by Gina Christian - OSV News
September 18, 2026
Archbishop Christophe-Zakhia el-Kassis, the Holy See's new permanent observer to the United Nations in New York, poses in an undated photo with U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. At a conference sponsored by the U.N.'s Alliance of Civilizations Sept. 17, the archbishop said in an address, "Hate speech of any kind "contradicts the commandment to love one's neighbor, poisons public discourse, inflames division, and too often prepares the ground for violence and persecution. Credit: OSV News photo/Eskinder Debebe, courtesy United Nations
(OSV News) — Hate speech “contradicts the commandment to love one’s neighbor,” said the Vatican’s top diplomat to the United Nations.
Archbishop Christophe Z. el-Kassis, apostolic nuncio and the Holy See’s permanent observer to the U.N., shared his thoughts in a statement during the Sept. 17 “Global Conference on Promoting Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue and Tolerance in Countering Hate Speech.”
The conference, which took place at the U.N.’s New York headquarters, was sponsored by the U.N.’s Alliance of Civilizations, created in 2005 to address social and cultural polarization.
In his address — which came one day after three Vatican dicasteries released a new note on the importance of interreligious and ecumenical dialogue — Archbishop el-Kassis said hate speech “poisons public discourse, inflames division, and too often prepares the ground for violence and persecution.”
Such damage is inflicted regardless of whether hate speech is “directed against individuals or communities on the basis of their religion, ethnicity, nationality, or any other characteristic,” he said.
While “freedom of expression is a fundamental right that must be protected,” said the archbishop, “this freedom carries corresponding responsibilities.”
“Speech that deliberately incites hatred or violence cannot claim the protection of liberty,” he said, since “it erodes the very conditions in which genuine freedom can flourish.”
(OSV News) — Hate speech “contradicts the commandment to love one’s neighbor,” said the Vatican’s top diplomat to the United Nations.
Archbishop Christophe Z. el-Kassis, apostolic nuncio and the Holy See’s permanent observer to the U.N., shared his thoughts in a statement during the Sept. 17 “Global Conference on Promoting Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue and Tolerance in Countering Hate Speech.”
The conference, which took place at the U.N.’s New York headquarters, was sponsored by the U.N.’s Alliance of Civilizations, created in 2005 to address social and cultural polarization.
In his address — which came one day after three Vatican dicasteries released a new note on the importance of interreligious and ecumenical dialogue — Archbishop el-Kassis said hate speech “poisons public discourse, inflames division, and too often prepares the ground for violence and persecution.”
Such damage is inflicted regardless of whether hate speech is “directed against individuals or communities on the basis of their religion, ethnicity, nationality, or any other characteristic,” he said.
While “freedom of expression is a fundamental right that must be protected,” said the archbishop, “this freedom carries corresponding responsibilities.”
“Speech that deliberately incites hatred or violence cannot claim the protection of liberty,” he said, since “it erodes the very conditions in which genuine freedom can flourish.”
