Pope Francis met with Myanmar’s Sangha Supreme Council of Buddhist monks on Wednesday, November 29, where he called on them to help bring together people from different religions and backgrounds, Reuters reported.
Ethnic violence has forced more than 620,000 members of the country’s Rohingya minority to flee to neighboring Bangladesh in recent months, according to the UN.
The pope was expected to travel to neighboring Bangladesh on Thursday, November 30, to meet with Rohingya refugees in what the BBC called a “symbolic gesture.”
Speaking alongside Burmese leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Naypyitaw on November 28, Pope Francis said there was a need to respect all of Myanmar’s “ethnic groups” – but he refrained from specifically mentioning the Rohingya minority. Credit: The Vatican via Storyful
