Pope receives Aung San Suu Kyi

28 October, 2013 - Pope Francis had a few important meetings on Monday, among them a meeting with Myanmar’s opposition democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Pope first welcomed new Japanese ambassador, Teruaki Nagasaki, who presented him his credentials at the start of his diplomatic mission with the Holy See. Later, the Pope received Jim Yong Kim of the World Bank, an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes. Suu Kyi, the 1991 Nobel Peace laureate met the Pope after picking up an overdue honorary citizenship of Rome Sunday night. In 1994, Rome had conferred the honor in absentia on Suu Kyi, a champion of democracy who spent years as a political prisoner in her homeland. After the meeting with the Pope, Suu Kyi told a press conference in Rome that the Holy Father told her that emotions such as hatred and fear degrade life and the value of persons. “We must value love and understanding in order to improve the life of people,” Suu Kyi quoted the Pope as saying. (Source: Vatican)