Holy See: Online hate and religious intolerance are forms of racism
The dignity shared by every human being, “bestowed by God” and “fundamental to the building of a true international community,” is today being undermined by forms of discrimination that are spreading into an ever-wider range of areas, from online spaces to religious settings, as well as through indifference towards migrants and refugees.
Archbishop Christophe Zakhia El-Kassis, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations, warned against “materialist and nationalist ideologies” that undermine the unity of the human family in a statement delivered to the Third Committee of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. Delivered on 8 October, the address concerned agenda item 68: “Elimination of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.”
Safeguarding equality
Reaffirming the Church’s teaching that every human being possesses equal and inviolable dignity, the archbishop condemned racism, discrimination, xenophobia and all related forms of intolerance as affronts to “the unity of the human family.”
Rejecting racist ideologies
A genuine international community cannot be complacent towards “materialist and nationalist ideologies” that obstruct harmony within the human family, Archbishop El-Kassis reiterated.
Indeed, the scourge of racism persists in various forms, “despite apparent progress,” and continues to manifest itself on the basis of “the mistaken belief that one person, reduced to a single characteristic, is superior to another.”
The Holy See representative then highlighted several areas in which discriminatory practices remain widespread. Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, in particular, continue to be victims of such practices. Instead of finding safety and a better life, as the Pope pointed out during the Mass celebrated last Jubilee Year for them, they often encounter “the coldness of indifference or the stigma of discrimination.”
Online and religious hatred
From migrants to digital environments, new forms of exclusion and prejudice are emerging, amplifying hatred and polarisation.
“In the digital age,” Archbishop El-Kassis observed, “social justice requires that data and technologies be used to promote human dignity and the common good.”
The prelate also drew attention to religious intolerance. “Whether it takes the form of antisemitism, Christianophobia, Islamophobia or other forms of hostility rooted in anti-religious prejudice,” it must be “firmly rejected,” he stated.
The address concluded with an appeal to intensify efforts “to cultivate and promote respect for the inalienable dignity of every human person and to foster a culture of encounter and openness to others, grounded in mutual respect.”
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