Pope Francis preaches forgiveness in Myanmar

The pontiff holds talks with civilian and army leaders in peace bid

POPE Francis spread a message of forgiveness in a historic open-air mass before a sea of worshippers in Yangon yesterday, during a visit to conflicttorn Myanmar that has been framed so far by his public sidestepping of the Rohingya crisis.

Ranks of nuns sang in Latin, accompanied by organ music, as Francis – making the first papal visit to the mainly Buddhist nation – delivered a homily urging compassion, opening his speech with “minglabar”, Burmese for “hello”.

“I can see that the Church here is alive,” he said of a Catholic community numbering around 700 000 – a tiny fraction of the country’s 51 million people.

Earlier, Francis smiled and waved as he moved through the estimated 150 000 faithful in his “popemobile”. Many worshippers held Myanmar flags and wore colourful costume from the country’s myriad ethnic groups.

“I never dreamed I would see him in my lifetime,” said Meo, an 81-year-old from the Akha minority in Shan state.

Like many others at the mass she hails from one of Myanmar’s conflict-riddled borderlands, where minority groups have long been marginalised by the Buddhist-dominated state.

In his homily, the pontiff noted that many Myanmar people “bear the wounds of violence, wounds both visible and invisible”.

But he urged his audience to forgo anger and respond with “forgiveness and compassion”.

The pope was set to hold a meeting with Buddhist leaders later yesterday, on a visit that has strong political as well as religious overtones.

The pontiff arrived on Monday in a country on the defensive after an outcry from the international community over the plight of its Rohingya Muslim minority, who have been driven to Bangladesh in huge numbers.

He held private talks with both civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the powerful army chief Min Aung Hlaing, who are part of a delicate power-sharing arrangement as the country emerges from decades of junta rule.

Francis avoided mentioning the crisis – or the Rohingya – directly in a speech in the country’s capital Naypyidaw on Tuesday, calling simply for “respect for rights and justice”.

His caution so far on a four-day trip will bring relief to Myanmar’s Catholic leaders, who had urged the pontiff not to wade into the treacherous issue for fear of sparking a backlash from Buddhist hardliners.

A military crackdown has forced more than 620 000 Rohingya over the last three months to flee their homes in northern Rakhine state to one of the world’s biggest refugee camps in Bangladesh.

The army has justified the campaign as a proportionate retaliation for deadly attacks by hardline Rohingya militants in August.

But the UN and the US have labelled it ethnic cleansing and rights groups accuse the military of crimes against humanity, with refugees recounting consistent reports of murder, rape and arson. — AFP