For the Church, the ‘still small voice’ of God speaking through the wind and fire must be heard

Benedict Rogers for UCA News

Just over ten days ago, in a characteristically brave and bold address to the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference in Sydney, Myanmar’s Cardinal Charles Bo drew attention to what he called the “polycrisis” that has gripped his country since the military overthrew a democratically elected civilian-led government in a coup five years ago.

He outlined the overlapping economic, employment, social, health and education crises that have hit Myanmar as a direct consequence of the coup, the dictatorship, and civil war that ensued, the mass displacement of hundreds of thousands of people, the devastation inflicted on the health and education system, compounded by the trauma of the 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck central Myanmar in March 2025, killing thousands.

One could add to that list the genocide of the Rohingya and the mass atrocity crimes — including war crimes and crimes against humanity — committed against many of Myanmar’s other ethnic nationalities.

Myanmar is enduring not just one crisis but a series of overlapping tragedies.

What is most important to understand is that the junta’s crimes against humanity lie at the core of what created this humanitarian crisis: for example, the health and education sectors are in a state of collapse because of the regular airstrikes on medical facilities and schools by the junta, and because the regime prefers to spend its money on bombs to attack its people rather than on funding the humanitarian needs of its people.

“Economic collapse, inflation, unemployment, and poverty have all increased sharply, leaving many families struggling for basic survival, even for drinking water,” Cardinal Bo said. “Daily life is defined by insecurity, psychological strain, and a loss of trust in the future,” he added, especially for young people.

Since 2021, the junta’s war against its own people has resulted in the displacement of almost 4 million people, the killing of over 8,000, the arrest and imprisonment of over 30,000 people, and the continued detention — despite some recent releases — of over 14,000 political prisoners, including the country’s democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest.

The military has relentlessly conducted airstrikes against civilians, bombing schools, hospitals, churches, mosques, and monasteries, as Fortify Rights has documented in two recent reports titled, respectively, Crashing Down on Us and Horrific Sight to Witness, and in a news release exposing the regime’s use not only of fighter jets and drones but also of paramotors and gyrocopters.

Even Cardinal Bo’s own birthplace of Monhla in Sagaing Region — which I visited before the junta’s coup — was attacked by the military, torching homes in November 2022. In January 2023, a 129-year-old church was burned down following a junta attack in neighboring Ye-U Township.

According to the Chin Human Rights Organisation, at least 107 religious buildings, including 67 churches, have been destroyed during junta attacks in Chin State alone since the coup.

These are not accidental strikes on civilian infrastructure protected by the laws of war — attacking churches, schools, medical facilities, and displaced person camps is at the very core of the junta’s military campaign, which amounts to crimes against humanity.

On April 8 2025, the Catholic Church of Christ the King in Falam was destroyed, and on April 13 the same year, on Palm Sunday, the Baptist Church in Mindat was hit in an airstrike. Many more churches have been attacked across Kachin, Karenni, and Karen states and beyond.

Yet despite all this, Cardinal Bo says, “we remain a people of hope.” In the face of a multitude of existential threats, “hope is the stream that runs through the desert of pessimism.”

The Catholic Church in Myanmar has made education a priority, he added. “Without the education of the children, Myanmar will not have a future at all.”

So many children in Myanmar have lost years of schooling through displacement or because their parents have been arrested, jailed, killed, or forced to flee. The psychological impact of this is grave and enduring — yet in the midst of this suffering, Cardinal Bo and the Church he leads remain defiant.

“We don’t know when peace and normal times will come, but you have to prepare now,” he said. And despite the tragedy, the Church in Myanmar is  “incredibly flourishing.”

Cardinal Bo emphasised his gratitude to the Church in Australia for its support — and signaled a message to the international community about the importance of standing with the people of Myanmar.

“Your solidarity is not an abstract idea. It is a light in the darkness,” he said. “Your support reminds our suffering people they are not forgotten.” And, he added, this is “not just charity — it is communion”.

This message is typical of Cardinal Bo, a man I have had the privilege of knowing for almost 20 years. He is a man of great courage, compassion, and conviction — but also one of wisdom.

He is both a prophetic voice and a peacemaker, an advocate for justice and a diplomat, a charismatic champion of the poor and the oppressed, and a negotiator.

His Sydney message represents the Cardinal Bo I know. In recent years, he has come under criticism for his meetings with the dictator, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing.

But as I have written before, I believe he went with the right intentions to those meetings, and even if the photo-ops were unfortunate, he should be judged not by photographs but by his track record.

Sometimes he has spoken from the pulpit, and at other times he has dined with the devil — rather too closely for the comfort of many, but with a very long spoon, in pursuit of peace. He has always championed justice, human rights, and religious freedom.

At times, he has done so quietly and discreetly, other times more publicly, but he has been consistent. And in his Sydney message, the flame of his passion for peace and justice for his people and his country is clear and vibrant and has once again caught fire.

It was Cardinal Bo who inspired and received me into the Catholic Church in Myanmar. His ability to know when to speak out, when to reach out, when to talk quietly, and when to appeal to the conscience of the world is inspirational.

His voice for Myanmar is needed now more than ever. At times, it may be gentle and subtle. At times, it may be strong and stirring.

His interventions may be few and far between now, given the repressive nature of the regime. But when he does speak out, as he has done in Sydney, he deserves to be listened to.

At this critical moment, when Myanmar’s illegitimate, criminal regime is desperately seeking legitimacy, following sham elections, the creation of a sham parliament, and the sham inauguration of the junta’s military leader as its sham “civilian” president, it is vital that the international community unite and reject this charade.

The reality is that nothing has changed in Myanmar: the junta remains firmly in control, and continues to mercilessly kill and oppress its own people, as Cardinal Bo’s message made clear.

Instead, urgent action must be taken to cut the flow of funds and arms to the regime through targeted sanctions.

Support must be given to provide a lifeline to the people of Myanmar through humanitarian aid and funding for pro-democracy resistance groups. And the work of holding the perpetrators of mass atrocity crimes to account must be intensified.

For the Church, the “still small voice” of God speaking through the wind and fire must be heard. The world — and the Church — must act to help Myanmar. It must hear Cardinal Bo’s still small voice. It is time to end this beautiful nation’s poly-crisis.

Benedict Rogers is a human rights activist and writer, Senior Director at Fortify Rights, and author of three books on Myanmar, including “Burma: A Nation at the Crossroads.” The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.