Back in October, I wrote an opinion column praising Pope Francis as a convener of all people, including the non-religious like myself. Up until this point my praise and support for Pope Francis has been nearly unwavering–until he gave his thoughts on the Charlie Hebdo office shooting in Paris.

On his way to the Philippines, Pope Francis said in an interview, “You can’t make a toy out of the religion of others.” This of course is in reference to the staff at the Hebdo publishing satirical cartoons of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, which is widely believed to be the inspiration behind the attack. Islam often forbids the depiction of Muhammad.

Pope Francis defended the freedom of speech and expression, but implied that those freedoms have limits–which apparently in his mind are at the point where you insult someone’s faith. This is the first significant disagreement I have had with Pope Francis. His opinion, though well intentioned, is harmful.

We live in a society that is supposed to value the right to speak freely. And while we also have the right to practice whatever religion we want, we also have the right to be as irreligious as we want.

If the staff at Charlie Hebdo had been calling for mass violence against Muslims and Islam, then I would say that Pope Francis has a point. But that’s not what they were doing. They were publishing satirical cartoons in a satirical publication. People in the satire business should not have to fear for their lives considering how important their duty to the public is.

Satirists and comedians keep powerful figures in check. I’m glad that we live in a country where the staff at Saturday Night Live can openly mock Jesus, the central figure of Christianity, without having to worry about getting gunned down in an act of vengeance. I’m also glad that the Hebdo office went right back to work the very next week, publishing scathing cartoons and editorials.

If we lived in a world where no one could insult organized religion and faith in general, we would still be stuck in the Dark Ages, prisoner to superstition and fairytales, suppressing science and the hunger for knowledge.

No one’s views are free from criticism and no one should allow violence to coerce them from criticizing an institution they deem harmful. The staff at Charlie Hebdo understands that and the Pope should too.