Vatican's UN diplomat says hate speech violates command to love one's neighbor

Archbishop Christophe-Zakhia el-Kassis, the Holy See's permanent observer to the United Nations, stated that hate speech contradicts the commandment to love one's neighbor. Speaking at a United Nations Alliance of Civilizations conference on September 17, the archbishop said that hate speech of any kind poisons public discourse and increases division.

During the Global Conference on Promoting Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue and Tolerance in Countering Hate Speech, el-Kassis noted that such speech often creates the conditions for violence and persecution. The archbishop serves as the apostolic nuncio and the Holy See's top diplomat to the United Nations in New York.