HOLY SEE AT U.N. ON HUMAN RIGHTS QUESTIONS, RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE

VATICAN CITY, NOV 14, 2001 (VIS) - The Holy See Permanent Observer to the United Nations, Archbishop Renato Martino, yesterday afternoon addressed the Third Committee of the 56th session of the U.N. General Assembly on Item 119c "Human Rights Questions - Religious Tolerance."

Speaking of the Report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on freedom of religion or belief, he said: "Of serious concern to my delegation is the information contained in the Report which reveals the maintenance, in many parts of the world, of discriminatory or intolerant policies with regards to minorities in States having an official religion: the increase in extremism affecting all religions; and the gradual shift towards non-belief within society, characterized by a growing militancy that enters into competition or conflict with religions."

Archbishop Martino added that "Religion expresses the deepest aspirations of the human person. It shapes people's vision of the world and affects their relationships with others. Religious freedom, constitutes the very heart of human rights, and the right to religious freedom is based upon the dignity of the human person, who experiences the inner and indestructible exigency of acting freely according to the imperatives of his or her conscience."

He stated that "The right to life and the right to freedom of religion or belief are the basic premises for human existence. The fact that there are still many places today where the right to gather for worship is either not recognized or is limited to the members of one religion alone, is a sad commentary. ... It is a direct and serious contradiction to Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states clearly that 'everyone has the right to freedom of religion, including the freedom to change his or her religion or belief.'

"On the other hand," Archbishop Martino said, "my Delegation renews its conviction that recourse to violence in the name of religious belief is a perversion of the very teachings of the major religions. The Holy See reaffirms here today what many religious leaders have repeated so often: 'The use of violence can never claim a religious justification, nor can it foster the growth of true religious feeling'."

He concluded: "While no one can ever deny that there are important differences between religious traditions, these differences should be accepted with humility and respect, in mutual tolerance. ... When such respect and understanding is not realized, and when the divisions become manifest in civil strife and war, there is a need for mutual forgiveness."

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