Pope Apologizes For Remarks Over Islam
Shaveta Bansal - All Headline News Staff Writer Vatican City (AHN) - Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday apologized for the remarks he made during a speech in Germany in which he referred to Islam and Jihad. In a statement read out by a senior Vatican official, the Pope said he was sorry that the Muslims had found his words offensive and that he respected their faith and hoped they would understand the true sense behind it. In Tuesday's speech the Pope quoted a 14th-century Byzantine emperor who said the teachings of Prophet Mohammed, founder of the Muslim faith, were "evil and inhuman." The remarks prompted furor among the Muslim community and calls for him to apologize had spread beyond the Islamic world. Various political and religious leaders in Muslim countries denounced the remarks and demanded a personal apology from the pontiff. Reading the statement, new Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said the Pope's position on Islam was in line with Vatican teaching that the Church "esteems Muslims, who adore the only God". "The Holy Father is very sorry that some passages of his speech may have sounded offensive to the sensibilities of Muslim believers," the statement said. The comments have cast doubt on a visit the Pope plans to Turkey in November. Following the comments, Turkey's ruling party likened the pope to Hitler and Mussolini and accused him of reviving the mentality of the Crusades. H |
