Pope calls for religious freedom and condemns use of religion to justify violence during visit to Egypt – MarketWatch

CAIRO Pope Francis opened a two-day visit to Egypt on Friday with a forceful denunciation of religiously inspired violence and a call for religious freedom, three weeks after Islamic State terrorists killed more than 40 people in bombings at two of the countrys Christian churches.

Also see: Pope Francis preaches message of faith and forgiveness during Mass with Egypts Coptic Christians

The pope used the first speech of the trip to issue one of his most extended condemnations yet of Islamist violence. His remarks, addressed to an audience that included the leader of the most authoritative institution in the Sunni Muslim world, were at once a defense of the Middle Easts besieged Christian population and a challenge to Muslims to repudiate religious justifications for violence.

Peace alone is holy, and no act of violence can be perpetrated in the name of religion or in the name of God, the pope told an international peace conference at Al-Azhar University. Together let us affirm the incompatibility of violence and faith, belief and hatred.

The pontiff balanced the speech with a strong warning against anti-Muslim sentiment in the developed world, suggesting it would only encourage terrorism.

An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com.

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Pope calls for religious freedom and condemns use of religion to justify violence during visit to Egypt - MarketWatch