Previous Laureates of the UNESCO-Madanjeet Singh Prize include the Burmese pro-democracy campaigner Aung San Suu Kyi and Pope Shenouda III of the Egyptian Coptic Church.
Several liberal and secular members of the assembly had already withdrawn because of the criticism, as well as the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church and Al-Azhar Institution, one of the most influential Islamic entities.
The Pope's statements on Christians in the Middle East came after a deadly New Year's Eve bombing in the al-Qiddissin church in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria three years ago.