“Understanding and emotion for the difficult situation” being experienced by “the Burmese population” were expressed “on behalf of all the Catholics of France” by Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, Archbishop of Bordeaux and President of the French Bishops’ Conference, to the Ambassador of Myanmar in France, Say Hla Min. In a letter to the diplomat, Cardinal Ricard remarked: “Catholics in France were moved by the peaceful demonstrations with which” the Burmese population “expressed its desire for democracy and greater civil liberty. They particularly appreciated the role played by Buddhist monks in these events”, and “were saddened and upset by the violent repression unleashed to stifle the movement”. Pointing out that “for us Catholics human rights are universal, inviolable and inalienable” because “they are inherent in the human person and in his dignity”, Cardinal Ricard said “there cannot be any genuine civil peace without such rights being respected and applied”. The hope and prayer of French Catholics is therefore that Myanmar “may find the way to a peaceful and harmonious future, in respect for human rights and in the search for the common good of its inhabitants”.
