Holy See tells UN that hate speech cannot claim the protection of freedom

Archbishop Christophe-Zakhia El-Kassis, apostolic nuncio and Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, told a UN conference on September 17, 2026 that hate speech "cannot claim the protection of freedom." He said the inviolable dignity of every person, created in the image of God, imposes a "moral imperative" to reject every form of intolerance, discrimination and hate speech. They harm the human family and undermine the conditions for peaceful coexistence, he said.

El-Kassis said hate speech directed at individuals or groups because of religion, ethnicity, nationality or other characteristics contradicts the commandment to love one's neighbor, poisons public debate, feeds division and often prepares the ground for violence and persecution. "Freedom of expression is a fundamental right that must be protected. However, this freedom carries corresponding responsibilities," he said. Those responsibilities cannot be ignored, he added.

The Holy See on freedom and responsibility

In his first statement since his appointment as Permanent Observer to the United Nations, El-Kassis said speech that deliberately incites hatred or violence "cannot claim the protection of freedom" and instead erodes the conditions in which real freedom can flourish. Other Holy See representatives have raised concerns in previous years about the use of the term "hate speech."

In 2018, the then nuncio, Bernardito Auza, condemned that kind of communication. He warned that some governments use hate speech regulations as a pretext for discriminatory or repressive measures against those who defend the dignity of human life or of marriage and the family. In 2023, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Holy See's Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, addressed the UN General Assembly. He said the terms "hate crime" and "hate speech" are used subjectively and manipulated to silence the expression of religious beliefs, equating religious practice with violence. Gallagher called that agenda "dishonest and politically motivated," said it was especially serious in the Western context, and called for it to stop.