Posted on 09/17/2006 5:49:41 PM PDT by RightOnTheLeftCoast
'Remarks Not My Views'
Updated: 18:52, Sunday September 17, 2006
The Pope has appeared in public to say the remarks he made about Islam which sparked fury across the Muslim world did not in any way reflect his personal views.
Benedict XVI had been under pressure to make a personal apology following a controversial speech he made in Germany on Tuesday.
In the Somalian capital Mogadishu an Italian nun was attacked and killed by gunmen. Sources said there was a very high possibility the incident was linked to the speech.
The Pope told a crowd at his summer retreat at Castle Gandolfo, ltaly, he was "very upset and sorry" his remarks had caused such a reaction.
"This was a citation from a medieval text which doesn't express in any way whatsoever my personal opinion," he said.
He said the speech had been an "invitation to... frank and sincere dialogue".
In it, he referred to criticism of the Prophet Mohammed by a 14th-century Byzantine emperor.
The passage said everything Mohammed brought was evil "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached".
Using the terms "jihad" and "holy war", the Pope said violence was "incompatible with the nature of God".
Protests in Pakistan Initially Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood said the apology was sufficient.
"We consider that the new statements represent a retreat from what went before. We can consider them a sufficient apology, even if we had wanted the Pope to outline his ideas and vision of Islam," said deputy leader Mohammed Habib.
However, later the brotherhood appeared to change its mind and said the Pope had not made a "clear" apology.
The Muslim Council of Britain welcomed the Pope's explanation.
A spokesman said: "We very much welcome the Pope's statement in which he made it clear that his own views do not in any way accord with those of the 14th century emperor.
"This is a very important clarification that we had been seeking. Had this caveat been included in the Pope's original speech it may have prevented this controversy in the first place."
Demonstrations by Muslims around the world saw effigies of the Pope burned and threw doubt over the his planned visit to Turkey in November, with the country's Prime Minister insisting the comments must be withdrawn.
It was also revealed the national security level in Italy had been stepped up in the wake of threats to the pontiff from Islamic groups.
OK, that's good. Ask your pastor or whoever to support the Pope, though, because I am really distressed at how little support he's getting. Not to mention things like the headline that made it sound as if the Pope (rather than the Islamic nutcase) was the one who shot and killed that poor 70 year old nun in the children's hospital in Somalia...
We could use some Aussie backbone in the US.
Um, because he was giving an academic lecture at university when he mentioned them. Didn't you ever have to quote others while you were in school...Perhaps in writing a report for history class??
Part of the answer to this question is in the rest of the text of his lecture.
Does he need to?? Recall, the point of his lecture was not to dwell on his personal views Islam.
What about our leaders here in the US? Only silence from our political leaders, our Protestant leaders, our Jewish leaders.
Please can someone link to a transcript of the ORIGINAL speech he gave?
I have no idea what to think until I know what he said (in full context!)
Thanks in advance.
Proving this to be a "mis-representation " muslims have burned seven churches and shot a nun.
The west's response??? Have the pope apologize.
These are not people, they are sick, demented, satanic evil animals. And I don't mean the animals that roam this earth. I mean the animals that roam in Hell.
The religion of peace, indeed!
How so? The man is the Pope -
Etymology: Latin pontific-, pontifex, from pont-, pons bridge + facere to make
Bunch of cowards to boot. Look how they cover their faces.
Come out in the open and fight like men!
No different?? I'll tell you how they're different! WE are not threatening to kill him. WE didn't murder an innocent woman over this.
I am very disappointed also. Mostly because I see hundreds of people reacting to what the Pope supposedly said,which is based on reports by newscasters,who have distilled interpretations,supplied to them by translators.
There are three opportunities for other agendas than the Pope's to come into play. And this is to say nothing of unintended mistakes that could have been caused by thoughtless errors in conveying the information.
For example,I am sure you have an extra "am" in one of your short sentences.
That's been my take on the man since my first exposure to him some years ago.
He's principled, rational and kindly disposed towards others.
But then...
I'm one of those guys whose faith in people is easily rattled.
I have a stutter :-)
I have a stutter :-)
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