2012-08-24 17:03:05

Archbishop Tomasi: Certain ideologies limiting religious freedom


(August 24, 2012) Christianity and Catholicism do not curtail freedom, on the contrary they themselves are sometimes subject to persecution and restrictions, said Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations in Geneva. The archbishop is currently participating in the annual Rimini Meeting in Italy, where thousands of leaders in religion, politics, and culture have descended to discuss current issues, including religious freedom in the modern world. “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,” Archbishop Tomasi 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,” the Holy See official said. “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 added.








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