Vatican urges Muslims to respect all faiths

Cardinal Tauran is the newly appointed President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, the Vatican8217;s main liaison agency with the Muslim world.

He has also expressed concern about the treatment of Christians in Muslim-majority countries, highlighting the 8220;extreme8221; case of Saudi Arabia where freedom of religion was 8220;violated absolutely8221; with 8220;no Christian churches and a ban on celebrating Mass, even in a private home8221;.

Though he did not make a direct link between Islam and violence, Cardinal Tauran described it as the duty of believers to 8220;reject, denounce and refuse every recourse to violence, which can never be motivated by religion, since it wounds the very image of God in man8221;.

8220;Violence, especially terrorism which strikes blindly and claims countless innocent victims, is incapable of resolving conflicts and leads only to a deadly chain of destructive hatred,8221; he was quoted as saying.

It may be mentioned that relations between the Vatican and Muslims soured after Pope Benedict XVI quoted a 14th century Byzantine Emperor and triggered a wave of condemnation and violence. At least two people 8212; an Iraqi priest and a Somali nun 8212; were killed in the ensuing unrest.