Sister Ann Nu Thawng of the Congregation of St. Francis Xavier in the Diocese of Myitkyina became a heroine, last Sunday, the 28th of February. The day was marked by harsh repression of the Burmese police, who, according to the United Nations, opened fire, killing eighteen people and injuring more than thirty nationwide.

“In the Myitkyina area, demonstrations so far have always been peaceful and without incidents. However, yesterday episodes of violence risked precipitating the situation”, said Catholic Joseph Kung Za Hmung, editor of the “Gloria News Journal”, the first Catholic online newspaper in Myanmar.

“The action of the nun and the response of the police who, upon seeing the nun’s plea, stopped, surprised many of us. Sister Ann Nu Thawng is today a role model for Church leaders: bishops and priests are called to step out of their comfort zones and follow her courage as an example”. Many non-Catholics also praised Sister Thawng’s brave efforts, whose entry went viral on social media. “More than 100 demonstrators were able to find shelter in her monastery. It saved them from brutal beatings and arrests by the police”, says the Director.

Source, photo: Fides.org