Pope: Albania is a nation full of young people who represent hope for the future

ROME-Pope Francis on Monday condemned religious fundamentalism, saying “deviant forms of religion” lead to atrocities such as last week’s attacks in France and the strife in the Middle East, and noted how perpetrators use God only as a pretext for their crimes.

In his annual speech to diplomats accredited with the Holy See, the pope called on Muslim leaders in particular to denounce an “extremist interpretation” of their religion that attempts to justify acts of violence, and asked the international community to denounce fundamentalism.

 “Religious fundamentalism, even before it eliminates human beings by perpetrating horrendous killings, eliminates God himself, turning him into a mere ideological pretext,” the pontiff said in his speech at the Vatican.

Among the acts carried out by religious fundamentalists, the pope mentioned the “tragic slayings” in Paris last week, and persecution of minorities, including Christians, in Iraq and Syria.

On Sunday, nearly four million people took to the streets of France to show unity in the face of terrorism after the deadly attacks last week that began in the newsroom of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday, and continued with the shooting dead of a policewoman on Thursday and four hostages at a kosher grocery store on Friday.

Pope Francis, 78, has reached out to Muslims as part of his aim to increase interreligious dialogue. In 2014 he visited Turkey and Albania as part of that process.

On Monday, the Argentine-born pontiff mentioned those two trips. The head of the world’s roughly 1.2 billion Roman Catholics praised Albania,  where Muslims form the majority of the population.

Albania is “a nation full of young people who represent hope for the future,” he told diplomats, noting the atmosphere of respect and mutual trust between Catholics, Orthodox Christians and Muslims in the country.

“This is an important sign that sincere faith in God makes one open to others, generates dialogue and works for the good, whereas violence is always the product of a falsification of religion…whose only goal is power over others,” said Pope Francis.

In his speech, he mentioned the indiscriminate acts of violence in Nigeria and the kidnapping of girls in Africa’s most populous country. Muslim militant group Boko Haram has claimed responsibility for many of these attacks.

The pope departs later Monday for a weeklong trip to Sri Lanka and the Philippines, his second visit to Asia since becoming pope in March 2013. Last August he went to South Korea.