ISLAMABAD: Pope Francis has said that there are limits to freedom of expression, adding that one cannot make fun of the faith of others.
The pope made these remarks while en route to the Philippines from Sri Lanka on Thursday, according to a foreign news agency.
“One cannot provoke, one cannot insult other people’s faith, one cannot make fun of faith,” the pope said in reply to a question about the recent attack at the Paris office of the French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo that left 12 persons dead.
The attack was carried out because the newspaper depicted Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) on the cover of one of its editions while Muslims consider depicting Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) as blasphemous.
“There is a limit. Every religion has its dignity … in freedom of expression there are limits,” Pope Francis said.
Pakistani lawmakers strongly condemn Charlie Hebdo’s blasphemous caricatures
Meanwhile, the National Assembly of Pakistan on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution against blasphemous caricatures published in Charlie Hebdo.
The resolution which was tabled by the Federal Minister for Railways Saad Rafique says that the House strongly condemns the printing to blasphemous caricature of Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).
It says the European Union must take action to stop publishing of such ridiculous material and House believes in freedom of expression.
Later, members of the parliament also took out a protest march after the session against publishing blasphemous caricatures, chanting that they won’t tolerate any blasphemy in the name of ‘freedom of expression’.
The parliamentarians demanded the United States and other world bodies to bring a halt to moves that spreading religious hatred.
