Vatican reports discrimination of Christians at Vienna forum on tolerance
Matthia Ferrero emphasized the need to pay more attention to discrimination against Christians and the growing number of religion-based hate crimes.
At a plenary session of the Warsaw Human Dimension Conference dedicated to tolerance and the fight against discrimination, an expert from the Vatican's permanent mission to the OSCE and other international organizations spoke out about the discrimination faced by Christians in Europe, reports Vatican News.
Vatican representative Matthia Ferrero drew attention to intolerance and discrimination stemming from anti-Semitism and prejudice against Muslims, Christians and followers of other religions, which occur "both east and west of Vienna". He stated that the omission of these facts from the conference agenda "sends a wrong message".
"Violence based on religion or belief is a threat to social cohesion, peaceful coexistence and the security of our societies," Ferrero noted, "and ultimately poses a risk to the foundations of democratic values and principles."
The Vatican delegate also underscored the necessity of focusing more on discrimination against Christians, including the increasing number of hate crimes. He pointed out that particularly "west of Vienna", discrimination against Christians remains "the last acceptable prejudice" and called for equal attention to all forms of religious intolerance.
As reported by the UOJ, a Greek bishop believes that Europe has turned away from Christ and returned to sin.
