In a statement delivered on Thursday during the 27th meeting of the Ministerial Council of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States, called for the protection of the right of religious freedom or belief and places of worship.

He also extended the Pope’s greetings to the participants at the meeting held virtually online, and thanked the OSCE for its endeavors during the course of this year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic.