SECRETARY OF STATE Saturday,
16 September 2006 Given the reaction in Muslim quarters to certain passages of
the Holy Father's address at the University of Regensburg, and the clarifications
and explanations already presented through the Director of the Holy See Press Office,
I would like to add the following: - The position of the Pope concerning Islam
is unequivocally that expressed by the conciliar document Nostra Aetate: "The
Church regards with esteem also the Muslims. They adore the one God, living and subsisting
in Himself; merciful and all-powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, Who has spoken
to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees,
just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted
to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet.
They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion.
In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to
all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life
and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting" (no. 3). - The
Pope's option in favor of inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue is equally unequivocal.
In his meeting with representatives of Muslim communities in Cologne, Germany,
on 20 August 2005, he said that such dialogue between Christians and Muslims "cannot
be reduced to an optional extra," adding: "The lessons of the past must help us to
avoid repeating the same mistakes. We must seek paths of reconciliation and learn
to live with respect for each other's identity". - As for the opinion of the Byzantine
emperor Manuel II Paleologus which he quoted during his Regensburg talk, the Holy
Father did not mean, nor does he mean, to make that opinion his own in any way. He
simply used it as a means to undertake - in an academic context, and as is evident
from a complete and attentive reading of the text - certain reflections on the theme
of the relationship between religion and violence in general, and to conclude with
a clear and radical rejection of the religious motivation for violence, from whatever
side it may come. On this point, it is worth recalling what Benedict XVI himself recently
affirmed in his commemorative Message for the 20th anniversary of the Inter-religious
Meeting of Prayer for Peace, initiated by his predecessor John Paul II at Assisi
in October 1986: " ... demonstrations of violence cannot be attributed to religion
as such but to the cultural limitations with which it is lived and develops in time.
... In fact, attestations of the close bond that exists between the relationship with
God and the ethics of love are recorded in all great religious traditions". - The
Holy Father thus 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. Indeed it was
he who, before the religious fervor of Muslim believers, warned secularized Western
culture to guard against "the contempt for God and the cynicism that considers mockery
of the sacred to be an exercise of freedom". - In reiterating his respect and esteem
for those who profess Islam, he hopes they will be helped to understand the correct
meaning of his words so that, quickly surmounting this present uneasy moment, witness
to the "Creator of heaven and earth, Who has spoken to men" may be reinforced, and
collaboration may intensify "to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social
justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom" (Nostra Aetate no.
3).