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Vatican: Pope 'Extremely Upset' Over Comments
Pope Benedict XVI is "extremely upset" that Muslims have been offended by some of his words in a recent speech in Germany, the Vatican said on Saturday. The new Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said that the pope's position on Islam is unmistakably in line with Vatican teaching that the Church "esteems Muslims, who adore the only God." Thus, the pope is "extremely upset that some portions of his speech were able to sound offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers and have been interpreted in a way that does not at all correspond to his intentions," Bertone said in a statement. The words, in a speech Benedict gave to university professors earlier in the week during a pilgrimage to his homeland, angered many in the Islamic world and raised doubts over whether a planned trip to predominantly Muslim Turkey in late November would go ahead.
Story Continues Below Leaders across the Muslim world in the last few days have demanded the pope apologize for his remarks on Islam and jihad, or holy war, despite earlier Vatican assurances that he meant only to emphasize the incompatibility between faith and war. Benedict on Tuesday cited an obscure Medieval text that characterizes some of the teachings of Islam's founder as "evil and inhuman" – comments some experts took as a signal that the Vatican was taking a more demanding stance for its dealings with the Muslim world. When giving the speech, the pope stressed that he was quoting words of a Byzantine emperor and did not comment directly on the "evil and inhuman" assessment. Cardinal Bertone, referring to the emperor's assessment, said that "the Holy Father absolutely didn't intend nor intends to make it his own [assessment] but has only used it as an occasion to offer, in an academic setting and, as can be seen from a complete and careful reading of the [pope's] text, some reflections on the subject of the relationship between religion and violence in general and to conclude with a clear and radical refusal of religious motivation for violence, from whatever side it comes from." © 2006 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Editor's note:
© 2006 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Inside Cover Stories
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