Vatican thanks Bangladesh for welcoming Myanmar's Rohingya

VATICAN CITY – The Vatican says Pope Francis and his deputies thanked Bangladesh for welcoming Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar and expressed hope for a "just and lasting solution to their ordeal" during a meeting with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Hasina met with Francis in the Apostolic Palace on Monday and then with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

Francis visited both Myanmar and Bangladesh two months ago. While in Myanmar, he avoided publicly identifying Rohingya by name or overtly criticizing Myanmar's violent crackdown against them. But he did meet with some refugees in Bangladesh and pronounced their name.