Pope urges compassion, not revenge, in Myanmar

Pope Francis urged Myanmar’s religious leaders and ordinary faithful to help the country heal its old wounds, preaching a message of forgiveness and tolerance as the country emerges from military dictatorship.

At an open-air Mass – an audience with Myanmar’s senior Buddhist monks – Francis sought to encourage greater dialogue and understanding at a delicate time of transition in the predominantly Buddhist South Asian nation.

“I know that many in Myanmar bear the wounds of violence, wounds both visible and invisible,” Francis told those at Yangon’s Kyaikkasan Ground park. He called for a response of “forgiveness and compassion” rather than revenge.

“The way of revenge is not the way of Jesus,” Francis said.

Local authorities estimated about 150,000 people turned out. The trip has been overshadowed by Myanmar’s military operations targeting the Rohingya Muslim minority in Rakhine and branded as “ethnic cleansing”.