Pope Deplores Use of Terrorism

Pope John Paul II urged today that the rights of minorities be respected, but he also condemned any recourse to violence to advance their claims and lashed out at terrorist groups acting in their name.

“May those who follow the inhuman path of terrorism hear my voice: To strike blindly, kill innocent people or carry out bloody reprisals does not help a just evaluation of the claims advanced by the minorities for whom they claim to act,” the Pope said in his message for the Roman Catholic Church’s World Day of Peace. He also declared that states that perpetrate or tolerate acts aimed at endangering the lives of minorities violate “the fundamental law governing the social order.”