Myanmar cardinal after earthquake: People need everything, including peace

Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon, Myanmar. / Credit: ACI Prensa/EWTN News

ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 31, 2025 / 15:18 pm (CNA).

Following the March 28 earthquake that struck Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and China, Cardinal Charles Bo, president of the Myanmar Bishops’ Conference, said the people of the Asian country now “need everything,” including peace to end the civil war.

“The people need food, shelter, medicine, and all lifesaving materials,” said Bo, the archbishop of Yangon, in an interview with Vatican News following the 7.7-magnitude earthquake in Myanmar that has so far left more than 2,000 dead and thousands more injured. In addition, in many places there is no electricity or internet, and the health system has collapsed. 

“More than anything, our people need peace, not the churning anxiety triggered by the multidimensional crisis,” emphasized the cardinal, who was traveling in his car when the earthquake struck: “We saw huge craters created on the road … It was a scary moment for all of us.”

Bo said he saw “poignant scenes of men and women rushing through the roads, seeking safety,” adding that he has “appealed to all concerned for urgent humanitarian support and unimpeded access to the affected people. I have made an earnest appeal for the ceasefire by all the groups in hostility” in the country’s civil war.

The cardinal’s main concern is the distribution of aid, which, due to the violence, “could be hindered with the disturbances of the armed groups.”

In response to the earthquake, Bo said he called for an urgent meeting and formed a response protocol named MERCI (Myanmar Earthquake Response Church Initiative) to establish an emergency appeal and response, adding that he also called for a wider meeting including Church and Caritas personnel from all affected areas.

“When nature attacks, human beings forget all their differences. Human tears unite us. We survive as species, because we can be moved by others’ tears,” he said, whether in Thailand or Myanmar, because they are “tears of fellowship.”

The cardinal then addressed his fellow countrymen and said he shares their pain. “The world feels their pain and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with all people in this moment of sorrow and help to heal their wounds and recover.”

He recalled that “we have shown this after the tsunami; we have shown that after the Nargis Cyclone in Myanmar. We will overcome because compassion is the common religion in times of natural disaster.” 

Bo said that Pope Francis’ words have been “a soothing balm of consolation” and that “despite his recent sickness,” he expressed his closeness to them with a telegram, as he has done “throughout the difficult time in the last four years.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.