Archbishop Tomasi: Certain ideologies limiting religious freedom

Religious freedom in the modern world was one of the issues discussed at the annual Rimini Meeting, sponsored by the lay movement Communion & Liberation. Thousands of leaders in religion, politics, and culture descended on the Italian resort town last week to discuss the issues of the day.

The Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations in Geneva, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, was among those attending the event.

“We need to make an extraordinary effort to convince and create a different public understanding that our differences should not lead to conflict, but should lead to more dialogue,” he told Vatican Radio. “It becomes also more and more evident that the intolerance that is increasing is not only based on conflict or violence, but it also is based on more subtle strategies like the attempt to eliminate the influence of persons with religious convictions from contributing to the common good by participating in public life.”

“So instead of having the understanding - that is projected by some media - that religion, especially Christianity, is limiting the freedom of individuals, we should take notice that it is the other way around: That certain forms of ideology are preventing the free exercise of religion on the part of Christians, Catholics in particular,” Archbishop Tomasi said.

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