Pope: Iranians' right to attend Mass just part of religious freedom

Published: 2004-10-29

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Welcoming Iran's new ambassador to the Vatican, Pope John Paul II said the freedom Iranian Catholics have to go to Mass is only part of the religious freedom they are due. "The freedom of worship is just one aspect of religious freedom, which must be the same for all the citizens of a country," the pope said in an Oct. 29 message to the new ambassador, Mohammad Javad Faridzadeh. Pope John Paul called specifically for legal recognition of the "juridical personality" of church institutions so that they can carry out their work with stability and tranquillity. The pope used his message to "greet the Catholic communities of various rites who live in Iran and who, with their Orthodox brothers and sisters, ensure the continuity of the centuries-long Christian presence" in the country.

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