Taungngu – “We are experiencing widespread displacement, but pastoral ministry continues despite the difficulties. Priests remain in the parishes and care for families; they listen to them and offer comfort.” This is the testimony given to Fides by Bishop Bernardino Ne Ne, Coadjutor Bishop of Taungngu, in central-southern Myanmar, as the country continues to face a severe crisis marked by conflict, displacement and the collapse of social and economic conditions.Taungngu is located in the Bago Region, in a strategic area of Myanmar linking the central parts of the country with the predominantly Karen eastern regions, where conflict between the Myanmar military and ethnic armed groups has been ongoing for decades. Following the February 2021 coup, the civil war expanded and intensified, also affecting the Bago Region and surrounding areas. Fighting, military operations and airstrikes continue in the southeast of the country, with severe consequences for the civilian population and further waves of displacement.“As a Church, we are trying to do our very best in a situation of severe hardship,” Bishop Ne Ne explains, who previously served as National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in Myanmar. “There are airstrikes around the cities. People are afraid and struggling to survive. Inflation is soaring and the population is suffering.” In this context, he explains, the Church is proceeding with caution, seeking first and foremost to protect people’s lives: “We do not hold large gatherings that are not permitted. Nevertheless, faith remains strong despite the challenges and insecurity.”In the Diocese of Taungngu, the Bishop adds, “many people have been forced to leave their homes because of the war and are living in precarious conditions.” The displacement crisis is part of the wider emergency affecting Myanmar: according to the United Nations, the number of internally displaced persons in the country reached approximately 3.6 million in 2026.Of the 64 priests in the diocese, 44 are currently engaged in pastoral ministry, he notes. “Our priests are close to families; they visit them, listen to them and offer comfort. The Church stands alongside those who suffer, especially the poor, the vulnerable and those affected by conflict and hardship. Through charitable service, pastoral care, education and a commitment to justice, the Church seeks to reflect the compassion of Christ.”The situation of young people is particularly delicate. “They have fled because the education system has collapsed,” Ne Ne explains. Many of them, he observes, are considering building their lives elsewhere, including abroad. “Young people are not only the future of the Church; they are an essential part of the Church today. The best way to accompany them is to listen to them, to walk with them and to help them encounter Christ personally.” Yet even this pastoral task has become difficult in a society where many young people are focused on—and desire—leaving the country. In the face of this reality, Bishop Ne Ne identifies listening as one of the fundamental responsibilities of episcopal ministry: “What I can do is listen to the People of God.” For a Bishop, he adds, “faith, humility, compassion, wisdom and the ability to listen” are essential. “A Bishop is close to God through prayer and close to the people through pastoral presence. I feel called to be a bridge of communion, a servant of unity and a fitness of hope in a world that often experiences division and uncertainty.”On the political front, the Bishop stresses that, after five years of civil war, “peace is imperative”, even though it currently seems difficult to begin a process of dialogue because “there is no mutual trust between the two groups involved in the conflict,” he notes. As for the possibility of bringing in an outside actor to play a mediating role, he observes that ASEAN has also attempted to intervene, but “its plan has remained on paper.”For the Church, however, peacebuilding is not optional: “Peace and reconciliation begin in our hearts and in our communities. As followers of Christ, we are called to be instruments of peace, forgiveness and unity.” For this reason, he adds, he intends to encourage all Catholics “to bear witness to their faith not only through words, but also through acts of kindness, honesty, service and love for others.”The Church of Taungngu continues to carry out its mission in a land marked by war, seeking to accompany a population exposed to violence and displacement. In a Myanmar troubled by clashes and airstrikes that continue to be among the main causes of suffering, the Catholic community keeps open spaces for pastoral care, remaining close to the people.
