Many nations ignore commitments to religious freedom, Vatican envoy tells UN
July 06, 2012
A Vatican representative has told the UN’s Human Rights Council that many nations are failing to honor their professed commitment to religious freedom.
Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See’s permanent observer at UN headquarters in Geneva, said that there is a “widening gap between the commitment and the stated principles of the international community regarding freedom of religion, conscience, and belief and the right to freedom of assembly, and the implementation of these fundamental human rights.”
The archbishop told the 20th session of the Human Rights Council that authentic religious freedom includes not only the freedom to worship, but also “the right to preach, educate, receive new adherents, contribute to political discourse, as well as participate in public activities.” He added: “Believers should not be forced by governments to choose between conformity to governmental policies or legislation and faithfulness to religious tenets and beliefs.”
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Posted by: rpp -
Jul. 06, 2012 3:38 PM ET USA
Well, Americans should not feel smug about religious freedom EVER again. Now that the very freedom which the country was founded upon has taken away, the only hope lies with a Supreme Court that has already determined personal liberty is unconstitutional.
