Naypyitaw, Myanmar: Since his election in 2013, Pope Francis has constantly used his pulpit to champion the downtrodden and draw attention to the misery of the powerless and the persecuted.

He risked the fury of Turkey by describing the mass killings of Armenians in World War I as a genocide. He apologised for the silence of church leaders in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. And three months ago, he decried "the persecution of our Rohingya brothers," referring to the Muslim minority that has suffered a systematic campaign of murder, rape and arson by Myanmar's military.

Pope Francis, standing at right on pope-mobile, greets Christians upon his arrival for a holy Mass in Yangon, Myanmar, on Wednesday. Credit:AP

On Tuesday, Francis had a singular opportunity to advocate for the Rohingya as he stood next to Myanmar's de facto leader and in front of a hall full of military officials, prelates and diplomats in this capital.

But in a much anticipated speech, Francis studiously avoided using the name of Myanmar's persecuted Rohingya minority or directly addressing their situation, after church leaders advised him that doing so would only aggravate the situation and put the country's tiny Catholic population at risk.