Infringements on the freedom of religion threaten peace and security worldwide 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, Jan. 1, 2011. Pope Benedict’s message, which was delivered to world leaders by Vatican ambassadors, was released at the Vatican Dec. 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 “theater of violence and strife” in Iraq and the deadly attack on a Syrian Catholic church in Baghdad Oct. 31. The pope said it is 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,” said the pope.
VATICAN CITY (CNS)