Vatican City, Feb 2, 2018 / 08:00 am
On Friday Pope Francis met with participants in a conference on violence committed in the name of religion, emphasizing that to use God as justification for sin is one of the worst blasphemes, and something religious leaders must work to combat.
"The religious person knows that among the greatest blasphemies is to invoke God as the justification for one's own sins and crimes," the Pope said Feb. 2.
"To invoke him in order to justify killing, mass murder, enslavement, exploitation in whatever form, oppression and persecution of individuals and entire populations… The religious person knows that God is the Holy One, and that no one can claim to use his name in order to perpetrate evil."
Speaking to around 50 participants in a conference titled "Tackling violence committed in the name of religion," Francis said that religious leaders need to "unmask any attempt to manipulate God for ends that have nothing to do with him or his glory."