Pope Francis warned during a visit to Albania on Sunday that religion can never be used to justify violence, making apparent reference to the bloodshed wreaked by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria terrorist group

Pope Francis warned during a visit to Albania on Sunday that religion can never be used to justify violence, making apparent reference to the bloodshed wreaked by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and Syria terrorist group.
  
"Let no one consider themselves to be the 'armour' of God while planning and carrying out acts of violence and oppression," the pontiff said in speech at the presidential palace in Tirana. "May no one use religion as a pretext for actions against human dignity and against fundamental rights."
  
The 77-year-old spiritual leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics made the declaration at the start of a packed one-day visit to majority-Muslim Albania, which he held up as an "inspiring example" of religious harmony.
  
Authorities in the country stepped up security to its highest level after warnings from Iraq that the ISIL terrorists could be planning an attack on the pope. But hundreds of thousands of Christians and Muslims thronged the Albanian capital to greet him.
  
Francis in his speech praised the "respect and mutual trust between Catholics, Orthodox (Christians) and Muslims" in Albania, which he called "a precious gift to the country". He stressed that such coexistence was especially important "in these times where an authentic religious spirit is being perverted and where religious differences are being distorted and instrumentalized".
  
In a seeming reference to ISIL, which espouses a radical and brutal interpretation of their so-called Islam to pursue a dream of reviving a caliphate in Syria and Iraq, as well as Nigeria's Boko Haram, the pope said the twisting of faith "created dangerous circumstances which led to conflict and violence".
  
His 11-hour trip to Albania comes at a sensitive time amid turmoil in the Middle East and rising intolerance in Europe. The Vatican has voiced unusual support for US air strikes in Iraq to defend persecuted Christians there.
  
At the same time, though, the pope is spreading his message of interfaith tolerance around the world. The Holy See hopes Albania -- a country with one of the youngest populations in Europe -- will be a vibrant source for converts in a continent gripped by secularism.