Holy See supports Pakistan’s promise to amend blasphemy laws

(October 27, 2009) The Holy See has welcomed Pakistan government’s promise to amend its blasphemy laws which is easily used by extremists to persecute the faithful of other religions. Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York voiced the Holy See’s support in a statement delivered on Monday at a UN General Assembly committee meeting on human rights. “There is unfortunately no religion on the planet which is free from discrimination,” Archbishop Migliore noted adding, “acts of intolerance, and violations of religious freedom, continue to be perpetrated in many forms.” He said that it is well documented that “Christians are the religious group most discriminated against as there may well be more than 200 million of them, of different confessions, who are in situations of difficulty because of legal and cultural structures that lead to their discrimination.” “Over the past months,” he noted, “some Asian and Middle Eastern countries have seen Christian communities attacked, leaving many injured and others killed.” He particularly mentioned Pakistan where Christian churches and homes were also burned down for alleged disrespect to Islam. Archbishop Migliore said his delegation welcomes and supports the promise of the government of Pakistan to review and amend its blasphemy laws, which he said “have too easily become opportunities for extremists to persecute those who freely choose to follow the belief system of a different faith tradition.” “Such laws have been used to foster injustice, sectarian violence and violence between religions,” he said. “Governments must address the root causes of religious intolerance and repeal such laws that serve as instruments of abuse,” he added