Pope Francis has apologised to the Roma people on behalf of the Catholic Church during his visit to Romania.
At a meeting with Roma people on the last day of his visit to the country, the pontiff asked forgiveness for «all those times in history when we have discriminated, mistreated or looked askance at you».
Roma people have faced persecution in Europe for centuries.
Hundreds of thousands are thought to have been killed during the Holocaust.
Nowadays Roma live mainly in southern and central Europe, and make up about 10% of Romania’s total population. They complain they struggle to get work because of discrimination, and many live in poverty.
