishops of Japan on their "Ad Limina" Visit

Saturday, 15 December 2007

Dear Brother Bishops,

I am pleased to welcome you on your ad Limina visit, as you come to venerate the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul. I thank you for the kind words that Archbishop Peter Takeo Okada has addressed to me on your behalf, and I offer you my warmest good wishes and prayers for yourselves and all the people entrusted to your pastoral care. You have come to the city where Peter carried out his mission of evangelization and bore witness to Christ even to the shedding of his blood—and you have come to greet Peter’s Successor. In this way you strengthen the apostolic foundations of the Church in your country and you express visibly your communion with all the other members of the College of Bishops and with the Roman Pontiff (cf. Pastores Gregis,8). I want to take this opportunity to reiterate my sorrow at the recent passing of Cardinal Stephen Hamao, President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Itinerants, and to express my appreciation for his years of service to the Church. In his person he exemplified the bonds of communion between the Church in Japan and the Holy See. May he rest in peace.

Last year the Church celebrated with great joy the five hundredth anniversary of the birth of Saint Francis Xavier, Apostle of Japan. I join you in giving thanks to God for the missionary work that he carried out in your land, and for the seeds of Christian faith that he planted at the time of Japan’s first evangelization. The need to proclaim Christ boldly and courageously is a continuing priority for the Church; indeed it is a solemn duty laid upon her by Christ who enjoined the Apostles to “go out to the whole world, proclaim the Good News to all creation” (Mk 16:16). Your task today is to seek new ways of bringing alive the message of Christ in the cultural setting of modern Japan. Even though Christians form only a small percentage of the population, the faith is a treasure that needs to be shared with the whole of Japanese society. Your leadership in this area needs to inspire clergy and religious, catechists, teachers, and families to offer an explanation for the hope that they possess (cf. 1 Pet 3:15). This in turn requires sound catechesis, based on the teachings of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Compendium. Let the light of the faith so shine before others, that “they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Mt 5:16).

Indeed the world is hungry for the message of hope that the Gospel brings. Even in countries as highly developed as yours, many are discovering that economic success and advanced technology are not sufficient in themselves to bring fulfilment to the human heart. Anyone who does not know God “is ultimately without hope, without the great hope that sustains the whole of life” (Spe Salvi, 27). Remind people that there is more to life than professional success and profit. Through the practice of charity, in the family and in the community, they can be led towards “that encounter with God in Christ which awakens their love and opens their spirits to others” (Deus Caritas Est, 31). This is the great hope that Christians in Japan can offer their compatriots; it is not foreign to Japanese culture, but rather it reinforces and gives new impetus to all that is good and noble in the heritage of your beloved nation. The well-merited respect which the citizens of your country show towards the Church, on account of her fine contribution in education, health care and many other fields, gives you an opportunity to engage with them in dialogue and to speak joyfully to them of Christ, the “light that enlightens every man” (Jn 1:9).

Young people especially are at risk of being deceived by the glamour of modern secular culture. Yet, like all the greater and lesser hopes that appear on first sight to promise so much (cf. Spe Salvi,30), this turns out to be a false hope – and tragically, disillusion not infrequently leads to depression and despair, even to suicide. If their youthful energy and enthusiasm can be directed towards the things of God, which alone are sufficient to satisfy their deepest longings, more young people will be inspired to commit their lives to Christ, and some will recognize a call to serve him in the priesthood or the religious life. Invite them to consider whether this may be their vocation. Never be afraid to do so. Encourage your priests and religious likewise to be active in promoting vocations, and lead your people in prayer, asking the Lord to “send out labourers into his harvest” (Mt 9:38).

The Lord’s harvest in Japan is increasingly made up of people of diverse nationalities, to the extent that over half of the Catholic population is formed of immigrants. This provides an opportunity to enrich the life of the Church in your country and to experience the true catholicity of God’s people. By taking steps to ensure that all are made to feel welcome in the Church, you can draw on the many gifts that the immigrants bring. At the same time, you need to remain vigilant in ensuring that the liturgical and disciplinary norms of the universal Church are carefully observed. Modern Japan has wholeheartedly chosen to engage with the wider world, and the Catholic Church, with its universal outreach, can make a valuable contribution to this process of ever greater openness to the international community.

Other nations can also learn from Japan, from the accumulated wisdom of her ancient culture, and especially from the witness to peace that has characterized her stance on the world political stage in the last sixty years. You have made the voice of the Church heard on the enduring importance of this witness, all the greater in a world where armed conflicts bring so much suffering to the innocent. I encourage you to continue to speak on matters of public concern in the life of your nation, and to ensure that your statements are promoted and widely disseminated, so that they may be properly heard at all levels within society. In this way, the message of hope that the Gospel brings can truly touch hearts and minds, leading to greater confidence in the future, greater love and respect for life, increasing openness towards the stranger and the sojourner in your midst. “The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life” (Spe Salvi, 2).

In this regard, the forthcoming Beatification of 188 Japanese martyrs offers a clear sign of the strength and vitality of Christian witness in your country’s history. From the earliest days, Japanese men and women have been ready to shed their blood for Christ. Through the hope of these people “who have been touched by Christ, hope has arisen for others who were living in darkness and without hope”(Spe Salvi,8) I join you in giving thanks to God for the eloquent testimony of Peter Kibe and his companions, who have “washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb” and now serve God day and night within his temple (Rev 7:14f.).

In this Advent season, the whole Church looks forward eagerly to the celebration of our Saviour’s birth. I pray that this time of preparation may be for you and for the whole Church in Japan an opportunity to grow in faith, hope, and love, so that the Prince of Peace may truly find a home in your hearts. Commending all of you and your priests, religious and lay faithful to the intercession of Saint Francis Xavier and the Martyrs of Japan, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of joy and peace in the Lord.

From the Vatican, 15 December 2007

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