Pope condemns Muslims 'killing in the name of God'

Pope Francis has condemned Islamic State group and al-Qaeda attacks as "homicidal madness" and urged all religious authorities to reassert that "one can never kill in God's name".

The pope also said that poverty could allow fundamentalism to flourish and urged government leaders to combat inequality.

He lamented that religion was still being used "at times as a pretext for rejection, marginalisation and violence" but singled out Islamic fundamentalism in the speech.

"These are vile acts that use children to kill, as in Nigeria, or target people at prayer, as in the Coptic Cathedral of Cairo, or travellers or workers, as in Brussels, or passers-by in the streets of cities like Nice and Berlin, or simply people celebrating the arrival of the new year, as in Istanbul," Francis said.

"We are dealing with a homicidal madness which misuses God's name in order to disseminate death, in a play for domination and power. Hence I appeal to all religious authorities to join in reaffirming unequivocally that one can never kill in God's name."