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SUMMARY Brang Mai, Lazing, “A Critical Reading of the Pastoral Letters of Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis on Social Communications in the Pastoral Context of Myanmar/Burma” A thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Research Master: Master of Advanced Studies in Theology and Religion Examination period: August 2018 Supervisor: Prof. Dr. H. Geybels This research studies the World Communications Day messages of Benedict XVI and Francis, which are annually issued on World Communications Day, and it investigates whether these messages are applicable to the local situation of the Church in Myanmar. This research has used a mixed methodology including the descriptive method, thematic analysis, and empirical research. In chapter one, the research describes the geopolitical situation, the media and the Church in Myanmar to present an overview of the local situation. The research reveals that Myanmar, surrounded by war, conflicts and political unrest, is very much in need of “peace”, “justice”, and “reconciliation”. This local concern can be linked with the term “social communications” in the sense that “social communications” expresses the Church’s concern for “persons”, “community” and ultimately for “culture”. In chapter two, the research explains the meaning of the term “social communications” from sociological, philosophical, theological and historical approaches and discovers that the term goes beyond the instrumentalist view and expresses the Church’s concern for “persons”, “community” and “culture”. The meaning of the term has been further deepened by the characteristics, overview, and evolution of the World Communications Day messages and their comparison with the documents of Vatican II. This chapter also offers a preliminary explanation of the messages of Benedict XVI and Francis before further analysis. In chapter three, through a thematic analysis, the research discovers eight themes from the messages of Benedict XVI and Francis especially important for social communications. The themes are centered on these two: the good of the human person and the common good, both of which reflect the term “social communications”. Based on these themes, the research provides some pastoral implications. In chapter four, through interviews conducted with the 15 directors of the offices of social communications in Myanmar, the research investigates whether the messages of Benedict XVI and Francis are applicable to the local context of the Church in Myanmar. In sum, this research discovers that, in general, the messages are applicable to the local context of Myanmar despite there being specific issues that the messages do not touch, such as “financial issues”, and “structure and policy”. For further research, it is recommended that every year, annual reports of the directors and the current messages the pope be compared to release a new report, in which the pastoral needs of the local people and the current message of the Pope are reflected, so that the needs at the grassroots level will be made clear.