Two Catholic priests arrested by the Burmese junta

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Myanmar’s military regime has arrested two Catholic priests who were on their way to help internally displaced people (IDPs) in Shan State.

Father John Paul Lwel and Father John Bosco, who belong to the St. Therese Little Way Missionary Institute, were arrested by soldiers from the junta and the national army Pa-O, an ethnic armed group, at a post checkpoint on Feb. 21, the local church said. sources.

High clergy in the Diocese of Pekhon confirmed that the two religious priests had been arrested, but said the reason for their arrest was not yet known.

Church officials are trying to contact authorities for the release of the clergy.

Two motorists and a young student were also arrested along with the priests.

The arrest of the clergy came even as fighting between the army and the People’s Defense Forces (PDF) escalated in Mobye Township, Pekhon Diocese, where junta forces deployed airstrikes, armored vehicles and heavy weapons.

Catholics who fled their homes in the Diocese of Pekhon took refuge in the church premises of the Archdiocese of Taunggyi

Thousands of people, including Christians, have been displaced due to ongoing fighting.

Pekhon Diocese covers southern Shan State and is one of the worst affected areas along with Loikaw Diocese in Kayah State due to escalating conflict between army and rebel forces combined Karenni army and newly emerged PDFs since May 2021.

The Catholics who fled their home in the Diocese of Pekhon took refuge in the premises of the Church of the Archdiocese of Taunggyi.

The clergy are regularly targeted by the junta. Nine priests from the dioceses of Banmaw, Mandalay and Hakha were arrested last year on suspicion of supporting the PDFs.

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A diocesan priest was arrested and threatened with death by soldiers as he returned from Taunggyi to his parish on 30 October.

The junta has also specifically targeted churches and their institutions in the Christian-majority states of Kayah, southern Shan and Chin, which have seen strong resistance to military rule, mostly from young people, including Christians.

At least a dozen Catholic churches were destroyed or attacked in Chin state, while seven churches in Kayah and a cathedral in the diocese of Pekhone were attacked by artillery fire and airstrikes, suspected of providing refuge for displaced people.

Christians have borne the brunt of the decades-old civil war and often face arbitrary arrests, killings, torture and rape at the hands of the army, which has ruled the country for more than five decades.

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