Pope Regrets Offending Islam

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Courtesy of MCT Campus

Pope Benedict XVI

   Unlike Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI became very unpopular in the Middle East and infuriated Muslims around the globe with his recent criticism of the Islam religion.

   The situation exaggerated by the media caused protests throughout the West Bank, resulting in several churches being attacked by Palestinian groups leaving the buildings destroyed by firearms, bombs and lighter fluid.

   Members of various radical groups responded to what they felt to be the sentiment of the Vatican with even more violence. In Somalia, an Italian nun and her bodyguard were shot and killed while entering a children’s hospital where the nun worked. Investigators suspected the murders were linked to the controversy over Benedict’s speech. All this violence in the name of religion!

   The controversy has been blown out of proportion. The pope’s statement, characterizing some of Muhammad’s teachings, as “evil and inhuman,” was taken out of context from words of a Byzantine emperor, who criticized the prophet’s philosophical view “to spread by the sword the faith.”

   Perhaps the pope should have clarified the fact that his speech did not indicate his own views but that of the Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus, which he quoted during his Regensburg talk. It was offered in an academic context and refers to reflections on the theme of violence in the name of religion. In his speech the Pope rejected any religious motivation for violence.

   According to the Catholic News Service, the pope issued an apology saying, “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. These in fact were a quotation from a medieval text, which do not in any way express my personal thought.”

   In defense of the pope, Jeff Israely in Time Magazine said, “Perhaps Islamic sensibilities could have been spared if the speech had included a clear indication that the pope did not agree with the inflammatory words from 600 years ago. Still, the fallout doesn’t mean that the speech was a mistake or that a pope can never mention Muhammad.”

   It is the responsibility of all religious leaders, not just the pope, to condemn the violence that exists around the world, whether linked to religious beliefs like the jihads or the ongoing violence inflicted on millions of refugees in Darfur.

   According to the New York Times, many Muslims, and some Catholics noted the pope had only said he was “sorry” for the reaction that occurred across the Muslim world. He didn’t apologize for using the quotation.

   In December 2005, shortly after his election to the Papacy, Benedict wrote his first encyclical, “Deus Caritus Est” (God is love):

   “In a world where the name of God is sometimes associated with vengeance or even a duty of hatred and violence, this message is both timely and significant. For this reason, I wish in my first Encyclical to speak of the love which God lavishes upon us and which we in turn must share with others. That, in essence, is what the two main parts of this Letter are about, and they are profoundly interconnected.

   "The first part is more speculative, since I wanted here—at the beginning of my Pontificate—to clarify some essential facts concerning the love which God mysteriously and gratuitously offers to man, together with the intrinsic link between that Love and the reality of human love. The second part is more concrete, since it treats the ecclesial exercise of the commandment of love of neighbor. The argument has vast implications, but a lengthy treatment would go beyond the scope of the present Encyclical. I wish to emphasize some basic elements, so as to call forth in the world renewed energy and commitment in the human response to God's love.

   "Love of neighbor, grounded in the love of God, is first and foremost a responsibility for each individual member of the faithful, but it is also a responsibility for the entire ecclesial community at every level: from the local community to the particular Church and to the Church universal in its entirety. As a community, the Church must practice love. Love thus needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community.”

   This letter describes the loving nature and deep concern this Pontiff holds for all of humanity, and it expresses his deep commitment and respect for people of all cultures and religions.

   The Pope’s encyclical never obtained the media coverage or global reaction his latest comments on Islam received. Does the media, overall, endorse controversial situations in order to increase sensationalism, and could this possibly add to the fury and violence attributed to the Muslim extremists?

   According to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the pope’s option in favor of inter-religious and intercultural dialogue is equally unequivocal. In his meeting with representatives of Muslim communities in Cologne, Germany Aug. 20, 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.”

   Recently, on NBC’S “Today,” the pope responded to his general audience at the Vatican with deep respect for Islam, apologizing again for the misunderstanding of his speech, and explaining faith and reason go together, not violence. 

   Personally, I am proud of Pope Benedict XVI and I do not feel any further apology is necessary. He reacted to the situation according to his understanding of theology, and he condemned the violence in the name of the Islam religion. Maybe the pope should have gone further!  

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