Photo by Firdaus Latif
Pope Francis traveled to visit the Rohingya in Myanmar to see the conditions they live in. There he prayed for them and condemned the violence against them.
Per CNN, “Pope Francis prayed for Rohingya refugees during a general audience on Wednesday, decrying violence against them ‘simply because they uphold their Muslim faith.’”
Francis told about his trip at his weekly audience at the Vatican.
The New York Times reports, “‘They have been suffering, they are being tortured and killed, simply because they uphold their Muslim faith,’ Francis said of the Rohingya in his weekly audience at the Vatican.
Burma denies committing these atrocities against the Rohingya, who consists of 1.2 billion people.
Independent states, “Burma denies carrying out atrocities against the Muslim minority, consisting of around 1.2 million people in the northern Rakhine state who have been refused citizenship of any country.”
Pope Francis told those who attended his weekly audience to pray with him for the Rohingya.
Per CNN, “Francis called on those in attendance to join him in prayer for ‘our Rohingya brothers and sisters who are being chased from Myanmar and are fleeing from one place to another because no one wants them.’”
Francis told Christians not to build walls against their enemies, but to find common ground.
The New York Times explains, “The pope urged Christians ‘to not raise walls but bridges, to not respond to evil with evil, to overcome evil with good,’ and added: ‘A Christian can never say, ‘I’ll make you pay for that.’ Never! That is not a Christian gesture.’”
In the meantime, access to the region where the Rohingya live is restricted, making it almost impossible to verify the information coming out of the region.
The Independent states, “The government in Burma is severely restricting access to the state where the persecution of Rohingyas is allegedly taking place, meaning it is difficult to verify any reports coming out of the region.”
There have been about 69,000 Rohingya Muslims who have fled their state in Myanmar.
CNN reports, “About 69,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine State since the outbreak of violence on October 9, according to the United Nations.
Baptist International Missions, Inc. works in Myanmar, where there is officially freedom of religion.
Per BIMI, “Officially, freedom of religion is allowed in Myanmar, but any group the government considers harmful to the state is harassed, persecuted, and often imprisoned. This has included Christians.”
Pray for missionaries to be able to share Christ’s hope with the Rohingya. Pray for an end to the violence against the Rohingya. Pray for Christian ethnic minorities to be bold.
CNN: Pope condemns Myanmar’s treatment of ‘peaceful’ Rohingya refugees
New York Times: Pope condemns Myanmar’s treatment of ‘peaceful’ Rohingya refugees
Independent: Pope Francis defends right of Burma’s Rohingya Muslims to ‘live their faith’