Iraq Reassures Vatican On Religious Freedom

From Catholic World News:

Rome, Aug. 26 (CWNews.com) - Iraq needs help from the Holy See in establishing a new democratic system of government, the country's foreign minister told Church officials during a visit to the Vatican on August 25. The Iraqi official also sought to ease the concerns of Church leaders about prospects for religious freedom under the proposed new constitution.

At a news conference in Rome following his meetings with Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Hoshyar Zebari said that the conversations had revolved around issues of religious freedom and the protection of Christian communities in Iraq. He said that he also discussed the need to ensure respectful dialogue across religious lines, and to discourage extremism and terrorism

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During this visit, Zebari reported, the discussions had centered on the draft constitution that has been submitted to the Iraqi national assembly. The Pope, he said, had stressed "protection of religious freedom in the new constitution, and protection of the rights of the Christian community." He said that he had assured the Pope that these rights would be "established firmly, on an equal basis, without any discrimination," and that Christians would be "free to practice their religion without fear of being intimidated or harassed by any other group."

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My Comments:
In case you missed yesterday's post on the Iraqi draft constitution: Iraq's Federalist Papers