Pope tells new ambassadors that torture harms all humanity

Published: 2004-05-27

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Anytime an individual is tortured or debased, all humanity suffers because all were created in God's image, Pope John Paul II said. "Because each person is our brother in humanity, we cannot be silent in the face of such intolerable treatment," the pope said May 27 in a speech to seven ambassadors beginning their service at the Vatican. Pope John Paul was not singling out the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at the hands of U.S. soldiers. He told the new ambassadors, "From every continent there continually comes disturbing information about human rights, revealing that men, women and children are tortured and their dignity deeply debased contrary to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights." The pope told the ambassadors that all people of good will -- from government leaders to ordinary citizens -- have an obligation to work to ensure that human rights are respected in their own countries and around the world.

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