By John Phillips
VATICAN CITY
Pope Francis made his strongest denunciation yet of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on Tuesday, saying that it has carried out "abuses and inhuman acts" as well as "brutally" driving Christians and other religious and ethnic groups from their lands.
In a Christmas letter to the Christians of the Middle East published by the Vatican, the pontiff called on the leaders of all religions to denounce crimes committed in the name of religion.
"The tragic situation faced by our Christian brothers and sisters in Iraq, as well as by the Ezidi and members of other religious and ethnic communities, demands that all religious leaders clearly speak out to condemn these crimes unanimously and unambiguously, and to denounce the practice of invoking religion in order to justify them," he wrote.
The Argentine Roman Catholic leader did not refer to ISIL by name but Vatican sources said he was clearly referring to the terrorist organization when he said in his letter that "afflictions and tribulations" in the Middle East "have been aggravated in the past months because of the continuing hostilities in the region, but especially because of the work of a newer and disturbing terrorist organization, of previously unimaginable dimensions, which has perpetrated all kinds of abuses and inhuman acts."
"It has particularly affected a number of you, who have been brutally driven out of your native lands, where Christians have been present since apostolic times," he added.
Francis underlined that it is not only Christians who are being persecuted: "In addressing myself to you, I can't forget other ethnic and religious groups that also undergo persecution and the consequences of conflicts."
The pope also urged the international community to work to achieve peace via dialogue in the Middle East.
"I continue to urge the international community to address your needs and those of other suffering minorities, above all by promoting peace through negotiation and diplomacy for the sake of stemming and stopping as soon as possible the violence which has already caused so much harm," the letter read. "I once more condemn in the strongest possible terms the traffic of arms."
Francis said that he wrote the letter to Middle Eastern Christians because he knows that "for many of you the notes of Christmas hymns will be mixed with tears and sighs."
www.aa.com.tr/en
