Religious freedom is increasingly under threat in the modern world, a Vatican envoy has warned.

Addressing the issue of fundamental freedoms during a session of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Msgr Janusz Urba?czyk, the Holy See’s Permanent Representative to that body, said: “The human rights of those who wish to profess and practise their faith freely, including Christians in particular, are often not guaranteed.”

Arguing that “religious freedom lies at the very heart of security and stability in the OSCE area”, Msgr Urba?czyk stressed further that “Christians must be enabled to participate fully in public life on an equal footing with other human beings, be they members of other religions or non-believers.

“Far from being a mere concession of the state or society, freedom of religion is an inalienable and universal human right…A correct understanding of the nature of freedom of religion or belief appreciates that this pinnacle of human freedom is an inalienable right rooted in the transcendent dignity of the human person which can never be superseded by apparently competing rights.”

Adding that “international law recognises that freedom of conscience and religion belongs to the essential core of natural rights which positive law can never legitimately deny,” the Monsignor pointed out that “it is essential to appreciate that religions are not simply sets of norms or teachings but are living communities based on faith or belief, and their freedom guarantees their contribution of moral values without which the freedom of everyone is not possible”.

“If freedom of religion is not respected, inevitably many other freedoms will be eroded as well.”