The Jesuit periodical 'La Civiltà Cattolica' has stated that during a meeting in Jakarta at the beginning of his Apostolic Journey to southeast Asia and Oceania, Pope Francis said: "I 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 plight of human rights and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, in prison since 2021 after the military coup, and in general for Myanmar, were among several topics addressed by Pope Francis in private conversations with three groups of Jesuits he met in Indonesia, East Timor, and Singapore.
Pope Francis also expressed his grave concern for the plight of the Rohingya people.
After his renewed appeal for Aung San Suu Kyi's release, the Pope said: "Right now, the lady is a symbol and political symbols are to be defended. Do you remember that nun kneeling with her hands raised in front of the military? Her image went around the world. I pray that you young people will be brave like that. The Church in your country is courageous."
La Civiltà Cattolica, the magazine of the Society of Jesus, has published long excerpts of the Pontiff's conversations, in an article signed by Father Antonio Spadaro, undersecretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, who was one of the members of the papal retinue.