Pope Francis says he offered asylum to Myanmar’s imprisoned prime minister Aung San Suu Kyi. Source: CNA.
In a meeting with Jesuits in Indonesia earlier this month, the Pope said he “called for the release of Mrs Aung San Suu Kyi and received her son in Rome. I offered the Vatican as a place of refuge for her.”
The former prime minister, who has been in prison since she was ousted in a military coup in February 2021, “is a symbol, and political symbols are to be defended,” Francis added.
The Pope commented on the situation in Myanmar in a private meeting with about 200 Jesuits at the apostolic nunciature in Jakarta during his September 2–13 trip to four countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania.
The transcript of Pope Francis’ three meetings with Jesuits – in Indonesia, East Timor, and Singapore – were published in the Jesuit journal La Civiltá Cattolica yesterday.
In the September 4 meeting, a Jesuit from Myanmar spoke about the difficult situation in his country and asked Pope Francis’ advice. “We have lost our lives, family, dreams, and future. How do we not lose hope?” he said.
“The situation in Myanmar is difficult,” the pontiff responded. “Look, there is no universal answer to your question. There are good young people fighting for their homeland.
“In Myanmar today you cannot be silent; you have to do something! The future of your country must be peace, based on respect for the dignity and rights of all, on respect for a democratic order that allows each person to contribute to the common good.”
Myanmar has been wracked by violent conflict since Aung San Suu Kyi, a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner elected in a November 2020 general election, was ousted in a military coup three years ago.
The coup d’état triggered widespread resistance, mass protests, and an escalation of armed conflicts across the country, thrusting Myanmar into its current, unprecedented humanitarian and human rights crisis.
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Pope Francis offered asylum to Myanmar’s imprisoned leader Aung San Suu Kyi (By Hannah Brockhaus, CNA)
