Pope Francis affirmed: “Allowing the burning of the Holy Qur’an in Sweden is unacceptable and condemned,” and that “freedom of expression should not be used as an excuse to offend others.”
The Pope expressed, in press statements, his strong anger at such behavior, and said: “I feel anger and disgust at these behaviors. And any Book considered sacred by its believers must be respected, and freedom of expression must never be used as an excuse to despise others, and allowing this is rejected and condemned.
He added, “Our mission is to transform the religious sense into cooperation, brotherhood, and tangible acts of good,” stressing that “the future of interfaith cooperation is based on the principle of reciprocity, respect for the other, and the truth.”
The Pope continued: “Today we need peace builders, not weapons makers. We need peace builders, not instigators of conflicts, and we need firefighters, not arsonists, and we need advocates of reconciliation, not those threatened with destruction. So the civilization of brotherhood or the reactionary enmity, and either we build the future together, or there will be no future.”
Source: National Iraqi News Agency
