Vatican Addresses UN: Religion-Based Terrorism a Fundamental Threat to Our Humanity

“People of faith have a grave responsibility to condemn those who seek to detach faith from reason and instrumentalize faith as a justification for violence,” said Cardinal Pietro Parolin Wednesday in an address to the UN Security Council.

The Cardinal went on to cite Pope Francis’ recent rebuke of religious fanatics in his visit to Albania. At that time, the Pope said: “Let no one consider themselves to be the ‘armor’ of God while planning and carrying out acts of violence and oppression!” Though unspecified, it was clearly understood that Francis was referring to Islamist jihadists and recent acts of terror committed in the name of the Muslim religion.

The Pope went on to say: “May no one use religion as a pretext for actions against human dignity and against the fundamental rights of every man and woman, above all, the right to life and the right of everyone to religious freedom!”

In yesterday’s address, Cardinal Parolin noted that the UN meeting was taking place at a critical time “of terrorism fueled by violent extremism.” A shared commitment among all nations and people of good will, he continued, is needed to confront the “escalating use of terror” that “represents a fundamental threat to our common humanity.”

Parolin also called for a common effort to address the root causes upon which international terrorism feeds. Along with the legal resources available to prevent citizens from becoming foreign terrorist fighters, governments “should engage with civil society” to work with “the problems of communities “most at risk of radicalization and recruitment.”

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2178 (2014), calling on all Member States to cooperate in efforts to address the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters.

This historic anti-terrorism resolution will set legally binding requirements for countries to prevent the spread of terrorism.

As a fresh round of airstrikes got underway in Iraq and Syria, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott also said his military is about to join the coalition fighting the self-styled Islamic State militants.