DEMOSO (UCAN): Bishop Celso Ba Shwe of Loikaw, who fled his cathedral and residence in Loikaw in eastern Kayah state, Myanmar, after the military took them over, has appealed to displaced Catholics like him to work hard for peace.
“It is time to find true freedom and lasting peace by building reconciliation and giving up hatred, aggression and hostility,” Bishop Shwe said in his homily at St. Joseph Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Taunggyi in Shan state, on March 3.
Hundreds of peoples joined the liturgy, and most participants were internally displaced people like the 59-year-old bishop himself. He initially fled to Shan state last November, but later moved to Demoso, a town in Kayah state, within his diocese
The bishop was uprooted along with clergy, religious and laypeople when the military took over strategically important Loikaw city and occupied the Christ the King Cathedral complex, which houses the bishop’s house, pastoral centre, clergy house, and a clinic on 27 November 2023 [Sunday Examiner, 10 December 2023].
From Sondu parish in Demoso, he has been making pastoral visits to Catholics who fled their villages to escape ongoing conflict in Kayah and other states, a Church source said.
It is time to find true freedom and lasting peace by building reconciliation and giving up hatred, aggression and hostility
Bishop Shwe
Bishop Shwe’s ordeal and that of other Catholics highlights how the conflict in Myanmar has disrupted Church systems and life.
The ecclesiastical boundaries have faded with people moving away as dozens of churches and institutes are caught in the crossfire between junta forces and rebels in areas with significant Christian populations, reports say.
The bishop said people in Myanmar have been forced to take a “tough” journey over the past three years because of the military coup and ensuing civil war.
Shortly before offering Mass in Taunggyi, he met with displaced people in temporary camps. He also recently visited a village in the neighbouring diocese of Pekhon, which has also been hit hard by the violence.
Bishop Shwe is “is arranging to build a temporary residence there,” according to a Church source who requested anonymity, on March 4.
The bishop was unable to hold Christmas services—his first as the bishop of his diocese, after Pope Francis appointed him in March 2023. He also might not be able celebrate Easter services in his own cathedral.
In Loikaw, junta troops are positioned around Christ the King Cathedral and the pastoral centre and launch attacks on rebel forces and civilian targets, local residents and media reports say
Since last November, about 40,000 out of an estimated 50,000 residents in Loikaw, have fled their homes after the military offensives that have included air strikes and shelling against Karenni rebels fighting to take control of the city from the junta forces.
Despite the setbacks, Bishop Shwe remains defiant and never tires of meeting and encouraging hundreds of displaced people, local Catholics say. He offers “moral support and spiritual guidance at a time when people have been traumatised by attacks and stressful experiences,” sources said.
Residents said that he made pastoral visits to displaced Catholics in Taunggyi city and Nyaung Shwe, a town in Shan state, one of the worst affected regions, in January.
Karenni rebels are believed to have Christian fighters among them. Christians, the majority of them Catholics, make up about 46 percent of the state’s more than 350,000 people.
In Loikaw, junta troops are positioned around Christ the King Cathedral and the pastoral centre and launch attacks on rebel forces and civilian targets, local residents and media reports say.
On February 12, shelling damaged the Assumption Church in the Nananttaw area of Loikaw, Church sources confirmed.
So far, 12 churches have been hit by military attacks in the Diocese of Loikaw. Some 31 out of its 41 parishes are almost empty as thousands of Catholics have fled to escape the fighting.
Most people, or about 250,000 in Kayah state, have been displaced by the conflict since the February 2021 coup, aid groups say. They now live in about 200 camps, with some 80,000 housed in Church-run camps.
Displaced Catholics want to return home but the situation is not conducive. “We are yearning to return, but we have no idea how long we will have to stay here as the situation in our hometown remains precarious,” Pray Reh, said.
