Asian church leaders call for peaceful solution to crisis in Myanmar

Published: 2007-09-28

HONG KONG (CNS) -- Religious leaders in Asia have joined world leaders in calling for a peaceful solution to the crisis in Myanmar, where the military junta has launched a deadly crackdown on demonstrators. In a message to the president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Myanmar, Archbishop Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato, Philippines, secretary-general of the Hong Kong-based Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences, expressed his "deepest concern" over the "troubling events" in Myanmar. Media reported Sept. 28 that soldiers violently dispersed demonstrations led by Buddhist monks in Yangon, Myanmar's capital, killing at least 10 people and occupying or barricading Buddhist monasteries. UCA News, an Asian church news agency, reported that in the federation's message to Archbishop Paul Zinghtung Grawng of Mandalay, Myanmar, Archbishop Quevedo said Asian bishops read with great sympathy and understanding the Myanmar bishops' statement issued two days earlier, calling on Catholics to pray during the crisis.

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