YANGON (UCAN): Myanmar’s Charles Cardinal Bo, the president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences [FABC], appealed to Russia to cease attacks on Ukraine and return to the United Nations for a peaceful resolution of all issues.
He joined Pope Francis in appealing to the rulers of Russia—and to all others who believe in the power of violence—to solve world problems through peaceful means and dialogue.
“The nightmare scenario of a global nuclear holocaust is frighteningly becoming a possibility,” Cardinal Bo said, adding that “the massive attacks on Ukraine and the impending threat of use of weapons of mass destruction have brought the world to the threshold of self-annihilation.”
In a letter released on March 4, he said: “The heart-wrenching scenes of Ukraine attacks have shocked the world. This has to stop.”
The outspoken cardinal said he was heartened by the united response of the world community in the UN where more than 140 countries voted against this war of attrition which threatened to destroy human security and respect for global institutions.
“Humanity is the main stakeholder in these geostrategic war games, History is a cruel teacher,” he said.
The 73-year-old Cardinal Bo said that exactly a century ago, when a spiraling pandemic strangled the world, megalomaniac men unleashed the demons of two sadistic world wars. More than 135 million people were killed by war in the 20th century.
“The memory of the holocaust remains a festering wound in the human conscience,” the cardinal said.
He added that there were no victors in those wars. History mummified those evil men in unmarked graves as fossils of human cruelty.
“Let not history repeat itself in the 21st century. The world has suffered a lot, encountering the multidimensional crisis of a pandemic that killed millions dealing a blow to the economy, impoverished millions. This is the time for global healing, not hurting,” Cardinal Bo said.
He appealed directly to Russian president, Vladimir Putin, whose country is one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, to promote world peace and ensure the rights of every nation.
“Peace is always possible, peace is the only way for humanity’s future,” the cardinal said.
