Pope says crime and terrorism are offence against humanity

November 09, 2012 - Pope Benedict XVI on Friday denounced organized crime and terrorism saying they wound human dignity and are an offence against the whole of humanity. The Pope made the remark to participants in the 81^st general assembly of Interpol, the intergovernmental organization that facilitates international police cooperation in fighting crime. Speaking to them at the end of their Nov. 5 – 8th assembly in Rome, the Pope picked out human trafficking and trafficking in organs as two of the more “barbarian'' activities carried out by organized crime, saying victims are humiliated both physically and morally. He also condemned trafficking in drugs, arms, contraband goods and pharmaceuticals. The Pontiff said organized crime and terrorism “transgress the moral barriers which were progressively built up by civilization and they reintroduce a form of barbarism which denies man and his dignity.'' “The Church and the Holy See encourage all those who help to combat the scourge of violence and crime, as our world resembles more and more a global village, the Pope said.
Pope Benedict noted a surge in outbursts of violence and of criminal acts, which he said are responsible each year for the majority of violent deaths in the world. “Today, this phenomenon is so dangerous that it is a gravely destabilizing threat to society and, at times, poses a major challenge to the supremacy of the state.” He described terrorism as one of the most brutal forms of violence, which sows hate, death and a desire for revenge. This phenomenon, that aims at destruction of property and murder, he said, has transformed itself into an obscure web of political complicity, with sophisticated technology, enormous financial resources and planning projects on a vast scale. “The Church and the Holy See encourage all those who help to combat the scourge of violence and crime, as our world resembles more and more a global village,” the Pope said. However, while fighting crime, Pope Benedict said, forces of law and order must maintain respect for the rights of each person and of the principles of the rule of law. “The struggle against violence must aim to stem crime and defend society, but it must also aim at the reform and the correction of the criminal, who remains always a human person, a subject of inalienable rights, and as such is not to be excluded from society, but rather rehabilitated,” the Pope added. On Thursday, Interpol elected its first female president, France's Mireille Ballestrazzi.