Pope Francis refrained from addressing the Rohingya refugee crisis head-on during his speech to diplomats in Naypyidaw this afternoon, keeping in line with the advice with local Catholic leaders.
Peace can only be achieved through “justice and respect for human rights,” the pope said during his speech. He also called for “respect for each ethnic group and its identity,” alluding to Myanmar’s refusal to recognize the Rohingya as a legitimate ethnic identity.
His speech lamented the continues suffering of Myanmar people “from civil conflict and hostilities” that have “lasted too long and created deep divisions.”
He also called for the rights of all people who “call this land their home” to be guaranteed. The Myanmar military and much of the population consider the Rohingya illegal immigrants from Bangladesh, and they are systematically denied citizenship.
However, the pope stopped short of mentioning the Rohingya directly in his “message of peace,” as the speech was billed, even though he has spoken out strongly in support of the Muslim minority in the past.
In February, he spoke in support of “our Rohingya brothers and sisters who are being chased from Myanmar and are fleeing from one place to another because no one wants them.”
Before the pope’s arrival, Catholic leaders in Myanmar repeatedly cautioned against mentioning the Rohingya. Local bishops instructed the Vatican’s diplomat in Myanmar to avoid using the term “Rohingya,” and Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, the top Catholic leader in the country, has repeated this advice to the pope.
“It is a very contested term, and the military and government and the public would not like him to express it,” the cardinal told the New York Times.
Father Mariano Soe Naing, a spokesman for Myanmar’s bishops, has criticized the pope’s support for the Rohingya, saying it has ignored the suffering of people killed by Rohingya insurgents.
“A wrong word from the Holy Father can plunge the country into chaos,” the priest said last month.
The pope will travel to Bangladesh on Thursday, kicking off a trip during which he is expected to visit Rohingya refugees.
