British Prime Minister David Cameron has said that Pope Francis is wrong in his view that people who mock Islam and other religions can "expect a blow".
He pointed out that in a free society no one has the right to take revenge on individuals for insulting religion.
Pope Francis sparked controversy last week when he said "provocateurs" such as Charlie Hebdo cartoonists who mock religion could expect a backlash, with comments seen as coming very close to justifying terrorist attacks in France. ".
In an interview with the American network CBS, the British Prime Minister said that the right to insult is part of a free society.
"I think in a free society there is a right to offend someone because of religion. I'm a Christian; if someone says something offensive about Jesus, I can take it as an insult, but in a free society I don't have the right to pay homage to him," Cameron said. .
"We have to accept that newspapers, magazines, can publish things that are offensive to someone, as long as it's within the law. That's what we have to defend," Cameron added.
Speaking to reporters on a plane last week, the pope said that if his good friend Dr. Gaspari uttered a curse word against his mother, he could expect a blow.
"That's normal. You can't provoke, you can't insult someone else's religion. You can't mock someone else's religion," the pope said.
The former Bishop of Oxford, Richard Harris, said in an op-ed for a British newspaper that he was a "great admirer of the Pope" but that he was "astounded" by his statement.
"The mention of the punch could easily be taken as a justification for violence in response to an insult," Harris pointed out.
British officials will hold talks with allies in London this week to address the threat posed by Islamic State, following the terror attacks in France.
Last week, 17 people were killed in the attacks on the satirical weekly "Charlie Hebdo", a policewoman near Paris and a Jewish store in France.
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