A society that fails to include religious views and challenges in public debate can become an “enemy of freedom,” said the Vatican's Secretary for Relations with States,, Archbishop Paul Gallagher at a high-level seminar on “Building inclusive societies together: Contributions to Sarajevo’s exchange on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue,” organized by the Vatican’s permanent mission to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France on 8 June 2015.

The event was intended to contribute to the council’s annual “Exchanges on the religious dimension of intercultural dialogue,” which will be held this year in Sarajevo Sept. 8-9 2015.

Archbishop Gallagher’s speech, republished here in full, made reference to the work of Professor Bielefeldt, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, who also addressed the seminar.

In a multipolar world, Archbishop Gallagher said, “dialogue among cultures is a sine qua non for enabling coexistence, favouring the inclusion of all, and for formulating a shared social project. For such a dialogue to take place, religions are indispensable actors.”

In his address, Archbishop Gallagher recalled HH the Pope’s address to the Council of Europe, “In Europe’s present political situation, merely internal dialogue between the organizations (whether political, religious or cultural) to which one belongs, ends up being unproductive.  Our times demand the ability to break out of the structures which “contain” our identity and to encounter others, for the sake of making that identity more solid and fruitful in the fraternal exchange of transversality.  A Europe which can only dialogue with limited groups stops halfway; it needs that youthful spirit which can rise to the challenge of transversality.”Archbishop Gallagher also stressed the importance of including religious worldviews and cultures in public debates on human rights: “A pluralism that does not include the challenges offered by world religions to secularist perspectives will never be authentic pluralism, and will instead risk falling into a uniform single-mindedness, the enemy of freedom.”

He also affirmed the importance of religious freedom as a foundation for democratic societies: “In a multicultural context, the coexistence of different religious affiliations requires a substantial effort on the part of civil authorities and actors in society.  The principle of “reasonable accommodation” can be applied in many areas of public life.  This process requires much reflection and patience, but it can bear fruit by more effectively promoting greater inclusiveness.”

In conclusion, Archbishop Gallagher emphasised that “religions also have a role to play in the construction of a democratic societies that are genuinely inclusive.  Understanding the meaning of this role is a sign of political wisdom on the part of states and international organizations.  A common culture of human rights cannot serve as the mere sum of protecting the lives of individuals: this culture owes its existence to a vision of human person’s dignity which must be open to the contribution of all parts of a multipolar society, united by a shared yearning and search for truth.”