[Apologetics] Vatican seeks Iraqi guarantees of religious freedom

[Art Kelly]

Vatican seeks Iraqi guarantees of religious freedom 

Castel Gandolfo, Aug. 25 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict
XVI (bio - news) emphasized the importance of
religious freedom during an August 25 meeting with
Iraq's foreign minister. 

The Holy Father told Hoshyar Zebari that "dialogue
among all religious groups" was an essential part of
restoring Iraqi society. The Pontiff's emphasis on
religious freedom reflects concern that the new Iraqi
constitution will give a special role to Islam, to the
detriment of other religious faiths. 

As Iraqi legislators debate a draft of the
constitution, one of the key issues in dispute is the
status of religious and ethnic minorities. Christians,
who represent 3 percent of the country's population,
are particularly concerned about a reference to Islam
as the source of the country's laws. Chaldean Catholic
Patriarch Emmanuel Delly has pointed out, in an August
24 interview with the Italian daily Avvenire, that
Christians could accept the statement that Islam is
one of the sources of the constitution; but if Islam
is proclaimed as the sole source, the rights of other
religions would be jeopardized.

The complete article is at
http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=39229

 



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