VATICAN (UCAN): “I want to emphasise this: the forgotten wars. Today, we are all worried, and it is right that we should be, about a war here in Europe, at the door of Europe and in Europe, but there have been wars for years: for more than 10 years in Syria, think of Yemen, think of Myanmar, think of Africa,” the pope said during an October 13 meeting with the editors and collaborators of Mondo e Missione, the monthly magazine of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions.
“Forgotten wars, it is shameful to forget them like that. And also, remembering those who work silently and tenaciously at the grassroots to build a better world, tracing paths of solidarity and reconciliation in contexts marked by crises or violence,” he added.
Pope Francis has spoken several times about the crisis in Myanmar, a country he regards with much affection after visiting there in November 2017. He has repeatedly called for the military leaders to stop the violence, release all detained people and pursue dialogue to seek peace and reconciliation.
The Church has played a vital role in providing humanitarian aid to internally displaced people, especially in the hardest hit diocese of Loikaw in Kayah state along with neighbouring Pekhon diocese in southern Shan state where there is ongoing conflict and thousands of IDPs are in dire need of medicine, shelter and food amid restrictions.
