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Pope asks forgiveness for historical mistreatment of Roma people
Key Excerpts from Article on Website of Reuters
Posted: June 9th, 2019
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pope-romania/pope-asks-fo...
Pope Francis on Sunday asked forgiveness in the name of the Catholic Church for the mistreatment of the Roma people. Francis made the comment during a meeting with Roma people at the last event of his three day trip to Romania, saying his heart was made heavy by the meeting. It is weighed down by the many experiences of discrimination, segregation and mistreatment experienced by your communities. History tells us that Christians too, including Catholics, are not strangers to such evil, he said. With an estimated population of 10-12 million, approximately six million of whom live in the European Union, Roma people are the biggest ethnic minority in Europe and rights groups say they are often the victims of prejudice and social exclusion. A Roma youth, Razaila Vasile Dorin, told reporters: Its an honor that a person like the pope comes to our community. We are proud. Its important that the pope is asking forgiveness. There is racism in every country. When we go out everyone looks at us and we dont like that. I am proud to be a gypsy. Earlier on Sunday, the pope said a Mass for some 100,000 people during which he beatified seven Communist-era bishops of the Eastern Rite Catholic Church who died in prison or as a result of their harsh treatment during Romanias communist era. (The bishops) endured suffering and gave their lives to oppose an illiberal ideological system that oppressed the fundamental rights of the human person, Francis said.
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