MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd December, 2020) The Holy See's secretary for relations with states, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, on Thursday called for countering religious radicalism, saying that erroneous interpretations are the root cause of violence and not religion as such.
The official mentioned the rising number of terrorist attacks, including those against believers, noting that some of them were perpetrated in the name of religion.
"Let me emphasize, that violence does not stem from religion, but from its false interpretation or its transformation into radicalism, which needs to be fought using all legitimate means," Gallagher said at the 27th Ministerial Council of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which takes place via videoconferencing.
In recent months, Europe has faced an uptick in terror attacks motivated by religious extremism, including the killing of a French school teacher, Samuel Paty, as well as a stabbing attack in a church in Nice and a shooting in Vienna. Such events have brought the issues of security and countering terrorism and extremism to the forefront of the European security agenda.
