Christians are the victims of two-thirds of murders related to "religious hatred"; Vatican conference

Gorja massacre Pakistan ~ has anyone been formally charged. The attack on Christians came after a call to prayer from the mosque ~ and it was at least in part carried in broad daylight ~ as clips appear on youtube!!

Rome, 19 Oct. (AKI) - Christians are at risk of being targeted by Muslim fundamentalist organisations because they are considered a symbol of Western culture, said Italian foreign minister Franco Frattini.

"Fundamentalists equate Christianity with a West that should be attacked," he said on Tuesday during a speech at a Rome conference on Christians in the Middle East.

Christians are the victims of two-thirds of murders related to "religious hatred", he said.

"Christianphobia today is a growing danger," he added.

He called for "a new kind of humanism" allowing freedom of worship "because the freedom of religion is a fundamental right for everybody."

Across town from where Frattini was speaking, the Vatican is hosting a two-week conference of Middle Eastern bishops.

The "Special Assembly for the Middle East” ends on 24 Oct. and is being attended by 172 Catholic bishops from Muslim countries.