The pope, in his annual message for the World Day of Peace on Jan. 1, said the freedom to profess and express one’s faith is an “authentic weapon of peace” now under threat, especially in Iraq.
The message made special mention of the plight of Iraqi Christians, recalling the Oct. 31 attack on a Catholic cathedral in Baghdad where dozens of worshippers, including two priests, were killed by gunmen linked to al-Qaida.
Benedict, continuing a constant theme of his papacy, also warned against “more subtle and sophisticated forms of prejudice and hostility” aimed at Christians in the West, especially in an increasingly secular Europe.
The pope warned that the “religious fundamentalism” that threatens the dwindling Christian population in the Middle East and European hostility to faith are both “extreme forms of a rejection of legitimate pluralism and the principle of secularity.”
