Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. warned an audience in Rome on Saturday that he believes religious liberty is embattled across the globe.
To the extent religious freedom is under pressure in the United States and Europe, the U.S. Supreme Court justice said, it “pales in significance” to what is happening in countries like Nigeria, China and Iraq.
“It is a great matter of concern and something that I think all Christians should be concerned about and should try to find ways of combating this problem,” Justice Alito said during an event cosponsored by the United States Embassy to the Holy See, the Vatican and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The event was part of the Jubilee, the church’s yearlong festival of faith, penance and forgiveness of sins that takes place every quarter century.
During a nearly hourlong conversation on Saturday afternoon in the Palazzo della Cancelleria in central Rome, which houses the Supreme Court of the Vatican, Justice Alito spoke with Monsignor Laurence Spiteri, justice emeritus of the Vatican appeals court that rules mostly on marriage annulments. Justice Alito, a conservative Catholic, talked about Christians being murdered in Nigeria but also referred to the oppression of Muslim Uyghurs in China and attacks on Muslim sects in Iraq under the Islamic State terrorist group.
In the morning, Justice Alito also briefly spoke with Pope Leo XIV during an audience in St. Peter’s Square for the pilgrims who had come to Rome for the Jubilee.
Justice Alito has visited Rome for decades, often teaching or participating in academic conferences, according to his annual financial disclosures. This trip coincided with the so-called Jubilee of Justice, during which Catholics from the legal profession are making pilgrimages to the Vatican. It was also the first significant event hosted by Brian Burch, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, who recently arrived to take up his post in Rome.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The post Justice Alito, in Rome, Says Religious Liberty Is Under Siege appeared first on New York Times.
