Charlie Hebdo attacks: The Pope says you cannot provoke 'the faith of others'

Pope Francis has suggested the people who died in the Charlie Hebdo attacks ‘provoked’ the gunmen and said: ‘You cannot insult the faith of others.’

The pontiff also said there were ‘limits’ on free speech when it came to speaking about religion.

His comments came while en-route to the Philippines, when he indicated to his assistant Alberto Gasparri and said: ‘If my good friend Dr. Gasparri says a curse word against my mother, he can expect a punch,’ and then mimed a punch.


He continued: ‘It’s normal. You cannot provoke. You cannot insult the faith of others. You cannot make fun of the faith of others.’

12 people died in the attack on the Charlie Hebdo offices

During the speech he also conversely mentioned that people have a duty to speak their mind.

Following the horrific attack on the offices of the satirical magazine in which 12 people were killed, the Vatican released a statement condoning the acts of violence, however they urged that people should be respectful when talking about religions.

Shocked Twitter users were quick to criticise the Pope’s comments.

Is this really a good time for any religious leader to be endorsing violence for insulting religion? http://t.co/x9MSYZtLSn
— Harry Cole (@MrHarryCole) January 15, 2015