Italian Foreign Office sets up watchdog on religious minorities

Rome - The Italian Foreign Office has set up a watchdog for religious minorities in the world, headed by Professor Salvatore Martinez who, thanks to the diplomatic network will have to "advise on the most important cases and warn of the most serious situations" in order to protect religious freedom: the foreign minister Angelino Alfano announced while speaking at a conference on "religious community protection" organized by Ispi with the involvement of the Foreign Office and Holy Seat.

Martinez, 51 and Sicilian, is president of the Catholic charismatic movement. The watchdog, explained Alfano will have "an international leaning" and "is designed for and aimed at foreign countries, at the service of our diplomatic corps around the world, as a monitoring instrument". The foreign minister highlighted that freedom of prayer is a natural right that precedes the foundation of States, the organization of societies and Positive Law and, when this right is denied or ignored, tensions, conflict and atrocities arise". And this is why defending religious freedom is "key to Italian foreign policy", guaranteed the foreign minister.