Vatican City, Dec 18, 2010 / 09:30 am
Pope Benedict XVI's World Peace Day message is addressed to all people to say that “fanaticism, fundamentalisms and aggressive secularism are enemies of true peace,” said the director of the Holy See's Press Office.
Fr. Federico Lombardi focused this week's Vatican Television editorial on the Pope's message for Jan. 1 titled "Religious Freedom, the Path of Peace." The message was presented at a Vatican press conference on Dec. 16.
One of the "most striking" affirmations in the Pope's message is that Christians are the religious group that is most persecuted for their faith worldwide, said Fr. Lombardi. It is "right" to emphasize this fact, he said, but it isn't the “core” of the message.
The Pope's emphasis on religious freedom as a way to peace is meant for "the good of all humanity, appealing to the dignity of the human person, of every human person, and demanding a fundamental right for them," he said.