Pope Francis has defended his public silence in Myanmar over the plight of Rohingya refugees, saying a public condemnation would have “slammed the door in the face” of his hosts and prevented his overall message from being heard. On the eve of his return to Rome on Friday, the Pope finally used the word “Rohingya,” coming face-to-face with some of the persecuted Muslims whose plight had cast a long shadow over his visit to Asia last week. The security operation targeting Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar “seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing”, the UN human rights chief says. More than 300,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled to Bangladesh since violence erupted there late last month.