Pope Benedict made his annual address to diplomats today, and it was anything but diplomatic as he pounded away at countries to respect religious freedom.

Calling religious freedom “a fundamental human right,” the Pope pointed to recent attacks on Christian communities in both Iraq and Egypt.

He also called for Pakistan to overturn its blasphemy law, saying it serves as a “pretext for acts of injustice and violence against religious minorities.”

While Benedict did not mention Saudi Arabia by name, he did ask that the Catholic Church be able to act freely in “the states of the Arabian Peninsula, where numerous Christian immigrant workers live.”

Pope Benedict’s plea was not only aimed at Islamic countries; he also mentioned nations that that have a recognized right to religious freedom, but also “political systems that call for strict control, if not a monopoly, of the state over society.”

It was no surprise, then, that in the next paragraph he spoke about the Catholic communities in both China and Cuba.

Benedict argued that religion makes a contribution to society, and should not be a source of division. He said Mother Teresa is proof of that: “People like her show the world the extent to which the commitment born of faith is beneficial to society as a whole.”