Cardinal Parolin underlines need for religious freedom
October 21, 2025
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CWN Editor's Note: Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, stressed “religious freedom as a fundamental aspect of human existence,” in a keynote address at an October 21 event marking the publication of the 2025 Religious Freedom Report compiled by Aid to the Church in Need.
[See the separate CWN headline story on the ACN report itself.]
“It is incumbent upon governments and communities alike to refrain from compelling anyone to violate their deeply held convictions or obstructing anybody from living them out authentically,” Cardinal Parolin said.
In conversation with reporters at the event, Cardinal Parolin said that the Vatican remains “full of hope” for a ceasefire agreement in Gaza despite reported violations. He also decried acts of violence against Christians in the West Bank by Israeli settlers.
Speaking about the violence that has struck Christians in Nigeria, the cardinal said that the cause is “not a religious conflict, but rather more a social one, for example, disputes between herders and farmers.” He remarked that Muslims in Nigeria had been subject to the same sort of violence.
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