Vatican condemns Koran burning

The Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue released a communique on September 8 describing its "great concern at the news of the proposed 'Koran Burning Day' on the occasion of the anniversary of the "tragic terrorist attacks in 2001 which resulted in the loss of many innocent lives." in the United States. The message went on to say, "These deplorable acts of violence, in fact, cannot be counteracted by an outrageous and grave gesture against a book considered sacred by a religious community. Each religion, with its respective sacred books, places of worship and symbols, has the right to respect and protection. We are speaking about the respect to be accorded the dignity of the person who is an adherent of that religion and his/her free choice in religious matters. The reflection which necessarily should be fostered on the occasion of the remembrance of 11 September would be, first of all, to offer our deep sentiments of solidarity with those who were struck by these horrendous terrorist attacks. To this feeling of solidarity we join our prayers for them and their loved ones who lost their lives."

"Each religious leader and believer is also called to renew the firm condemnation of all forms of violence, in particular those committed in the name of religion. Pope John Paul II affirmed: 'Recourse to violence in the name of religious belief is a perversion of the very teachings of the major religions', who was speaking to the ambassador of Pakistan in December 1999. Pope Benedict XVI similarly expressed, "violence as a response to offences can never be justified, for this type of response is incompatible with the sacred principles of religion" when he addressed the ambassador of Morocco in 2007. 

L'Osservatorre Romano, the Vatican newspaper, led with a story on September 7 which was headlined "No one burns the Koran" while noting the forceful opposition of Catholic bishops around the word to any proposed desecration of the Koran. An evangelical Christian minister in Florida, Terry Jones, has said that he plans to go ahead with the public burning of copies of the Koran on September 11 this year as a protest against the terrorist attacks of 2001 that were led by Muslim extremists.