Pope Francis condemns recent Qur’an burnings as ‘barbaric’

Pope Francis has denounced as “barbaric” the recent Qur’an burning in Sweden and Denmark, saying such blasphemous moves prevent dialog among nations.

The pontiff made the remarks in a letter on Tuesday, in response to Argentinian Shia Muslim scholar Abdul Karim Paz, representative of Argentina’s Islamic foundation.

Last week, Abdul Karim Paz sent a letter to the head of the Catholic Church, in which he condemned the repeated acts of burning copies of the holy book and said they were against the unity of Abrahamic religions.

“The story of burning the Holy Qur’an is really a barbaric act. These cases harm and prevent mature dialog between people,” the Pope wrote in response.

Pope Francis has already condemned the sacrilegious acts, expressing “anger and disgust” over the moves.

In an interview with the UAE’s Arabic-language newspaper al-Ittiha in early July, the Pope rejected permitting Qur’an desecration under the pretext of “freedom of speech.”

His remarks came after Sweden permitted the desecration of a copy of the Qur’an outside a Stockholm mosque.