The Holy Father spoke to journalists in a broad interview on the papal flight to the Philippines about the Charlie Hebdo massacre and the controversy about the magazine’s new cover this week. Religious freedom and freedom of expression, he said, are fundamental human rights. But they are also not a total liberties. “There is a limit,” he said, speaking in Italian. “Every religion has its dignity. I cannot mock a religion that respects human life and the human person.” He broke it down in everyday terms, something that is coming to be known as classic Francis teaching style. “If [a close friend] says a swear word against my mother, he’s going to get a punch in the nose,” he explained.
Says Christopher Hitchens:
Says Ross Douthat (who wrote a full-throated and unexpected defense of free speech after the attack):
At last, I can say I'm more liberal than this Pope.
— Ross Douthat (@DouthatNYT) January 15, 2015
