austraLasia #2776 Strictly prohibited!
The Manger and Myanmar
YANGON: 27 December 2010 -- As religious leaders in many
parts of the world offered a Christmas message not only to their
followers, devotees, but to all people of good will, believers and
non-believers alike, so did Archbishop Charles Bo of Yangon,
Myanmar, profiting, this time, from the services of Radio Veritas
Asia to reach its many listeners not only in Mynamar but also in
the diaspora. He spoke in Burmese, Kachin, Po Karen, Sakan Karen
and English, and delivered a powerful message of peace and
reconciliation intended for many ears.
Archbishop Bo began by noting "the dazzling,
twinkling Christmas lights" to be found in the capital, Yangon, in
a chiefly Buddhist nation. "It is so thrilling. If we look back to
the very roots of Christmas, we see that the Holy Name of Jesus is
very vivid and cannot be concealed. Simply put, one may ask, 'Why
was Christ born?'".
The message then went on to draw lessons from
the key answer to that question: reconciliation of man with God
and reconciliation between human beings. He noted that the manger
outside Bethlehem reminds us how Jesus was "one with the poor and
destitute". He drew comparisons between the religiosity of
the East and today's faddish rejection of God in many parts of the
West! "We, Asians", he said "give God the first place in our
lives", while others "pride in saying 'I have no religion' or 'I
don't believe in any God' ".
But the message came home in a particular way
when speaking of reconciliation between human beings. Here the
archbishop focused his thoughts very much on his own people in his
own country. The core of this message was 'respect differences'.
See them as strengths for oneself, not weaknesses in the
other! He noted that today our societies are accustomed to
"multi-culture, multi-religion" and, pointedly, "multi-party".
Then turning to the Constitution of the country he noted that "The
Constitution... clearly states that every citizen has a right to
freedom or religion and worship... but in some parts of the
country... it is too difficult even to build a small chapel for
worship. Strictly prohibited!"
The archbishop concluded with a greeting of
peace to all people of goodwill, taking the opportunity to
emphasise his point just one more time: "Who is a person of good
will?" he asks. Only one who can accept differences.
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