Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home News

Religious freedom key

byStaff writers
26 December 2010
Reading Time: 3 mins read
AA
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

VATICAN CITY (CNS): Infringe-ments on the freedom of religion threaten peace and security world-wide as well as stifle authentic human growth and development, Pope Benedict XVI said.

“Religious freedom is an authentic weapon of peace,” which fosters the human qualities and potentials that “can change the world and make it better”, the Pope said in his message for World Peace Day, January 1.

Pope Benedict’s message, which was delivered to world leaders by Vatican ambassadors, was released at the Vatican on December 16. The message was translated into Arabic as well as several European languages, including Russian.

The message, titled “Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace”, made special mention of the “theatre of violence and strife” in Iraq and the deadly attack on a Syrian Catholic church in Baghdad on October 31.

The Pope said it was in the context of widespread violence, persecution, intolerance and discrimination against people of faith that he decided to dedicate the peace-day message to the fundamental importance of religious freedom as the basis for the well-being and growth of individuals and whole societies.

“At present, Christians are the religious group which suffers most from persecution on account of its faith,” citing specifically the Christian communities in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and “especially in the Holy Land”, the Pope said.

During a presentation of the message to the press, Monsignor Anthony Frontiero, an official at the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said that of all the people “who are discriminated against, hurt, killed or persecuted for religious reasons, 75 per cent worldwide are Christian”.

The statistic came from a spokesperson from The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life during a conference hosted by the European Parliament in November.

“A conservative estimate of the number of Christians killed for their faith each year is somewhere around 150,000,” Msgr Frontiero said, quoting an article published on December 4 by the online news site of the Toronto Star daily newspaper.

“Virtually every human rights group and Western government agency that monitors the plight of Christians worldwide arrives at more or less the same conclusion: Between 200 million and 230 million of them face daily threats of murder, beating, imprisonment and torture, and a further 350 to 400 million encounter discrimination in areas such as jobs and housing,” the monsignor quoted from the news article.

Related Stories

Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

Nationwide rosary event happening for Australia’s patroness this Saturday

Francis offers advice on politics: Seek unity, don’t get lost in conflict

In his message, the Pope said the fact that Christians must live in fear because of their faith “is unacceptable, since it represents an insult to God and to human dignity”.

“Furthermore, it is a threat to security and peace, and an obstacle to the achievement of authentic and integral human development,” he said.

The Pope also warned against “more sophisticated forms of hostility to religion” which, in Western countries, was often expressed by a denial of its Christian roots and the rejection of religious symbols, “which reflect the identity and the culture of the majority of citizens”.

Such hostility was “inconsistent with a serene and balanced vision of pluralism and the secularity of institutions”, he said.

Civil society must acknowledge and make room for the right of believers to have their voice heard in the public realm, he said.

He urged world leaders to “act promptly to end every injustice” against Christians in Asia, Africa and the Middle East; he also assured all Christians facing violence and discrimination of his prayers and asked they renew their commitment to forgiveness and reconciliation.

The Pope ended his message with a plea to Western countries to end their “hostility and prejudice against Christians” and he urged Europe to become reconciled with its Christian roots, which, he said, were indispensable for promoting justice, harmony and peace.

 

ShareTweet
Previous Post

Comedic skills on show in Megamind

Next Post

Floods unite Queensland

Staff writers

Related Posts

Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning
QLD

Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

19 May 2022
Catholic relationship advisers offer five tips to look after your mental health
QLD

Nationwide rosary event happening for Australia’s patroness this Saturday

19 May 2022
Francis offers advice on politics: Seek unity, don’t get lost in conflict
News

Francis offers advice on politics: Seek unity, don’t get lost in conflict

19 May 2022
Next Post

Floods unite Queensland

Archbishop Bathersby's open letter to the people of Queensland

Parish reaches out to flood victims

Popular News

  • Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport

    Angel’s Kitchen serves hot meals to the hungry in Southport

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Nationwide rosary event happening for Australia’s patroness this Saturday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Hearts ‘fused’ together living their vocation

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Here are the stories of 10 new saints being canonised this Sunday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI turned 95 on a ‘very happy’ day

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning
QLD

Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

by Staff writers
19 May 2022
0

CHRISTIAN Brother Alan Moss was remembered by his friends, family and fellow brothers for his gifted mind,...

Catholic relationship advisers offer five tips to look after your mental health

Nationwide rosary event happening for Australia’s patroness this Saturday

19 May 2022
Francis offers advice on politics: Seek unity, don’t get lost in conflict

Francis offers advice on politics: Seek unity, don’t get lost in conflict

19 May 2022
Holiness is possible and the Church provides tools to attain it, cardinal says

Holiness is possible and the Church provides tools to attain it, cardinal says

18 May 2022
Church workers have helped more than 1.2 million Ukrainians during the war, Caritas says

Church workers have helped more than 1.2 million Ukrainians during the war, Caritas says

18 May 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping