Pope Francis has decried the fact that in many countries with a Christian majority the universal right to religious freedom is attacked.

“There can be no peace without religious freedom”, he said.

In his annual address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, he remarked, “it is worrying that people are persecuted simply because they publicly profess their faith, and in many countries religious freedom is limited. About one-third of the world’s population lives in such conditions”.

This conclusion coincides with data from the latest report on “Religious Freedom in the World” published by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), which found that 62 countries out of 196 have very serious violations of religious freedom.

The Holy Father stressed that Christians are particularly affected by religious persecution. “Alongside the lack of religious freedom, there is also persecution for religious reasons. I cannot fail to mention, as certain statistics show, that one in seven Christians suffers persecution.”

However, Francis continued, there are also problems in countries where Christians are in the majority and should therefore be safe from intolerance. “We must not overlook the fact that violence and acts of discrimination against Christians are also increasing in countries where the latter are not a minority.