I Ask Forgiveness,’ Pope Francis Tells Rohingya Muslims in Bangladesh

Publié le 2 décembre 2017Mis à jour le 2 décembre 2017

DHAKA, Bangladesh — On the eve of his return to Rome, Pope Francis on Friday used the word “Rohingya,” coming face-to-face with some of the persecuted Muslims whose plight had cast a long shadow over his visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Critics had been asking why a pontiff who so often condemned injustice against the downtrodden had stayed silent earlier in the week, when he made his first visit to Myanmar, a country in which Rohingya Muslims have been raped, killed or driven into exile in Bangladesh by a brutal military campaign of repression.

In Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, on Friday, the pope listened to the stories, and held the hands, one by one, of 16 survivors of the persecution — 12 men, two women and two young girls — vowing: “We won’t close our hearts or look away. The presence of God today is also called Rohingya.”

(… read full report from New York Times)