Holy See diplomat reflects on religion and free expression
March 27, 2015
Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See’s leading diplomat at UN offices in Geneva, deplored the actions of the Islamic State and spoke about the relation between religious freedom and freedom of expression in a response to a UN report.
The prelate’s statement, dated March 10, was released on March 26 by the Holy See Press Office.
Violence “does not stem from religion but from its false interpretation or its transformation into ideology,” he said. “In addition, the same violence can derive from the idolatry of State or of the economy, and it can be an effect of secularization. All these phenomena tend to eliminate individual freedom and responsibility towards others.”
“But violence is always an individual’s act and a decision that implies personal responsibility,” he added. “It is in fact by adopting an ethics of responsibility that the way toward the future can become fruitful, prevent violence and break the impasse between extreme positions, one which upholds any form of freedom of expression and the other which rejects any criticism of a religion.”
He added:
Freedom of expression that is misused to wound the dignity of persons by offending their deepest convictions sows the seeds of violence. Of course, freedom of expression is a fundamental human right which is always to be upheld and protected; in fact, it also implies the obligation to say in a responsible way what a person thinks in view of the common good. Without this right, education, democracy, authentic spirituality would not be possible.
It does not, however, justify relegating religion to a subculture of insignificant weight or to an acceptable easy target of ridicule and discrimination. Antireligious arguments even in the form of irony can surely be accepted, as it is acceptable to use irony about secularism or atheism. Criticism of religious thinking can even help dismantle various extremisms. But what can justify gratuitous insults and spiteful derision of the religious feelings and convictions of others who are, after all, equal in dignity? Can we make fun of the cultural identity of a person, of the color of his skin, of the belief of his heart? A “right to offend” does not exist.
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