Yangon: In a new year message released for his countrymen, India’s neighbouring Myanmar Cardinal Charles Maung Bo found several reasons for hope despite the global pandemic year that sowed widespread despair and unprecedented panic.

The Asian cardinal called Covid 19 as “an existential disruption,” that made some 122 million people come to face starvation.

However, 72 year old cardinal who is no stranger to surviving natural calamities saw glimmer of hope in the pandemic year saying, “2020 proved to be the year of compassion. Our generous Myanmar people rose against the prospect of chronic starvation through sharing their food when lockdown came in. For a country that was facing pre-Covid socio economic morbidities, our people’s response was poignant.”

The cardinal who took charge as president of Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) an year ago said, “For a country with a fragile health infrastructure, the surge and rate of death was controlled by the inspiring example of our front-line health workers. The government responded with commendable clarity. Guns in war areas have fallen silent. Compassion has become the common religion.”

The cardinal urged everyone saying, “This is a golden opportunity to build a new Myanmar of justice and peace.”

Taking a cue from Pope Francis, the cardinal reminded his fellowmen and women, “in articulating that virus did not attack all people equally. Economically and socially marginalized communities are disproportionally infected and die. Virus kills. Discrimination also kills. Disempowerment kills. Poverty kills.

Covid is pandemic that needs not only a vaccine but a surgery in the way treat the poor and the vulnerable.”

The cardinal lamented, “We face an existential crisis: the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.”

He exhorted Myanmar people, “To build back better, set our moral compass towards the vulnerable, let the arc of history bend towards economic and environmental justice.

Pope in his latest booklet “Let us dream together,” says Covid offers a great opportunity to reset priorities. Even super powers which spend billions on war machine realized their folly when they understood they have more soldiers than doctors, more guns than ventilators.”

Inviting countrymen toward peace and reconciliation, Cardinal archbishop of Yangon said, “For all of us in Myanmar, this is a life time opportunity [to shun], the senseless chronic war and displacement of seven decades… Millions of our youth forced into unsafe migration and modern forms of slavery is the heart wrenching pandemic. Time has come to make all these pandemics to disappear from our wounded history.”

Salesian cardinal called upon all to ‘dream together’ for a new Myanmar saying, “Signs are clear: times to heal our fragmented identities based on race, religion and language. Too much blood and tears have been shed. Heal this wounded nation through reconciliation.”

While calling on national leaders, cardinal reminded them, “There is no peace without justice. Let those who rule respect the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of all. There is dignity in diversity.”

The cardinal concluded his message calling on people saying, “Let us dream for the day, democracy marches without any impediment, let us dream for the day when religions will be instruments of peace and reconciliation, let us dream for the day we will really become the ‘Golden Land’ when all the resources are shared in transparent way, let us dream of the day when we will move away from the shameful tag as the ‘least development country’ into the most developed nation in the South East Asia.”