Cardinal Bo in Scotland

Last week, His Eminence, Cardinal Bo from Burma/Myanmar made a historic visit to Scotland.

The visit was jointly organised by Missio, CSW, SCIAF and ACN. The photos are

(c)Paul McSherry.

Scotland

The theme of the visit was Hope. The theme was effectively articulated by the Cardinal who said:

"Myanmar – formally known as Burma – now stands on the threshold of hope."

The people of Myanmar certainly need hope. For over half a century of brutal oppression at the hands of a succession of military regimes, and after more than sixty years of civil war, Myanmar now has the possibility to begin to build a new nation.

When on his trip to Scotland the Cardinal spoke of the many challenges his nation faced:

"The list of challenges is enormous. Poverty, education, human trafficking, drugs, protecting freedom of expression, constitutional reform, the economy, health care – these are all just some of these challenges."

Indeed, the challenges are great in Myanmar today. For example, 60% of children never finish primary school; maternal mortality is the highest in the region and the country has the lowest doctor to patient ratio in the region.