• Home
  • Mail
  • Flickr
  • Tumblr
  • News
  • Sports
  • Finance
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Answers
  • Groups
  • More
Yahoo
    • Skip to Navigation
    • Skip to Main Content
    • Skip to Related Content

    Pope says Islam is not terrorism

    AFP•July 31, 2016
    Pope Francis speaks to journalists during a press conference on the plane after his visit to Krakow for the World Youth Days, on July 31, 2016
    Pope Francis speaks to journalists during a press conference on the plane after his visit to Krakow for the World Youth Days, on July 31, 2016 (AFP Photo/Filippo Monteforte)

    Aboard the papal plane (AFP) - Pope Francis said Sunday that Islam could not be equated with terrorism and warned Europe was pushing its young into the hands of extremists.

    "It's not true and it's not correct (to say) Islam is terrorism," he told journalists aboard the papal plane during the return journey from a trip to Poland.

    "I don't think it is right to equate Islam with violence".

    Francis defended his decision not to name Islam when condemning the brutal jihadist murder of a Catholic priest in France in the latest of a string of recent attacks in Europe claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

    "In almost every religion there is always a small group of fundamentalists. We have them too."

    "If I have to talk about Islamic violence I have to talk about Christian violence. Every day in the newspapers I see violence in Italy, someone kills his girlfriend, another kills his mother-in-law, and these are baptised Catholics."

    The pontiff was speaking after Muslims attended Catholic mass in churches around France on Sunday in solidarity and sorrow following the murder of the priest, whose throat was slit at the altar of his church.

    In an echo of remarks made during his five-day trip to Poland for a Catholic youth festival, Francis said religion was not the driving force behind the violence.

    "You can kill with the tongue as well as the knife," he said, in an apparent reference to a rise in populist parties fuelling racism and xenophobia.

    He said Europe should look closer to home, saying "terrorism... grows where the God of money is put first" and "where there are no other options".

    "How many of our European young have we left empty of ideals, with no work, so they turn to drugs, to alcohol, and sign up with fundamentalist groups?" he asked.

    Popular in the Community

    • Pope sends sex crimes expert to Chile to investigate bishop

      39 reactions3%64%33%
    • Faites le plein de gigas

      RED by SFRAnnonces
    • Israel outcry at plans to outlaw blaming Poland for Holocaust crimes

      105 reactions2%65%33%
    • Vatican rebukes cardinal over 'selling out' to China accusations

      8 reactions-1%88%13%
    • Cardinal critic reveals drama in Vatican's overture to China

      10 reactions8%69%23%
    • Fin et élégant, mais extrêmement solide

      DellAnnonces
    • Angry over Israel, Trump tells Congress to give aid only to 'friends of America'

      3,630 reactions6%68%26%
    • 2018 State of the Union

      181 reactions7%64%29%
    • What Was Mark Salling's Cause of Death? 'Glee' Star Found Dead in Riverbed

      128 reactions6%58%36%
    • Hello Syndic, une Révolution

      Hello SyndicAnnonces
    • Donald Trump booed in his first State of the Union after hitting out at 'chain migration'

      3,235 reactions5%70%25%
    • Trump's State of the Union performance: He divides to conquer

      301 reactions5%69%26%
    • Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga sworn in as "the people's president" in mock inauguration

      112 reactions2%85%13%
    • Opéré et sorti le jour même ?

      Forum Action PubliqueAnnonces
    • Outcry in India after eight-month-old baby girl 'is raped by her cousin’

      335 reactions2%58%40%
    • Voters react to Trump's 1st State of the Union speech

      3 reactions0%67%33%
    • Trump Guantanamo reference a political Relic

    • Citroën C4 Picasso

      CitroënAnnonces
    • Provocative photo shoot of black women 'praising' a white woman sparks debate

      2,567 reactions5%72%23%
    • Melania Trump's white State of the Union pantsuit might have a hidden meaning

      1,685 reactions8%66%26%
    • 'Dreamers' turn their backs on Trump’s immigration policy

      635 reactions5%73%22%
    • À découvrir en exclusivité chez Lidl

      LidlAnnonces
    • Heavy rains bring flooding to France

      54 reactions1%76%23%
    • Elon Musk sells 10,000 flamethrowers as lawmaker calls for ban

      91 reactions6%74%20%