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RVA
Yangon (Fides News Agency) - “Radio Veritas Asia” (RVA), the radio station of the Catholic communities on the Asian continent, is expanding its language coverage in Myanmar and launching broadcasts in Akha and Kayan. The station aims to spread the Gospel in Shan and Karenni States (both in eastern Myanmar) and thus reach ethnic minorities. This was announced on Pentecost Sunday, May 24, at at St. Mary's Cathedral in Yangon. Cardinal Charles Bo, President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Myanmar, called it a “blessed day for the Church in Myanmar.”
The new programs are intended to reach two ethnic communities in Myanmar: The Akha program is aimed at approximately 700,000 members of the Akha ethnic group, particularly in Shan State, as well as many faithful in the Diocese of Kengtung. The Kayan Service serves approximately 250,000 people in Kayah State (or Karenni State), with communities concentrated primarily in the dioceses of Pekhon, Loikaw, Taungngu, and Taunggyi. The initiative sparked great joy and gratitude, expressed by the head of the Akha RVA Service, John Saw Yaw Han, Bishop of Kengtung, and the head of the Kayan RVA Service, Most Rev. Felice Ba Htoo, Coadjutor Bishop of Pekhon.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA) broadcasts include religious content, daily refelctions, Sunday homilies, Church news, lives of saints, programs for youth and families, and messages from the Pope. "RVA's ministry is also an opportunity to remain in constant contact and communion with the Pope and the universal Church," the bishops stated, "and provides vital spiritual guidance through the Word of God for the needy, the weary, and the displaced."
Bishop Celso Ba Shwe of Loikaw remarked, “RVA brings the message of the Gospel to the margins of society; the Good News reaches families, young people, the elderly, and society as a whole, touching people’s hearts.” The national coordinator of Radio Veritas in Myanmar, Father Patrick Soe Htun, described “Radio Veritas” as “a bridge connecting people across borders and difficulties, especially during the challenging times Myanmar is going through.”
Monsignor Andrea Ferrante, Chargé d’Affaires of the Holy See to Myanmar, welcomed the expansion of the service, urging the new communicators to become “voices of hope” amidst suffering and uncertainty. The two new services broadcast their programs particularly in areas affected by the civil war: the social situation in Shan State remains extremely unstable and marked by clashes between the army and local groups. The tightening of economic blockades is leading to critical food insecurity for the most vulnerable populations and acute malnutrition among internally displaced persons. The situation in Kayah State, Myanmar's smallest state, is among the most dramatic of the entire Burmese civil war. Heavy fighting is taking place there. An estimated more than half of the State's population has been forced to flee, and tens of thousands of internally displaced persons have sought refuge in the jungle or along the Thai border. The war has plunged the state into a permanent humanitarian crisis, with the civilian population caught between fighting and severe difficulties in securing their daily livelihoods. RVA's current language service offerings in Myanmar now include the following languages: Burmese, Sgaw Karen, Pwo Karen, Kachin Jinghpaw, Kachin Lisu, Kachin Rawang, Hakha Chin, Falam Chin, Tedim Chin, K'Cho, Akha, and Kayan. With these two new language services, RVA now covers 12 local languages in Myanmar, bringing the total number of languages offered by RVA to 23. (PA) (Fides News Agency, 26/5/2026)
