Paris attacks: Fundamentalist terrorism result of 'deviant religion', says Pope

Vatican City: Pope Francis has denounced the religious fundamentalism that inspired the Paris massacres and ongoing Mideast conflicts, saying the attackers were enslaved by “deviant forms of religion” that used God as a mere ideological pretext to perpetuate mass killings. In his annual foreign policy address to Vatican-based ambassadors Monday, Francis called for a unanimous response from the international community to end this “fundamentalist terrorism” and for Muslim leaders in particular to condemn extremist interpretations of their faith that seek to justify such violence. [caption id=“attachment_2042065” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Pope Francis in this file photo. AP[/caption] Francis says the attacks are the result of a “throwaway culture” — in which human beings and even God are rejected outright. He says “religious fundamentalism, even before it eliminates human beings by perpetrating horrendous killings, eliminates God himself, turning him into a mere ideological pretext.” Associated Press