Pope Francis called for prayer in light of the numerous wars around the world. He also warned on Wednesday, in his general audience at the Vatican, not to forget wars and the people affected. The head of the Catholic Church also explicitly mentioned the fate of the Rohingya ethnic minority who were expelled from Myanmar.
Here, in functional translation and with spontaneous insertions, is Pope Francis' catechesis at this Wednesday's general audience.
Stefanie Stahlhofen – Vatican City
“Let us not forget the peoples who are at war: war is madness, war is always a defeat!”, said Francis at the end of his general audience in the Vatican audience room.
“Let us pray. Let us pray for the people of Palestine, Israel, Ukraine and all the other places where there is war. And let us not forget our Rohingya brothers and sisters who are being persecuted.”
To listen to – Pope Francis in general audience: Pray for all who suffer from war (audio contribution from Vatican Radio)
Pope Francis visited Myanmar and Bangladesh in 2017 and already then denounced the situation of the minority. The Rohingya are a Muslim minority who are actually native to Myanmar but are systematically expelled from there. According to media reports, around 740,000 Rohingya have now been resettled in neighboring Bangladesh.
“Let us pray for the people of Palestine, Israel, Ukraine and all other places where there is war. And let us not forget our Rohingya brothers and sisters who are being persecuted.”
The Rohingya cannot return to their unstable homeland, but fields in Bangladesh are abandoned, gang violence is rising and hunger is rampant. Many therefore flee to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The crossing in simple wooden boats from the refugee camp in Cox's Bazar to the extreme northwest of Indonesia takes up to two weeks.
The local navy has sometimes forcibly pushed boats of refugees back into international waters – Indonesia, like Thailand and Malaysia, has not signed the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention and is therefore not obliged to take in the Rohingya .
Indonesia has asked the international community for help and increased patrols in its waters as the number of Rohingya refugees fleeing crowded camps in Bangladesh has risen since November. The Rohingya in Indonesia are often exposed to hostility and attacks from other Muslims.
Myanmar remains unstable
Meanwhile, the Rohingya's homeland of Myanmar remains unstable. The military junta, which took power in 2021 after Myanmar previously experienced a long democratic phase under the elected government of Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, has been under enormous pressure for weeks. Both supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi, who is currently detained, and members of ethnic minorities have taken up arms against the junta in most of the country; According to the UN, fighting has recently spread to about two-thirds of the country. Rakhine state in western Myanmar, which borders Bangladesh and was once home to many Rohingya, is also affected. The Arakan Army, an armed ethnic group, fights against the local government. According to the UN, a total of half a million people in Myanmar have been displaced from their villages since the end of October due to the fighting.
(Vatican news/various/agencies – sst)