The Catholic Church is suffering collateral damage in the Myanmar junta’s onslaught against Christianity, and Pope Francis is calling on Catholics to pray for an end to the hostilities.

“My thought turns to Myanmar, where the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption in the Village of Can Thar was burned and destroyed,” Pope Francis tweeted Jan. 22. “Let us pray together that this conflict will soon come to an end, opening a new period of forgiveness, love and peace.” 

Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia, is currently being led by Gen. Min Aung Hlaing and his junta, or military members, after they overthrew the democratically elected government and seized power, according to the BBC. 

Hlaing and his soldiers are accused of repressing human rights and assaulting racial and ethnic minorities since the overthrow of the government, especially anti-coup demonstrators and ethnic rebel groups, including those in Christian-majority areas like the Kachin, Kayah, Karen and Chin states, according to Union of Catholic Asian News. 

The Jan. 15 attack was the fourth in just the last eight months. More than 500 villagers' homes, as well as the 129-year-old Assumption Church in Mandalay archdiocese, were set on fire and destroyed. A Marian grotto and the adoration chapel were spared. However, the convent for the sisters and the parish priest's home were both destroyed, according to Union of Catholic Asian News.The Assumption Church was dedicated on Feb. 18, 1894. 

Loikaw, Pekhon, Hakha, Kalay and Mandalay are five of the country's 16 dioceses that are impacted by the ongoing hostilities between the army and ethnic rebel groups, some of whose members are Christians. Pope Francis has consistently urged peace and healing in Myanmar, and he has condemned the recent demolition of the Catholic church.