ISTANBUL - In another attempt to mollify
the Islamic world after apologies from the Vatican
earlier, Pope Benedict XVI personally intervened
during his Angelus, the traditional Sunday noon
blessing, to reject any anti-Islam sentiment and
appeal for dialogue.
The damage control
may appear to succeed, but questions remain
whether the damage is more serious than conceded.
And while interventions were not too late
(this was the first by the
pope,
but the third by the Vatican in less than a week),
some may still consider them too little.
Reading from a prepared text at his
heavily guarded palace in Castel Gandolfo outside
Rome, the pontiff declared he had only been
quoting from a medieval text during the lecture
that caused the controversy, and that its contents
seen as offensive by Muslims did not reflect his
views.
In his lecture at the University of
Regensburg in Germany last week, the pope quoted
14th-century Emperor Manuel II Paleologos of the
Orthodox Christian Byzantine Empire as saying:
"Show me just what Mohammed 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."
The pope
used the expression "I quote" twice before the
phrases on Islam. He also described the phrases as
"brusque", without explicitly condoning or
condemning them.
Veteran Vatican analyst
Giancarlo Zizola called it all "an accident" while
commenting on the controversy on Italian
television on Sunday. He attributed it to the
pope's background more as a theologian than a
statesman attuned to political sensitivities.
But in the Muslim world it caused an
uproar marked by widespread denunciations,
demonstrations, attacks on some churches and
threats to attack the Vatican. The Italian
Interior Ministry increased the nationwide
security alert on Sunday.
The controversy
has also soured - if not compromised - plans for
the pontiff's trip to Muslim Turkey due in
November.
Muslim leaders, including
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, are
demanding that the pontiff issue a formal personal
apology. Statements by the Vatican Press Office
and later by the Holy See's new secretary of state
(prime minister), Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, were
seen as unsatisfactory.
The pope made no
formal apology, but said: "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. I hope this serves to appease hearts
and to clarify the true meaning of my address,
which in its totality was and is an invitation to
frank and sincere dialogue, with mutual respect."
How this personal plea may have placated
public opinion in the Muslim world has yet to be
seen, despite several public declarations calling
for acceptance of the Vatican apology so as to
calm the crisis before it causes further damage.
Erdogan had said earlier he was not sure
whether the pope's visit would go ahead. He
described Benedict's lecture as "ugly and
unfortunate" and as against "inter-religious
peace".
If the Turkish visit proceeds, the
pope is likely to find a reserved reception
confined to officialdom. There may be objections
from the public to any plans to visit a mosque.
His predecessor, John Paul II, was welcomed as the
first pope to enter a mosque in Syria in 2001.
Officially, Pope Benedict XVI will be
going to Turkey as "president" of the Vatican City
State, rather than the supreme head of more than a
billion Roman Catholics. The main religious
significance of his trip to Turkey would be a
meeting with the head of the Greek Orthodox Church
in Istanbul.
There, too, there are
pitfalls: it could be controversial if he kneels
and prays during a possible visit to Santa Sophia,
once the main church of the Eastern Christian
Empire, later a mosque, and now an imposing
museum.
The pope would face criticism if
he calls the head of the Istanbul-based Greek
Orthodox Church "ecumenical", meaning the head of
all 200 million Greek Orthodox Christians
worldwide. Turkey considers him head of the Greek
Church in Turkey.
Besides, Turks have a
particular dislike for the current pope. As a
conservative cardinal before succeeding John Paul
II, he spoke against Muslim Turkey's entry into
the European Union, citing cultural differences.
His perceived views on Islam, both in
Turkey and the Islamic world at large, are subject
to harsh attacks. Turkey's religious-affairs
director, Ali Bayrakoglu, told national television
that the pope had a Crusader mentality and that
his remarks "reflect the hatred in his heart".
The perceived views of the pontiff are
seen in sharp contrast to a more conciliatory
approach begun by pope John XXIII in the 1960s,
carried on by popes Paul VI and John Paul II, and
culminating in John Paul II asking for "pardon"
for excessive militancy by the church, including
the Crusades.
