In his address to participants from a special convention, Pope Francis once again denounced the use of religion to justify violence.
Around 50 attendees of the “Tackling violence committed in the name of religion” conference met in the Clementine Hall with the Holy Father, who began by reiterating a message from his visit to Egypt in 2017.
POPE FRANCIS
“We have an obligation to denounce violations of human dignity and human rights, to expose attempts to justify every form of hatred in the name of religion, and to condemn these attempts as idolatrous caricatures of God.”
Saying this type of violence “can only discredit religion itself,” the pope urged religious leaders to be the most vocal.
POPE FRANCIS
“Consequently, such violence must be condemned by all, and especially by genuinely religious persons. The religious person knows that among the greatest blasphemies is to invoke God as the justification for one’s own sins and crimes.”
The “Tackling violence committed in the name of religion” conference concluded on Friday, following three days of dialogue among political officials and religious leaders from around the world.
