Pope urges repeal of Pakistan's laws against blasphemy laws

He issued one of his most pointed appeals yet for religious freedom in a speech to ambassadors accredited to the Vatican, saying it was a fundamental human right that must be protected in law and in practice.

He told Pakistan to reverse the blasphemy laws, which carry a death sentence for insulting Islam, and noted the recent slaying of the Punjab governor who opposed them.

Many Pakistanis have come out in support of the governor's killer since the assassination nearly a week ago. Crowds showered him with rose petals and shouted supportive slogans during court appearances.

"I once more encourage the leaders of that country to take the necessary steps to abrogate that law, all the more so because it is clear that it serves as a pretext for acts of injustice and violence against religious minorities," the Pope said.

He has frequently denounced the wave of attacks against Christians in the Middle East and warned of the threat that religious intolerance poses to world security.

He catalogued a wave of injustices against the faithful from China to Nigeria in pressing governments to take action.

He cited, in particular, recent attacks on Christians attending Mass in Egypt and Iraq, where violence has forced droves of the faithful to flee elsewhere for safety. He said Christians were original members of these societies and deserved to live there in security with full civil rights.

"This succession of attacks is yet another sign of the urgent need for the governments of the region to adopt, in spite of difficulties and dangers, effective measures for the protection of religious minorities," he said.

He urged governments on the Arabian peninsula to let Christians have churches – in Saudi Arabia worship is only allowed in private. And he cited China while saying the state should never have a "monopoly" over the faith – the Beijing government controls Catholic Churches in China, a source of great tension with the Vatican.

The Pope also spoke of his concern about Europe and the West, saying religious freedom was at risk in places where all religion was so marginalised that society considered it alien or destabilising.

He praised a recent Council of Europe decision granting doctors and nurses the right to exercise conscientious objection concerning abortion.