Pope, Myanmar leader meet, launch diplomatic relations
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IMAGE: CNS/Paul HaringBy Cindy WoodenVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Shortly after Pope Francis metprivately with Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, the Holy See andMyanmar announced they were establishing full diplomatic relations.The Vatican announced May 4 that the pope would appoint anuncio to the southeast Asian nation and that Myanmar would name an ambassadorto the Vatican. The agreement brings to 183 the number of countries with whichthe Holy See has full diplomatic relations.Suu Kyi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in1991, had spent almost 15 years of the period between 1989 and 2010 under housearrest. Her party, the National League for Democracy, won the general electionin 2015 and she was named the de facto head of government in April 2016.Welcomed to the Vatican by Pope Francis, Suu Kyitook his hand and bowed her head. She and the pope met privately for more than20 minutes before her entourage entered the papal library.She gave Pope Francis a small bas relief of a ...
IMAGE: CNS/Paul Haring
By Cindy Wooden
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Shortly after Pope Francis met
privately with Myanmar's de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, the Holy See and
Myanmar announced they were establishing full diplomatic relations.
The Vatican announced May 4 that the pope would appoint a
nuncio to the southeast Asian nation and that Myanmar would name an ambassador
to the Vatican. The agreement brings to 183 the number of countries with which
the Holy See has full diplomatic relations.
Suu Kyi, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in
1991, had spent almost 15 years of the period between 1989 and 2010 under house
arrest. Her party, the National League for Democracy, won the general election
in 2015 and she was named the de facto head of government in April 2016.
Welcomed to the Vatican by Pope Francis, Suu Kyi
took his hand and bowed her head. She and the pope met privately for more than
20 minutes before her entourage entered the papal library.
She gave Pope Francis a small bas relief of a dove and Pope
Francis gave her a new medallion illustrating a passage from the Book of
Isaiah, "The wilderness will become a fruitful field."
"The dry thorny branch that blossoms and bears fruit
symbolizes the passage from selfishness to sharing, from war to peace,"
said a Vatican description of the medallion.
Suu Kyi has won international support for her
efforts to shore up Myanmar's fledgling democracy after decades of military
rule, but serious questions have been raised about her government's treatment
of the Rohingya people, who are Muslim.
Pope Francis has appealed for their protection on several
occasions. At a general audience Feb. 18, the pope said the Rohingya "are
good people. They are our brothers and sisters. They have been suffering for
years. They have been tortured, killed, just because they want to keep their
traditions and their Muslim faith."
The 2017 annual report of the U.S. Commission on
International Religious Freedom labeled Myanmar one of 16 "Tier 1"
countries of particular concern based on their level of religious repression.
According to the Vatican's latest statistics, Myanmar has
about 659,000 Catholics out of a population of about 51 million.
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Thousands of pilgrims come together each year to take part in the annual Walk to Mary, which takes place on the first Saturday of May in Wisconsin. The 21-mile pilgrimage starts at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere, Wisconsin, and ends at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wisconsin. / Credit: The Shrine of Our Lady of ChampionCNA Staff, May 2, 2024 / 07:00 am (CNA).Thousands of pilgrims come together each year to take part in the annual Walk to Mary, which takes place on the first Saturday of May in Wisconsin. The 21-mile pilgrimage starts at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in De Pere, Wisconsin, and ends at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion in Champion, Wisconsin.The Walk to Mary will take place on May 4 this year and includes several "join in" points along the route that offer participants unable to walk the entire distance to participate. These locations shorten the pilgrimage length, allowing pilgrims of all ages to take part in...
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null / Credit: Juthamat8899/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, May 1, 2024 / 17:05 pm (CNA).The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) released a new report on Wednesday highlighting the countries with the worst religious persecution in the world.From this report, which is released annually, USCIRF makes recommendations to the State Department on how to best advocate for religious freedom. The suggestions typically translate into sanctions from the U.S. against violating countries to pressure them to improve their religious tolerance. This year, the countries topping USCIRF's list of the world's most egregious religious freedom violators were Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Iran, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam.USCIRF recommends these nations be designated as "countries of particul...