You can't feel good about this, can you? Do you have respect and esteem for the Islamic faith? I don't. They're evil.
He's probably had a Fatwa issued against him. Any bets as to how long before the Vatican is attacked?
He hopes they will understand the true sense of his words: JIHAD IS EVIL
Um...so hoping Muslims understand what he really said in his speech is apologizing?
OK, lets break this down - Confirming his respect and esteem for those who profess the Islamic faith, This applies to all people. The Pope respects life, and hopes all can come to Christ. Even murderers.
he (the Pope) hopes they will be helped to understand his words in their true sense.”
Now what was the “true sense” of his words? “Pope Benedict XVI quoted criticisms of the Prophet Muhammad made by 14th century Byzantine emperor, Manuel II Palaeologus, who claimed that the Islamic prophet had brought "things only evil and inhuman" on the world, "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached".
No retraction. He said it again! Islam brought things evil and inhuman on the world through violence.
I am very proud of Pope who spoke these words.
As the leader of a faith who proclaims all humans are children of God, he esteems them for being beloved of God, and for the fact that they believe they adore God (even if we don't believe they do it right, or even if you believe the God they adore isn't the God of Abraham, like they think they do.)
Even if we hate what they do, even as we fight against what they want to do to us, they are still human, and therefore beloved of God.
But Benedict has made it clear in many places that he is not indifferent to walks of faith (meaning that he believes any faith is as good as another). He believes completely that Jesus is the way, and has written extensively on it. But he also wishes to be a peacemaker, too, which is to say, you don't insult the person you are trying to make peace with.
The part of him who believes, says "Islam, you are deficient in your belief," while the part of him who makes peace says, "We will have to agree to disagree, and let's learn to live together on the same world. And we will do this best by being reasonable together."
The Enemy, (and our enemies) of course, doesn't want reasonableness, because that allows dialogue, which may lead to the opening of hearts and minds to the truth.
And right now, the world view in the Islamic sphere thinks anything that doesn't go to further Islam is an attack, especially if it comes from America, Europe or Israel. And if anything goes wrong, it is an attack by America, Europe or Israel.
This then is the world we live in.