MGB:_If there is any country that is a world away from the United States, It is Myanmar. I still find it easier to call it Burma, which probably makes me a revolutionary in the eyes of their military. I am tempted to say that this was a pastoral visit, but the number of Burmese Catholics is very small. A Monsignor would have been adequate.
From what I understand, military rule was only ended a few years ago. A few years after we declared our Independence, we were still a colony and after Yorktown, when our army had essentially disbanded, only the fact that Parliament did not want to reconquer the colonies prevented it from happening. The King would have certainly liked it and probably the military as well. With their perch in New York, the could have easily disbanded the United States. I relate this little known history to emphasize that the latest transnformation in Myanmar is so new, we have no idea what will happen next. Would a visit by Pope Pius VI have been anything but a footnote, in American history? Only the fact that he would not have been allowed off his boat. At least Francis was allowed entry.
When Francis visited here, did he speak of the contiued plight of our native peoples? I don’t recall, but I doubt it. The parallel to Muslims in Myanmar is the same. Whether this trip has significance for conversions or vocations in Myanmar is unknown. I suspect its main importance is to those of us on the outside looking at the Pope’s witness.
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