Scottish Catholic Observer

The first cardinal of Burma (Myanmar) revealed in Scotland that the emerging Asian democracy was until recently ‘a crucified nation’ that endured ‘five decades of Calvary’ at the hands of evil men who used religious persecution as a weapon.

Cardinal Charles Maung Bo (above right) began his pilgrimage to the UK in Glasgow on Sunday after asking for his trip to include Scotland.

Archbishop Mario Conti (above left), Archbishop Emeritus of Glasgow, and Bishop John Keenan of Paisley welcomed him to lead 5.15pm Mass on Sunday at St Andrew’s Cathedral. “Cardinal Bo has come to the West at an important juncture in his country’s history,” Archbishop Conti, chairman of the Church committee for inter-religious dialogue, told the congregation gathered on Clydeside, which included representatives from the four agencies that have sponsored the cardinal’s visit—Missio Scotland, Aid to the Church in Need, Christian Solidarity Worldwide and SCIAF.

Cardinal Bo, the Archbishop of Rangoon (Yangon), delivered a powerful homily at the Glasgow Mass on the past—a living hell present and future of Burma, which was ruled by Britain for 100 years before independence. “I stand here today for the people of Burma,” he said.

He described the past as the Way of the Cross, when totalitarianism spread in 1962 and his nation was hidden behind the ‘bamboo curtain.’ “The Catholic Church was singled out for persecution,” he said. “Lands, schools, medical facilities were confiscated but it was not the Church that was a victim, it was the poor of the country.”

The cardinal said that two million refugees from the once prosperous country were sent to nearby countries with disastrous results as the Burmese became the new slave nation and drugs and human trafficking flourished. He added, however, ‘throughout history the persecuted Church knows God intently.’

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Pic: Paul McSherry

—This story ran in full in the May 13 edition print of the SCO, available in parishes.

—More on Cardinal Bo’s visit in this week’s SCO.