Archbishop Christophe Z El Kassis, in his first speech as the new Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, said that hate speech “cannot claim the protection of liberty”. Speaking in New York on September 17, Archbishop El Kassis described freedom of speech as a “fundamental right that must be protected”.
The archbishop reaffirmed the Holy See’s stance that “every human person is created in the image and likeness of God”, stating that people possess “an inviolable dignity that no ideology, ideology of hatred, or expression of contempt may diminish”.
