Mandalay, Myanmar - Mandalay Archbishop Marco Win Tin, Vicar General Monsignor Domenic Kyo Du, staffs, and approximately 20 diocesan priests, are held under house arrest since Friday, 2.30 pm, at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart by around 40 government soldiers.

The soldiers forcibly occupied the cathedral prior to a Lenten prayer service. Worshipers inside the church, including a correspondent for Catholic News Agency, were detained there for hours. The archbishop and other archdiocesan staff were herded into the cathedral, as well.

The worshipers eventually were allowed to leave, and about 30 officers remained in the cathedral overnight.

Relatives and friends of Vicar General Monsignor Domenic Kyo Du said they have been unable to contact the monsignor or anyone else on his staff since the incident began as reported by CNA.

“They’re looking for guns and money to steal,” a priest told CNA.

Myanmar, the legally enforced name of Burma instituted in 1988 after the second of three military coups to have rocked the country.

Many businesses are shuttered, as typically happens during tense military actions, to which the locals have grown accustomed.

Only smaller family shops remain open to serve the community’s needs. Street vendors and hawkers have either volunteered to leave the vicinity or have been forced out of the area by the military.

One parishioner also shared their concern with CNA if anyone will be allowed to go to Mass on Palm Sunday.
-CNA