Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, a leader for many years in the Vatican’s diplomatic service, said the cartoons demonstrated a growing trend to make fun of religious symbols in general.

"Freedom of satire that offends the sentiments of others becomes an abuse – and in this case it has affected the sentiments of entire populations in their highest symbols," the cardinal told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on February 3.

The cardinal said Christianity has similar sensitivities.

"One can understand satire about a priest but not about god. With reference to Islam, we could understand satire on the uses and customs and behaviour but not about the Koran, Allah and the prophet," he said.

The cardinal said secular societies should not assume a right to offend religious sentiments. He noted that many countries consider it illegal to offend their national flag and asked, "Shouldn’t we consider religious symbols on an equal level with the symbols of secular institutions?"

Msgr. Aldo Giordano, general secretary of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, told Vatican Radio on February 3 that this type of satire was a type of vulgarity that goes against human rights.

"I see that the entire Christian world is very saddened and pained by satire of this type, aimed at the brothers of another religion," he said. At the same time, he said it was important not to overreact and "not make it an occasion for a clash of civilisations".

"We should be able to transform offences in an occasion of greater solidarity," he said.

South African Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu said the most important thing is to move forward, through dialogue, and not "shout at one another". "Like my father used to say, we should not raise our voices, but hone our arguments," said Tutu.

Concern over the need for tolerance and "religious democracy" was expressed in virtually all of the debates and workshops attended by the roughly 3,300 participants in the assembly, which began February 14 in the Pontifical University of Porto Alegre, the capital of the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul.

The crisis that broke out after a conservative Danish newspaper published 12 cartoons depicting Muhammad was one of the most widely discussed issues at the assembly.

The wave of violence has generally been blamed on religious intolerance. But Tutu, recalling the US-led invasion and occupation of Iraq, noted in a conversation with reporters that today’s conflicts are first and foremost political in nature.

"Religion is often used as a subterfuge for other problems that have nothing to do with religiosity," Bishop Margot Käsmann of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hannover, Germany told IPS (…) The roots of these conflicts can be traced to two different sources, said Elías Crisóstomo Abramides, an Argentine ecumenical patriarch of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, a Greek orthodox church founded in Turkey.
One of these relates to invasions of countries, such as those that have taken place in the Caribbean, Afghanistan, and more recently, in Iraq. The second stems from the differences between the Christian and Islamic worlds (...)

Meanwhile, the religious leaders gathered in Porto Alegre were critical of the cartoons published by the Danish newspaper. "The cartoons sparked the fire, and now the question is how to put it out. Christians and Muslims must work together to promote dialogue," said Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, general secretary of the WCC and an ordained minister in the Methodist Church of Kenya.
Henry Sobel, chief rabbi of the Israelite Congregation of Sao Paulo, Brazil, launched a manifesto at the WCC meeting stressing the importance of freedom of expression as a fundamental principle of democracy and an inalienable right of human beings, which must always be preserved. But, he added, so must respect for others.

"If it is not accompanied by respect for others, (freedom of expression) can become destructive," he maintained. "The only way to build a more peaceful world is to seek to understand the point of view of others and respect what is sacred to others," he added (…)

The Geneva-based WCC brings together more than 340 churches, denominations and church fellowships around the world, including eastern orthodox churches, major Protestant denominations such as Anglican, Baptist and Lutheran, and united and independent churches. It represents some 550 million Christians, but does not include members of the Roman Catholic Church, the world’s largest Christian denomination. n