Cardinal head of Caritas says Church giving aid to Myanmar after earthquake

MUMBAI, India – Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi says the Catholic Church in Japan is concerned about the impact of the earthquake in Myanmar.

More than 2,700 people died from Friday’s 7.7 magnitude quake that struck near Mandalay, the second-largest city in Myanmar.

Kikuchi noted the Tokyo Archdiocese, together with Cologne Archdiocese, has been assisting the Church in Myanmar for number of years “and we, in Tokyo, considers the Church in Myanmar as our partner.”

Myanmar spent decades under military rule from 1962 to 2011 after its independence from the United Kingdom, and its short period of democracy vanished in 2021 after a military coup. The resulting civil war has led to over 75,000 deaths and millions of displaced peoples. Many of the rebels come from minority groups and a large number are Christians in the Buddhist majority country.

“The Catholic Church has been advocating peace and the national reconciliation through harmony among diverse ethnic groups within. However, as the Church has been considered taking side of the minority ethnic groups, quite often the church facilities, even some cathedrals were bombed and several Bishops had to flee for their safety,” Kikuchi told Crux.

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The cardinal said church buildings have been severely damaged due to the earthquake.

“The Archbishop of Mandalay, [Archbishop Marco Tin Win] has been visiting victims. Fortunately, no causalities among religious or priests are reported at this moment,” he said.

Kikuchi is also the president of Caritas Internationalis, and said the Catholic aid agency is at work in the nation.

“Our modus operandi in emergency situation is that always local Caritas should be in charge and other members of the confederation coordinate with National Caritas through Caritas Internationalis,” he told Crux.

“We are trying to find out the overall picture of damage and determine necessary assistance for victims.  Caritas will work with local church in Myanmar since every Catholic Church is Caritas and Caritas is the Church,” the cardinal said.

He said because of the present political and security situation in Myanmar, the belief operation would not be easy to execute and the assessment of the real picture of damage would also be difficult.

“However, as the Church exist in Myanmar far before the disaster, during the disaster and after the disaster, so do the Caritas. We are always with people and will never forget those who are affected and in need of assistance. We are to create hope among people through our continuous commitment and care,” Kikuchi told Crux.