Myanmar has the dubious distinction of the world’s longest running civil war. Since independence in 1948, the country has had a history of internal conflicts and escalating violence leading to widespread displacement and economic hardship.
Little noticed in the international media, the conflict in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) rivals Ukraine, Sudan, Gaza, Lebanon, or Iran in brutality and destructiveness, although there are seldom large set-piece battles.
Since 2021, internal violence and insecurity have displaced more than three million people across the country. Nearly two million have been forced to flee their homes in the past year alone.
In the middle of the violence and hopelessness, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo SDB is preaching a message of peace and reconciliation. Appointed by Pope Francis in 2015, he has been the Archbishop of Yangon since 2003.
He was visiting Australia last week on a trip sponsored by Catholic Mission and spoke at length with The Catholic Weekly.
Catholics make up only 1.3 per cent of the population of Myanmar, which is predominantly Buddhist, he said, but they have an outsized role in education, healthcare, conflict resolution, and humanitarian work.
The difficulties are legion, but as Cardinal Bo often reminds people, “Hope is the stream that runs through the desert of pessimism.”
Education of youth is the cardinal’s passion. “The whole Myanmar church made education a priority,” he has said. “Without the education of the children, Myanmar will not have a future at all.”
Although literacy rates are relatively high in Myanmar, it ranks behind its neighbours in East Asia. This is a significant challenge.
After independence, in the 1950s, Myanmar, then called Burma, a former British colony, was touted as a potential East Asian economic tiger.
Its universities were amongst the best in the region. But a sudden political overturn in 1962 reversed course for the nation. Myanmar became a “hermit kingdom”.
All schools were nationalised and all foreign teachers expelled, including Catholic missionaries. Education became focused on rote learning rather than critical thinking.
The running sore of civil war has made things worse. Schools have been closed. Teachers have emigrated. Both sides are conscripting young people, Cardinal Bo says, so that they have no opportunity to get an advanced education.
That explains why he is so keen on education, both secular and catechetical in the Catholic faith.
Catholic Mission, the Pope’s agency for supporting missions around the world, is supporting his efforts to promote schools and teachers’ colleges, along with an ecological farming project.
The projects are set in tiers focused on establishing a successful model to be replicated across Myanmar’s 17 dioceses in the future. The cardinal insists that they are laying the groundwork for a brighter future for the next generation.
“We don’t know when peace and normal times will come, but you have to prepare now,” he told The Catholic Weekly.
In some ways, the Catholic Church is “incredibly flourishing”, the cardinal says.
In 1990, he founded a religious congregation, the Missionaries of St Paul, to bring the Gospel to remote and conflict-affected regions in Myanmar.
He says proudly that there are already 140 sisters, seven brothers and ten priests. The national seminary in Yangon has more than 200 seminarians.
The gentle Catholic approach of providing quality education, healthcare and services to all regardless of background and forming people well before they enter the church is appreciated and gives it some prestige amongst the people.
The cardinal says the church tries very hard not to take sides in Myanmar politics, either with the military government or the opposition. His focus is more on conflict resolution between long entrenched and deeply antagonistic foes than on outrage over violations of human rights.
The cardinal uses Christmas time to make them aware of Pope Leo’s message for world peace.
Cardinal Bo has met Pope Leo XIV several times – and has extended an invitation to visit Myanmar. In 2017, Pope Francis visited Myanmar and underscored the cardinal’s plea for reconciliation.
Pope Leo is well aware of Myanmar and its “polycrisis”, as the cardinal describes it, of poverty, an economy in ruins, unemployment, healthcare, war, ethnic rivalries, refugees, youth emigration, and schooling.
Last October, on World Mission Sunday, the Pontifical annual global appeal for the missions, the Holy Father made a special appeal.
“The news from Myanmar is sadly distressing: there are reports of ongoing armed clashes and aerial bombardments, including the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure. I am spiritually close to those who are suffering as a result of the violence, insecurity and many hardships.
“I renew my heartfelt appeal for an immediate and effective ceasefire. May the instruments of war give way to those of peace, through inclusive and constructive dialogue.”
Cardinal Bo told The Catholic Weekly that 2026 is the 100th anniversary of the first Mission Sunday, which was created by Pope Pius XI.
“Mission Sunday is the one time that reminds us that we are all missionaries, and everyone is invited, whether they are rich or poor, to contribute to something of their financial resources so that they can help to poorer countries,” he said.
“It’s a sign of unity among us, strengthens us and reminds us that we are not alone, that we are not abandoned.”
