Vatican City, Jul 29, 2011 / 16:37 pm
The president of the Pontifical Council for New Evangelization says the recent shootings in Norway, whose perpetrator claimed to be defending historically Christian countries against Islam, had nothing to do with God and authentic Christian faith.
“This is a sad moment for everyone. We could never make religion an instrument for violence. God cannot be present in the killing of people,” said Archbishop Salvatore “Rino” Fisichella, president of the Vatican's newest pontifical council, in a July 28 interview with CNA.
Anders Behring Breivik, who has confessed to attacks that killed 77 people in Norway on July 22, said the bombing and shootings were a strike against the multicultural attitude he believes will allow Muslims to dominate Europe.
In an online manifesto, Breivik said he was “not an excessively religious man” but “a supporter of a monocultural Christian Europe,” and therefore, he reasoned, a Christian.