Pope Francis yesterday denounced the religious fundamentalism that inspired the Paris massacres and ongoing Mideast conflicts, saying the attackers were enslaved by “deviant forms of religion” that used God as a mere ideological pretext to perpetuate mass killings. In his annual foreign policy address to Vatican-based ambassadors, Francis called for a unanimous response from the international community to end “fundamentalist terrorism” in the Mideast. And he called for Muslim leaders in particular to condemn “extremist interpretations” of their faith that seek to justify such violence. The leader of the 1.2-billion strong Catholic Church has stepped up his call for Muslim political, religious and intellectual leaders to vocally insist that Islam doesn’t condone such violence.
USA | Republican questions US low-profile at French march
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio says he thinks the United States had too low a profile at a solidarity march yesterday in support of the French people after the terrorist attack against a Paris newspaper. Rubio, who’s considering a run for the presidency, tells “CBS This Morning” he can understand why President Barack Obama didn’t travel there. Rubio says the president must be accompanied by a large security detail and travel party, and said that could have proved distracting. But he also says, “I think, in hindsight, I would hope they would do it differently” next time. Secretary of State John Kerry plans to travel there Thursday.
Germany | Men detained over German newspaper arson attack released
German police say two men detained following an arson attack on a newspaper that reprinted cartoons from French weekly Charlie Hebdo have been released. Hamburg police said yesterday the two denied any connection to the weekend attack in which several files at the Hamburger Morgenpost’s archive were destroyed. Forensic tests also produced no evidence against them. Police appealed for witnesses to the attack. Also yesterday, the government said Chancellor Angela Merkel and several ministers will take part in an anti-terrorism rally organized by Germany’s Central Council of Muslims and Berlin’s Turkish community. The vigil, titled “Stand Together, Show Your Face,” will take place at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate today.
France | Paris opens probe into comic for ‘defending terrorism’
The Paris prosecutor’s office says it has opened an investigation into the controversial comic Dieudonne after a Facebook post in which he said “I feel like Charlie Coulibaly.” The post from Dieudonne, who has faced allegations of anti-Semitism for a gesture that many say mimics a Nazi salute, has since been taken down. It merges the names of Charlie Hebdo, the satirical newspaper where two gunmen massacred 12 people, with that of Amedy Coulibaly, who prosecutors say killed four hostages at a kosher supermarket. All three gunmen were killed in nearly simultaneous raids by security forces. The investigation for “defending terrorism” was opened yesterday, said prosecutor’s spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre.
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