Church in the World

Pope calls for positive interfaith dialogue

POPE BENEDICT XVI, who is scheduled to travel to Turkey at the end of November, this week sought to move beyond controversial comments he made about Islam during a recent lecture in Germany and called for a "positive dialogue" between religions. He said that this, and a dialogue between Christianity and modern reason, should include "self-criticism".

Under tightened security at St Peter's Square on Wednesday, the Pope told thousands of visitors at his weekly general audience that he had been "misinterpreted" during the university lecture. "What I wanted to say was that, not religion and violence, but religion and reason, go together," he said to applause. It was the second time in four days that the Pope tried to "clarify" comments that he made in Bavaria on 12 September. "I am deeply sorry for the reactions in some countries to a few passages of my address at the University of Regensburg, which were considered offensive to the sensibility of Muslims," the Pope said on Sunday from his balcony at Castel Gandolfo, where an unusually large number of television networks from around the world - including Al Jazeera - were broadcasting live.

Pope Benedict sparked controversy in the university lecture by quoting the words of the fourteenth-century Byzantine emperor, Manuel II: "Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and you will only find evil and inhuman things such as his command to spread the faith with the sword." On Sunday, and again on Wednesday, he distanced himself from the citation. "These [words] in fact were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought," he said.

But the Pope's words on Sunday did not have an immediate effect. Some Muslim leaders initially said that he had not made a "complete apology", but that he was sorry only for the negative reactions his Regensburg address had caused. By Tuesday, however, Muslim leaders - including Iran's president - had accepted the Pope's "apology". A number of Western leaders, who initially stayed out of the controversy, came to the Pope's defence, saying that his words had been taken out of context.

The lessening of tensions might have been attributed, at least in part, to the Vatican's diplomatic efforts. Papal nuncios based in Muslim countries were busy meeting government and religious leaders last weekend, trying to familiarise them with a 600-word declaration issued on Saturday by the Vatican's newly appointed Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone SDB, which gives a fuller explanation of the Pope's Regensburg lecture. On Sunday the Pope said he hoped that the declaration would "appease hearts" and "clarify the true meaning of my address, which in its totality was and is an invitation to frank and sincere dialogue, with great mutual respect".

In the five-point text Cardinal Bertone said, "The Holy Father sincerely regrets that certain passages of his address could have sounded offensive to the sensitivities of the Muslim faithful, and should have been interpreted in a manner that in no way corresponds to his intentions." He said that the Pope's real intention in his lecture was to argue a case for the "clear and radical rejection of the religious motivation for violence, from whatever side it may come". He affirmed that Pope Benedict was "unequivocal" in his commitment to "inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue" and that his position concerning Islam was the same as that expressed by the Second Vatican Council document, Nostra Aetate.

At this time, preparations are still under way for the Pope's November visit to Ankara, Ephesus and Istanbul. Some Vatican officials are hopeful that the journey to predominantly Muslim Turkey - scheduled for 28 November to 1 December - will give Benedict XVI a better opportunity to strengthen Catholic-Muslim relations. Turkish officials are keen for a successful visit, to boost their country's bid to join the EU. However, Ankara will have to give guarantees that it is able to ensure the Pope's safety if the four-day visit is to go ahead.