Upon his arrival in Bangladesh on Thursday, Pope Francis called for the international community to take “decisive measures” to address the mass exodus of Rohingya Muslims from neighboring Myanmar. The pontiff broke his uncomfortable silence on the crisis immediately after leaving Myanmar—and again without directly naming the Rohingya. Speaking in Dhaka, Francis praised Bangladesh for welcoming the Rohingya refugees “before the eyes of the whole world,” adding “It is imperative that the international community take decisive measures to address this grave crisis, not only by working to resolve the political issues that have led to the mass displacement of people, but also by offering immediate material assistance to Bangladesh in its effort to respond effectively to urgent human needs.” Francis was criticized by human-rights organizations for failing to address what the United Nations has called a textbook case of “ethnic cleansing” during his visit to authoritarian Myanmar, where the Rohingya are not officially recognized as one of the country's ethnic groups.
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