United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Office of Media Relations, November 2, 2006

Bishop William S. Skylstad, President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has joined religious leaders from diverse faith traditions in rejecting the use of torture because it is a violation of basic human dignity.

Bishop Skylstad signed the statement entitled “Torture is a Moral Issue.” The text follows:

“Torture violates the basic dignity of the human person that all religions, in their highest ideals, hold dear. It degrades everyone involved – policymakers, perpetrators and victims. It contradicts our nation’s most cherished values. Any policies that permit torture and inhumane treatment are shocking and morally intolerable. Nothing less is at stake in the torture abuse crisis than the soul of our nation. What does it signify if torture is condemned in word but allowed in deed? Let America abolish torture now – without exceptions.”

The statement can be found on the web site of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture at www.nrcat.org

Here is the Vatican's response to the crisis stirred by the political cartoons that offended the Muslim community:

Vatican Information Service, February 4, 2006:

In response to several requests for the Holy See's position vis-a-vis recent representations offensive to the religious sentiments of individuals and entire communities, the Vatican press office states:

"1. The right to freedom of thought and expression, sanctioned by the Declaration of the Rights of Man, cannot imply the right to offend the religious sentiments of believers. This principle obviously applies for any religion.

2. In addition, coexistence calls for a climate of mutual respect favoring peace among men and nations. Moreover, these kinds of exasperated criticisms or derision of others manifest a lack of human sensitivity and may constitute in some cases an inadmissible provocation. A reading of history shows that wounds existing in the life of a people are not healed in this way.