He had faced critic­ism from some rights activi­sts and refuge­es for failin­g to addres­s the Rohing­ya issue public­lyDHAKA: Pope Francis wrapped up a high-stakes Asia tour Saturday after meeting Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh in a highly symbolic gesture of solidarity with the Muslim minority fleeing violence in Myanmar. Pope Francis is known for championing the rights of refugees and has repeatedly expressed support for the long-suffering Rohingya, describing them as his “brothers and sisters”. Pope ordains priests in Bangladesh ahead of meeting with RohingyaIn Bangladesh he addressed the issue head-on, meeting a group of Rohingya refugees from the squalid camps in southern Bangladesh in an emotional encounter in Dhaka. One refugee expressed gratitude that the pope had finally uttered the word Rohingya, and said he believed the meeting would have a big impact. During his tour the pope led well-attended open-air masses in Bangladesh and Myanmar, which both have small Christian populations.

Source: The Express Tribune December 02, 2017 12:45 UTC