Knowing personally some of the victims, having been Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq and Jordan from 2006 until just recently, the Archbishop expressed his sadness over the tragedy. The intervention of the Holy See, which had already been scheduled to take place this day, lamented that “many around the world today lack even the liberty to pray in community.... These are men, women and children whose searching for God is a prohibited activity, with many facing serious physical and legal repercussions for the pursuit of such a fundamental human need.”

Pointing out that no culture or country is immune from xenophobia and religious hatred despite efforts to the contrary, the Holy See Delegation expressed dismay that the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the topic failed to “note the fate of Christians who have been driven from their homes, tortured, imprisoned, murdered or forced to convert or deny their faith around the world.” Archbishop Chullikatt called on the international community not to ignore the situation, which “requires the urgent attention of international and national leaders to protect the right to religious freedom of these individuals and communities. The hope for the progress of humanity, which is at the core of this preeminent international organization, cannot be realized until these abuses end. They must end and they must end now!”

The Archbishop cautioned against finding a solution under the guise of prohibiting the “defamation of religion” but urged a different approach to the problem. “While my delegation supports all efforts to protect believers from unjust hate speech and incitement to violence, we remain concerned that the use of the concept of defamation of religions to achieve these aims has proven counterproductive and, instead of protecting religious believers, it has served as a means for State-sponsored oppression of religious believers.” He expressed the support of the Holy See for initiatives that seek to curb manifestations of discrimination and violence without infringing on the freedom of religious expression.

Archbishop Chullikatt also spoke about the danger of over-identifying race with religion and he drew attention to migrants who suffer unjust discrimination.

Echoing the words of Pope Benedict XVI from earlier today, the message of the Holy See called on people of good will to renew efforts to bring about mutual understanding and respect.

For the full text of the Statement of the Permanent Observer and for more information about the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, please visit the Mission website<. To contact the Holy See Press Office, please click here<.