Faith vs Freedom: Is Right to Free Speech Absolute?

As the world tries to come to terms with the attack on Charlie Hebdo in France for publishing provocative cartoons, we debate whether the right to free speech can be an absolute, unfettered by sensitivities of others. Is the right to offend a key element of free speech? Does even tastelessness have a right to exist? Does free speech sometimes become hate speech? How should we respond as a liberal society to those questions?