Pope Francis waves to journalists as he boards the plane for his six-day trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh, at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci international airport in Fiumicino, Sunday, Nov. 26, 2017. While attention will focus on how Francis addresses the Rohingya Muslim crisis, the trip also holds huge significance for the tiny Catholic communities in each country. (Gregorio Borgia/Associated Press)VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis’ aim in visiting Myanmar and Bangladesh is to encourage their tiny Catholic communities and bring a message of friendship and peace to some of Asia’s most peripheral and poor. The big question looming is whether he’ll utter the word “Rohingya” while he’s here. The “will he or won’t he?” issue has dominated debate before Francis’ trip, which begins Monday when his Alitalia charter flight lands in Yangon and ends with a youth rally in Dhaka on Dec. 2.

Source: Washington Post November 27, 2017 01:41 UTC