The Holy See
back up
Search
riga

INTERVENTION BY THE HOLY SEE
AT THE 25TH CONFERENCE
OF THE EUROPEAN MINISTERS OF JUSTICE

ADDRESS OF H.E. MSGR GIUSEPPE LEANZA*

9-10 October 2003

 

Mr President,

The commitment of the European Ministers of Justice in the fight against terrorism is an encouraging sign, for it witnesses to the will of the Council of Europe's member States not to resign themselves to the blackmail of unacceptable and unjustifiable violence.

Pope John Paul II has not shrunk from calling terrorism "a true crime against humanity" (Message for World Day of Peace 2002, n. 4).

International cooperation to heal this open, bleeding wound in the side of contemporary humanity is of capital importance and is coordinated at different levels.

The participants of this Conference are directly responsible for taking action at the juridical level.

The Council of Europe has made an important contribution in this area by drafting the Protocol that makes an amendment to the European Convention to suppress terrorism.

Important proposals will certainly result from our debates, as is already borne out by the constructive report that you yourself have presented, Mr President.

In this report, you stressed a fundamental point: that the elimination of terrorism must be carried out "with total respect for the international norms on human rights". In this regard, we note with pleasure the adoption last year by the Committee of Ministers of the Guidelines on Human Rights and Combating Terrorism, an essential tool that sets out the conditions for its legitimate combat. The end never justifies the means: the denial of this principle would lead to an unacceptable attack on human dignity, an effect that in the long term would serve the ends of those who pursue terrorism as a method to gain grand control.

Legal action, however, is far from being the only effective way to fight terrorism. The Holy Father John Paul II has said very clearly: "International cooperation in the fight against terrorist activities must also include a courageous and resolute political, diplomatic and economic commitment to relieving situations of oppression and marginalization which facilitate the designs of terrorists" (ibid., n. 5).

Furthermore, to be truly effective, the struggle against terrorism needs appropriate pedagogical measures that aim to promote an education based on respect for human life in every circumstance, through the conviction that the unity of the human family is more important than the contingent differences that divide individuals and peoples.

In this perspective, religions play an indispensable role that deserves to be recognized and upheld, as the Multidisciplinary Group for International Action against Terrorism, opportunely created by the Council of Europe, has recommended.

This is the way forward: the European Ministers of Justice can count on the support of the Holy See.

Thank you for your attention.


*L'Osservatore Romano. Weekly Edition in English n.45 p.3.

 

top