SW News: The specific targeting of Myanmar churches by the military is still continuing. In the latest incident, a Catholic church in San Hka, a village in Kachin state known for its jade mines, was attacked on December 30.

According to UCA news, the Myanmar military opened fire on St. Michael Catholic Church in the predominantly Christian Kachin state in the country's northernmost part, killing at least one civilian, aged 52, and wounding five others, including two children. Two artillery shells landed in the village, damaging the church.

At least 63 people, including several well-known singers, had been killed two months earlier when the military bombed a performance in Kachin state. Members of the Kachin Independence Organization, the most politically engaged element of the rebel group, made up the vast majority of those killed.

Churches, convents, institutes, and clinics serving Christian communities have been repeatedly targeted in Kachin, Kayah, Karen, and Chin states by the military junta. More worryingly, reports have surfaced that traditional Catholic settlements in the dangerous Sagaing region are not secure from army arson assaults.

At least 157 minors lost their lives in 2022 as a direct result of the coup junta's military crackdown and acts. A report by the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) says that this is a direct cause of the rise in youth murders after the generals took back control.

Meanwhile, in his New Year's address, Cardinal Charles Bo of Yangon prayed for peace in Myanmar, where millions of people are still languishing in makeshift camps far from their homes, without appropriate food or shelter, and he declared, "Let a New Myanmar of hope rise in 2023.

"Pope Francis and the bishops of Myanmar have frequently called for a halt to attacks on religious buildings, schools, and hospitals in order to protect the lives and dignity of all people. In his Christmas message, the pope called for "reconciliation" in this troubled Southeast Asian country, as well as in Yemen and Syria.