Pope: racism and intolerance are reborn. Politics exploit fears for electoral interests

2020-06-03T08:27:26.482Z

"We live in times when they seem to come back to life and spread feelings that many seemed outdated". So the Pope. "Feelings of suspicion, fear, contempt and even hatred towards individuals or groups judged different by reason of their ethnic, national or religious belonging and, as such, deemed not worthy enough to participate fully in the company life, "he noted. "These feelings, then - he added -, too often inspire real acts of intolerance, discrimination or exclusion". Acts of "intolerance, discrimination or exclusion" - said the Pontiff receiving about 200 participants in the World Conference "Xenophobia, racism and populist nationalism in the context of world migration", promoted in Rome by the Vatican Dicastery for the Integral human development - "which seriously affect the dignity of the people involved and their fundamental rights, including the same right to life and to physical and moral integrity". Pope: Politics do not exploit fears towards foreigners "Unfortunately it also happens that in the world of politics one gives in to the temptation to de-instrumentalize the fears or objective difficulties of some groups and to make use of illusory promises for short-sighted electoral interests". The Pope concluded.