Pope Francis condemns decision to authorize Qur’an burning

"Any book considered holy should be respected to respect those who believe in it,” the pope said. “I feel angry and disgusted at these actions.”

The remarks are considered the first statement by the head of the Catholic Church about incidents of burning copies of the Quran in Sweden.

“Allowing this is unacceptable and condemned,” he said, stressing that freedom of expression should not be used as an excuse to offend others.

“Our mission is to transform the religious sense

into cooperation, fraternity, and tangible acts of goodness.”

A 37-year-old Iraqi-descent man tore up and burned a Qur’an in Sweden’s capital Stockholm last week authorized by the Sweden government and under police protection.

Muslims across the globe have expressed anger over the desecration of their holy book calling on their governments to sever ties with Sweden.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has called the 57 members to take collective action in a bid to prevent future instances of Qur’an burning.

The international Islamic body has scheduled to hold an emergency meeting to discuss ways for preventing such acts of sacrilege against Islamic sanctities.