Indian Archbishop speaks of US duty to defend global religious liberty

(April 21.2012) Indian Archbishop Francis A. Chullikatt warned that although the West has not yet reached a level of violent persecution and oppression, it is from the marginalization and denial of religious freedom that such violence is born. Archbishop Chullikat, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the UN was delivering the keynote speech at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C on Friday. In his address, the Archbishop spoke of his time as apostolic nuncio to Iraq, where he saw what it meant to risk death for living out the Christian faith. “I have seen the horrors of sectarian violence,” he said, explaining that people he knew were arrested, tortured and even killed, suffering martyrdom for their faith. The April 19 event drew a crowd of roughly 1000, including former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum and bipartisan members of Congress. The prelate emphasized that “authentic religious liberty is more than just freedom of worship.” It must also include, among other things, “the right to preach, educate, evangelize and participate in the political process, as well as in public life.” Despite its strong Christian history, believers in much of Europe find themselves marginalized, impeded and discriminated against, as secular forces attempt to remove the voice of religion from society, he explained.