The Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Yangon witnessed the ordination of 13 priests. Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon and President of the Myanmar Conference of Catholic Bishops, presided over the ordination and he emphasized that this vocation gives hope to the torn Church of Myanmar.
“The Church in Myanmar is wounded and displaced. The priests are the hope of the people. They are the refuge of the brothers and sisters who suffer”, said the Cardinal according to a note from the Vatican agency Fides.
“Myanmar needs reconciliation and dialogue: that is why the priest proclaims the Good News and brings peace”.
The new priests are from the dioceses of Yangon, Pyay and Pathein. Three of them are Jesuits, two are from the Order of Friars Minor and the rest are diocesan.
Cardinal Bo further said that “Myanmar is walking the way of the cross. The priests stand before the altars and generously offer their lives for the Church and for the nation”.
“The Catholic priesthood consists in serving, not in showing authority over others; it consists in healing the wounded and the weak, not in harming others; It consists in seeking justice, not in kneeling down and surrendering, but in proclaiming that no one in power rules the world, because God is the Almighty.”
The Cardinal recalled that “priests promote human dignity and justice. A priest is Another Christ. Christ is the model, the savior and the guide of the priests”.
“We come together and pray with our words and our hearts: there is faith and hope amid the challenges, tears, and blood that flows not only in Myanmar but also in the world.”
The Cardinal also stressed that “Christ has chosen the weak for the Church. The priests will surely be filled with the Holy Spirit. Priests will be able to heal, save others, and witness true freedom.”
“The priest is called to holiness, to be close to God and close to the people,” he stressed.