罗马天主教宗与昂山素季见面

Pope Francis is meeting Tuesday with Myanmar's civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, a day after the country's military chief said he told the pontiff that there is "no religious discrimination" in Myanmar.

The United Nations and the United States have accused Myanmar's military of "ethnic cleansing" in violence against Rohingya Muslims, and Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has faced criticism for her response to the crisis.

"We can't say whether it has happened or not," she said last week when asked about rights abuses. "As a responsibility of the government, we have to make sure that it won't happen."

Pope Francis met with the military chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, on Monday as he began his trip to the southeast Asian country to discuss the violence in Rakhine state that has caused over 620,000 Rohingya to flee into neighboring Bangladesh.

"Myanmar has no religious discrimination at all," Min Aung Hlaing said in a Facebook post by his office. "Likewise our military too... (it) performs for the peace and stability of the country."

After the 15 minute meeting, Vatican spokesman Greg Burke said the two "discussed the great responsibility of authorities of the country in this time of transition" before exchanging gifts.

Thousands of Myanmar's nearly 700,000 Catholics traveled to greet the Pope as he landed in Yangon, and more than 150,000 have registered to attend a Mass he will hold on Wednesday, according to Catholic Myanmar Church spokesman Mariano Soe Naing.