Burmese Catholic Church looks to young people for the country’s future

(April 13, 2011) The Catholic Church in Myanmar is looking to young people for the country’s future, for which it has set two goals - expanding school training and improving the education of children and teenagers. Taking advantage of the upcoming school break for Easter, the Church plans to sponsor educational and religious courses. They include catechism for children, upgrading for teachers and courses for teenagers at community centres and local parishes. They have also organised summer camps and seminars in various local dioceses. In Pathein (capital of Irrawaddy Division) and Pekhon (suffragan to the archdiocese of Taunggyi), Catholics organised summer camps for children aged five to ten. In Pekhon alone, more than a thousand children signed up. Activities included catechism, Biblical plays, religious songs, games and physical activities. A weeklong seminar was held in Pathein for kids from different parts of the city. In Mandalay, the Church also organised a prayer meeting open to members of others religions to commemorate the victims of the quake and tsunami in Japan. Around 200 priests, pastors, religious sisters, Buddhist monks, nuns and lay people from different religions took part in the interfaith prayer gathering. Organisers also raised around US$ 2,600 for Japan’s quake survivors.