ITALY: Pope Benedict stuck to his guns at a meeting with Muslim diplomats and representatives yesterday aimed at launching talks between the Roman Catholic Church and Islam into a new phase of more substantial - but perhaps thornier - debate.
"We are in great need of an authentic dialogue between religions and between cultures," he said.
Barely pausing to acknowledge the furore caused by a lecture he gave earlier this month, the pontiff went on to make a coded appeal for discussions on the two issues that most concern the Vatican.
One is the scant religious freedom of Christians in predominantly Muslim countries. The second is the issue that ignited the latest row - Pope Benedict's view that too many Muslim clerics are willing to tolerate, if not actively encourage, violence.
"Christians and Muslims must learn to work together, as indeed they already do in many common undertakings, in order to guard against all forms of intolerance and to oppose all manifestations of violence," he said. Religious authorities, like political leaders, had a duty to "guide and encourage [ believers of both faiths] in this direction".
He was speaking in French to an audience gathered at his summer residence outside Rome. Those present included representatives of the Arab League and the Muslim community in Italy, along with diplomats from 21 predominantly Islamic nations.
Iran sent an envoy as did Indonesia, where tensions between Christians and Muslims are still running high after the execution of three Catholic militants last week.
At the end of his brief address, the pope greeted each of his guests, clasping their hands warmly. He had earlier assured them of his "esteem and profound respect" for the Muslim faithful.
There was a furious reaction across the Islamic world after the Pope gave a lecture at a German university on September 12th, in which he quoted the words of a 14th-century Byzantine emperor. He had said the teachings of Muhammad were "evil and inhuman", particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached".
Iraq's ambassador, Albert Edward Ismail Yelda, said after the meeting: "It is now time to put what happened behind and build bridges."
The text of the pope's address was posted in Arabic to the Vatican's website.
A Vatican source said that to help avoid misunderstandings, future statements touching on relations with the Islamic world would be given out in full in Arabic.