S P O N S O R E D B Y :
Pope Meets Muslims in Bid to Defuse Anger
By The Associated Press
September 25, 2006
Pope Benedict XVI told Muslim diplomats Monday that "our future" depends on good
relations between followers of both faiths as he sought to put to rest anger
over his recent remarks about Islam and violence.
The pontiff also quoted from his predecessor, John Paul II, who had close
relations with the Muslim world, calling for "reciprocity in all fields,"
including religious freedom. Benedict spoke in French to a roomful of diplomats
from 21 countries and the Arab League in his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo
near Rome.
After his five-minute speech, in a salon in the papal palace in the Alban
Hills, Benedict greeted each envoy one by one. He clasped their hands warmly and
chatted for a few moments with each of the diplomats.
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"The circumstances which have given risen to our gathering are well known,"
Benedict said, referring to his remarks on Islam in a Sept. 12 speech at
Regensburg, Germany. He did not dwell on the contested remarks, which set off
protests around the Muslim world.
Iraq's ambassador to the Holy See said Benedict's address to the envoys
should bring an end to the anger over the pontiff's remarks on Islam and
violence.
"The Holy Father stated his profound respect for Islam. This is what we were
expecting," said Iraqi envoy Albert Edward Ismail Yelda as he left the half-hour
meeting. "It is now time to put what happened behind and build bridges."
When the protests started flaring, Benedict offered deep regrets for offense
felt by Muslims and insisted his remarks did not reflect his own opinion and
were misunderstood. He stopped short of a full apology that some Muslim leaders
demanded.
Speaking in Germany, Benedict quoted the words of a Byzantine emperor who
characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed as "evil and
inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith."
Addressing the diplomats, he did say that Christians and Muslims must work
together to "guard against all forms of intolerance and to oppose all
manifestations of violence."
He said he arranged the meeting to "strengthen the bonds of friendship"
between both sides, but he did not offer any analysis of the controversial
passage, which came in a speech exploring faith and reason.
Benedict said that dialogue between Christians and Muslims "cannot be reduced
to an optional extra. It is, in fact, a vital necessity on which in large
measure our future depends," he said.
Benedict also cited John Paul II as
saying, "Respect and dialogue require reciprocity in all spheres," particularly
religious freedom. This is a major issue for the Vatican in Saudi Arabia and
several other countries where non-Muslims cannot worship openly.
Saudi Arabia does not have diplomatic relations with the Holy See.
Among predominantly Muslim nations with diplomatic relations to the Vatican,
only Sudan did not participate in the meeting. Among those attending was a
diplomat from Indonesia, where Christian-Muslim tensions were further heightened
last week by the execution of three Catholic militants. Benedict last month had
appealed for the men's lives to be spared.
Turkey also participated. Benedict has said he hopes to go in November to
that predominantly Muslim but officially secular country, whose officials were
among the first to vigorously protest the Regensburg remarks.
Last week, the Holy See's ambassadors stationed in Muslim countries met with
officials to assure them that the pope respects Islam and to urge a complete
reading of the speech, which was an exploration of the relationship between
faith and reason. (AP)
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