The Bishops of Myanmar take position today and ask Catholics to "incessantly pray" for the "good" of their country, upset by the great social protest headed by the Buddhist monks against the military dictatorship that has been ruling for 45 years. According to local sources, today the army has repressed the peaceful demonstrations with tear gas and beatings, killing one monk and wounding many people. The Church of Myanmar reads a statement from Ucanews, signed by archbishop Charles Bo of Yangon, secretary general of the Bishops Conference of Myanmar, and by archbishop Paul Zinghtung Grawng of Mandalay, president of the Bishops Conference of Myanmar was already carrying out "chains of prayer and perpetual Eucharistic adoration in all the parishes of the archdiocese and the dioceses, for the peace and development of the country since 1st February 2006 until now". In these circumstances, state the bishops, "all Catholics are called to pray incessantly and offer special masses for the good of the country". However, the bishop specify that, according to canon law and the social lessons of the Catholic Church, "priests and nuns cannot be involved in political parties or in the current protests". "The Catholics, as citizens of the country they state , are free to do what they like. The clergy and religious people can provide appropriate guidance".
