Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon urged Myanmar to pursue justice without hatred and warned against allowing years of conflict and suffering to fuel revenge.
“We must seek justice. But we must seek it without hatred,” Bo said in his homily on Aug. 30.
“We must speak the truth. But we must speak it without losing our humanity,” he said, adding that the public “must acknowledge suffering” and “must not allow suffering to become hatred”.
Bo warned against confusing retaliation with justice as Myanmar continues to endure conflict, violence, displacement, poverty, fear, and uncertainty. “We must seek justice. But we must never call revenge justice,” he said.
The prelate said the country could not overcome its divisions through continued violence or by treating another human being as less than human.
“God’s way is not the way of hatred. It is not the way of revenge. It is not the way of seeing another human being as though he or she were less than human,” he said.
“It is not the way of answering endless violence with endless violence,” he added.
Bo said reconciliation did not require forgetting the suffering caused by the conflict. He reminded the public that “peace is not weakness” and “forgiveness is not defeat”.
“Reconciliation does not mean forgetting the past,” he said. He described reconciliation as “acknowledging the wounds and choosing to build the future together.”
Bo said years of conflict had left families grieving, communities divided, and many people carrying deep wounds, while the future of young people and the education and dreams of children had been deeply affected. “Some are beginning to lose hope,” he said.
Addressing young people, Bo acknowledged their uncertainty over education, employment, and whether they would ever be able to live in a peaceful country. “Do not give up on your dreams,” he said.
“The future of Myanmar cannot be built through hatred. It cannot be built through anger. It cannot be built through revenge,” Bo said.
“It can only be built through education, truth, courage, love, forgiveness, and peace,” he added. He urged young people not to allow hatred and violence to take hold of them.
“Do not give your hearts to hatred. Do not allow violence to possess your minds,” he said.
Bo said peace could not be confined to political negotiations. He said peace begins when people reject hatred, choose forgiveness, listen to the suffering of others and respect the dignity of those who are different from them.
Bo also called on the Church to help rebuild relationships in a country marked by division. He urged Christians not to “build walls that divide people” but to “build bridges that reconnect people.”
“Silence the guns. Silence the hatred. Let us hear the song of peace instead of the cries of suffering,” said the prelate.
