Pope personally apologizes
ROME – In his first public appearance since igniting a firestorm in the Islamic world, Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday said he was “deeply sorry” that Muslims were offended and outraged by his use of a medieval citation critical of their faith, saying it did not “in any way express my personal thought.”
The pope used his weekly Angelus blessing, at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo outside Rome, to confront the most serious controversy of his 17-month-old papacy. For a pope, it was a highly unusual gesture of regret.
By making a personal and public apology, Benedict hoped to calm the fury that exploded after his address last week at the University of Regensburg, Germany, in which he quoted a 14th century Byzantine emperor who regarded some of the prophet Muhammad’s teachings as “evil and inhuman.”
Arab television networks gave considerable coverage to the pope’s Sunday message; the Al Arabiya network carried it live. Initial reaction from Islamic groups was mixed.
In Somalia, gunmen shot an Italian nun to death outside a children’s hospital in the capital. It was not immediately clear whether the shooting of Leonella Sgorbati, 64, was related to the controversy; Islamic extremists had threatened to attack Catholics.
The Italian Interior Ministry said it raised the level of security in parts of the country. The National Police Chief noted the presence of a radical Islamic minority.
At Castel Gandolfo, security was tighter than usual. The pope spoke from a balcony.
“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,” he said, adding that the quote from Emperor Manuel II Paleologus did not reflect his own opinion.
The pope on Tuesday had quoted the emperor as saying: “Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.”
“I hope that this serves to appease hearts,” Benedict said, “and to 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.”
An official of the influential Muslim Brotherhood said the pope’s statement was a “good step.” But others were not satisfied.
“The pope’s apologies were not enough because, in his aggression, he clearly knew and meant what he said,” the director of the Islamic and Political Bureau of the Muslim Brotherhood said in Cairo, Egypt.