Oct 29, 2008 / 17:22 pm
Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the apostolic nuncio leading the Holy See’s permanent observer mission to the United Nations, spoke at the U.N. on Wednesday about religious freedom, lamenting that the rights to freedom of thought, conscience and religion continue to be violated. However, the archbishop cautioned against laws prohibiting the defamation of religions, which he said can be used to penalize religious minorities and to stifle legitimate dialogue.
Citing the Special Rapporteur’s report on religious freedom, the archbishop noted that members of all religions are being persecuted in many parts of the globe. He also called recent armed attacks against Christians in Iraq and India a “cause of grave concern.”
Such attacks indicate “the dramatic consequences of the violation of this fundamental right, whose bearers are individual believers and religious groups instead of territorial and cultural areas.”
The attacks also draw attention to the need for a “timely and concerted effort” for all governments and their branches to ensure that the “fundamental right to religious freedom” is “defended and promoted.”