Pope Francis: A Small Group of Extremists Can Be Found in Every Religion

The leader of the Catholic Church stated in an interview with reporters that introducing Islam as synonymous with violence is a mistake; "almost every religion has a small fundamentalist group. We (the Catholic Church) have them too." Pope Francis made these remarks on August 1, during his return from a five-day trip to Poland, where the "World Youth Day" event was held, in response to not mentioning Islam during his speech after the murder of a French priest. Last Tuesday, two young Muslim extremists attacked a church in Rouen, killing its 84-year-old priest. Pope Francis stated, "If I am to talk about Islamic violence, then I must also talk about Christian violence." He added, "Every day in the newspapers in Italy, I read about someone who has killed his girlfriend, another who has killed his mother-in-law, and these are all baptized Catholics." The Pope's reference to baptism in the Catholic Church signifies a request for forgiveness and a rebirth of the Catholic believer. This conversation took place after hundreds of Muslims in France and Italy participated in Sunday prayers on August 1 to express sympathy and solidarity with Christians in these countries during a prayer ceremony. During the World Youth Day event, which is primarily a gathering of Catholic youth from around the world, Pope Francis stated that it is not religion that leads to violence. The Catholic leader remarked, "One can kill someone with a knife, as well as with words." He criticized the fact that "money" and the power derived from it have taken precedence over everything, stating, "Terrorism is born when the god of money takes the place of everything." Pope Francis questioned, "How many European youth have we left without any ideals? Without jobs? [How many have we left] to turn to drugs and alcohol and join extremist groups?" In recent months, several attacks have occurred in Europe, where almost all targeted civilian citizens. Some of these attacks were carried out by radicalized Muslim youths born in European countries. In other attacks, traces of refugees have been seen. Alongside these attacks, criticisms and opposition from some groups in Europe towards immigration have increased, leading to calls for more social restrictions.