Catholics build new church in strife-torn Myanmar

St Stephen Catholic Church in Kachin state was funded by the local community and displaced people

Catholics in a remote village in conflict-torn Myanmar have built a new church through the combined initiative of the local community and internally displaced people (IDPs).

The new St. Stephen Catholic Church at Lana village in Ding Sing parish of Kachin state was blessed by Bishop Raymond Sumlut Gam of Banmaw along with two priests on March 12.

Gam hailed the initiative and said the new church building was much needed as thousands of IDPs had sought refuge in the village near the China border since fleeing their homes in 2011.

“It is a blessing from God and the initiative of the local community as we receive the new village church amid challenges,” he told UCA News.

The new church made of brick can accommodate around 200 faithful and cost around 7 million kyat (US$24,561), which was raised through donations from locals, the prelate said.

He added that the village, which falls under Banmaw diocese, is so remote that it meant high construction costs due to the huge transportation costs involved.

Lana originally had some 40 households of Catholics and Baptists who lived together in harmony. The arrival of IDPs led to a significant increase in the Christian population, according to Church officials.

A majority of the displaced people are Baptists and hence a new Baptist church also came up in the village, they added.

A total of 2,507 people are sheltered in the Lana IDP camp which is under the control of the rebel Kachin Independence Army (KIA), according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).

It said that more than 89,000 people are staying in camps across Kachin state since renewed fighting erupted between the military and the KIA in June 2011 after the breaking down of a 17-year ceasefire.

Furthermore, more than 11,900 people were displaced in Kachin state by the military coup in 2021, according to UNOCHA.

The state’s 1.7 million people are mainly Christians, including 116,000 Catholics.

There is no end in sight to conflicts in the predominantly Christian areas of Kachin, Kayah, Karen, and Chin states.

Churches, convents, and other Christian institutions in the dioceses of Loikaw, Pekhon, Hakha, Kalay, and Mandalay have become the prime target of attacks by the junta forces.

Christians make up nearly 6 percent of Myanmar’s population of 54 million, while Buddhism is the state religion and is practiced by 89 percent of the population.

In the first two months of 2023, more than 154,000 people have been internally displaced, bringing the total number of displaced persons since the military coup to 1.3 million, the UNOCHA said in a report on March 4.

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