Catholic World News News Feature

Vatican diplomats demanding security for Christians February 22, 2006

Faced with mounting violence against Christians, the Church cannot give way to the desire for revenge, the Vatican's top foreign-policy official has said.

In an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo said that Christians have reason to be concerned about the rise of what he described as "Christianophobia," and violence against Christians particularly in the Islamic world. However, he cautioned, "certainly we do not have recourse to the Lex Talionis." His reference was to the Code of Hammurabi, which stipulate that an offense should be met with an equivalent punishment-- the principle embodied in the saying, "an eye for an eye."

While rejecting the impulse for revenge, the Holy See is keenly aware of the dangers facing Christians, continued the Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States. He observed that the Church cannot remain "inactive in the face of assaults on Christians," which have been increasingly in number in recent years. He acknowledged that the level of violence has jumped in the past month, because of Muslim outrage over the Danish cartoons-- which Archbishop Lajolo characterized as "irresponsible."

The archbishop said that Vatican official have been working quietly but energetically in diplomatic circles, pressing governments and international organizations to ensure security for Christians. When asked how the Church might curb the rise of "christianophobia" he admitted that he did not have a "recipe," but said that the phenomenon should be recognized and treated like anti-semitism or "Islamophobia." Archbishop Lajolo said that steps should be taken "particularly in the realm of social communications and education to combat intolerance and discrimination against Christians."

Echoing a theme that Vatican officials have sounded frequently during the past few weeks, the Archbishop called for "reciprocity" in respect for religious freedom, saying that Christians in predominantly Muslim societies should receive the same respectful treatment as Muslims in the West.