France: prayer and fasting for Burma

The monks and nuns of France who belong to the religious family of St. Benedict have sent a message of solidarity to the Buddhist monks of Burma and to the country’s whole population and have called for a day of prayer and fasting on 27 October, the 21st anniversary of the meeting promoted by John Paul II with the world’s religious leaders at Assisi in 1986 to pray for peace in the world. In a letter to the ambassador of Burma (Myanmar) in France, Saw Hla Min, dom Philippe Piron, president of the Monastic Conference of France, wrote: “We are deeply saddened by the news reaching us from Burma. We cannot remain indifferent to it”. In their letter the monks “deplore the violent repression perpetrated to stifle the great movement born within the Burmese people to promote human dignity and real freedom. In our view, what has happened in Burma represents a grave violation of human rights that runs counter to any genuine effort to achieve a lasting peace. Knowing the role played by Buddhist monks in these events, we feel even closer to the victims of this repression and wish to express all our solidarity. We will especially do so with a day of prayer and fasting”. To give greater impact to their message, the monks sent copies of the text and the announcement of the day of prayer to French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, to the Ambassador of France in Burma, Jean-Pierre Lafosse, to Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, President of the Bishops’ Conference of France, and to the Apostolic Nuncio in France Monsignor Fortunato Baldelli.