Religious liberty under threat: Pope

Vatican City – The head of the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope Benedict XVI has expressed his concerns over the restrictions of religious liberty in different parts of the world.

According to the pontiff, religious freedom was not universally respected, even in some countries that officially recognized it as a human right.

"Religious freedom is far from being effectively guaranteed everywhere," the Pope said. "In some places it is denied for religious and ideological reasons. Other times, even if it is recognised on paper, it is hindered by political powers or else, in a more subtle fashion, by the predominant culture of agnosticism or relativism."

The statement of the Pope echoed previous warnings from the Roman Catholic Church that "Christianophobia" was spreading around the world.

The Pope's warning also echoed a speech he made shortly before he was elevated to the papacy in April, when he told fellow prelates that the Church had to reject "a dictatorship of relativism" that denied the existence of absolute truths.