Pope Condemns Quran-Burning, Says That’s Not Freedom of Speech

Pope Francis said he is “angry and disgusted” over incidents of Quran burning, and condemned free speech rulings that allow the holy book to be destroyed.

"Any book considered holy should be respected to respect those who believe in it," Francis said, according to a report published Monday in the Arabic-language Al Ittihad newspaper. "I feel angry and disgusted at these actions.

"Freedom of speech should never be used as a means to despise others and allowing that is rejected and condemned," he said.

Sweden faced an international backlash last week after an Iraqi immigrant tore pages from a Quran and set it on fire during a protest outside a mosque in Stockholm. The legal protest set back Sweden’s relations with Turkey, even as it must overcome a Turkish veto to join the NATO military alliance. 

Salwan Momika, the protester who burned the Quran, has threatened a similar demonstration outside the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm this week. Swedish police are investigating him under a possible charge of incitement against an ethnic group. 

The Pope made his comments during an interfaith meeting in the United Arab Emirates over the weekend. 

On Sunday, the Organization of Islamic Conferences, a grouping of 57 Muslim states, called for changes in international law to stop what it called religious hatred.