Pope calls for reconciliation in Myanmar on diplomatically fraught trip

Pope Francis and Bhaddanta Kumarabhivasma, chairman of the state Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee, talk during a meeting with the Buddhist committee in Yangon, Myanmar November 29, 2017. REUTERS/Max Rossi

YANGON (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Wednesday urged Myanmar's top Buddhist monks to reconcile people of different ethnicities and religions as their country emerges from nearly five decades of military rule still riven by ethnic conflicts and communal strife.

That echoed a call for peace he made at a Mass earlier on the third day of a visit fraught with diplomatic risk over a military crackdown that has triggered the flight of about 625,000 Muslim Rohingya from the predominantly Buddhist country.