The “coup d'état led to the arrest of several political officials, who I hope will be quickly released as a sign of encouragement to sincere dialogue for the good of the country,” the Pope said.

Pope Francis made a historic visit to the predominantly Buddhist country in November 2017, before continuing a visit to Bangladesh, where he spoke about the persecution of Rohingya Muslims and met some refugees who fled Myanmar.

During his visit to Myanmar , during which he spoke with the leader of the executive, Aung San Suu Kyi, Francisco did not utter the word “Rohingya” (a social minority) once, as it is a taboo word in the country.