Militants cannot claim 'armour of God', Pope Francis says
Pope Francis uses visit to Albania to speak out against Islamist aggression
Pope Francis, in his strongest criticism of Islamist militants to date, said no religious group which used violence and oppression could claim to be "the armour of God".
Francis made his comments during a one-day visit to Albania, an impoverished Balkan country hailed by the pontiff as a model of interfaith harmony because of good relations between its majority Muslim community and its Christian denominations.
"Let no one consider themselves the 'armour' of God while planning and carrying out acts of violence and oppression," he said on Sunday in the presidential palace in Tirana, following an address by Albanian President Bujar Nishani, a Muslim.
"May no one use religion as a pretext for actions against human dignity and against the fundamental rights of every man and woman, above all to the right to life and the right of everyone to religious freedom," he said.
Francis, on his first trip as pope to a European country outside Italy, made no direct reference to Islamic State militants who have seized territory in Syria and Iraq, but it was clear he had events in the Middle East in mind.
Asked specifically about Islamic State last month when returning from a trip to South Korea, Francis endorsed action by the international community to stop "unjust aggression".